A Peek into Silicon Valley's Newest Bet: AltSchool

https://medium.com/bright/a-peek-into-silicon-valley-s-latest-bet-altschool-abf6c6973ecd

Mary Jo Madda

Bright Magazine

1 July 2015

Multi-Media / Under 800 Words

AltSchools use a completely different education system - interconnecting technology and hands on experiments - to help students achieve a higher degree of learning. Students are grouped into small, personalized cohorts so they can be both mentors and mentees for their fellow peers, creating a collaborative learning space for all.

A Team Approach to Get Students College Ready

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/a-team-approach-to-get-students-college-ready

David Bornstein

The New York Times

15 May 2013

Text / 1500-3000 Words

Blue Engine, which places recent college grads as full-time teaching assistants in New York City public schools, is helping poor students thrive in college. They focus on small teacher-student ratios, frequent feedback for teachers, and a concentration on 'gateway' courses associated with success in college.

Closing the Math Gap for Boys

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/01/opinion/sunday/intense-tutoring-can-close-the-math-gap.html

David L. Kirp

The New York Times

31 January 2015

Text / 800-1500 Words

Inner-city kids, generally, fare worst on measures of academic achievement like standardized tests. An intensive tutoring and mentoring program in Chicago has produced big improvements for young boys, pairing them two-on-one with math tutors that offer homework support and educational guidance.

Dropouts flooding Kent's second-change iGrad school

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/dropouts-flooding-kentrsquos-second-chance-igrad-school

Claudia Rowe

The Seattle Times

12 January 2014

Text / 1500-3000 Words

Cities save money and help kids by connecting them with diploma programs. In Washington, iGrad is helping students do just this – and seeing results.

Fighting Bullying With Babies

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/08/fighting-bullying-with-babies

David Bornstein

The New York Times

8 November 2010

Text / 1500-3000 Words

The Canadian federal government has identified bullying as a national problem. Roots of Empathy, based in Toronto, encourages empathy in elementary kids by having them interact with babies.

Free pre-K: Strong early gains, but long-term questions

http://seattletimes.com/html/education/2024591420_edlabtulsaxml.html

Claudia Rowe

The Seattle Times

20 September 2014

Text / 1500-3000 Words

Preparing the young for elementary education is a priority to nurture reading and social skills. For 16 years, Tulsa Oklahoma has instituted a state funded preschool, staffed with teachers trained in early education. Tulsa’s Pre-K initiative has shown that their children are more prepared for literacy skills and math; however, maintaining the positive results is a long-term challenge.

From slipping through the cracks to the college track

http://www.seattletimes.com/education/from-slipping-through-the-cracks-to-the-college-track

Claudia Rowe

The Seattle Times

14 April 2014

Text / 1500-3000 Words

The Rainier Scholars program in Seattle places fifth graders, who are all minorities, in special coursework through middle and high school, finally offering rigorous college coaching. In Oakland, CA, the National College Advising Corps directs recent graduates into schools to be role models and guides for at-risk students.

Fruit, Not Fries: Lunchroom Makeovers Nudge Kids Toward Better Choices

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/03/29/175710393/fruit-not-fries-lunchroom-makeovers-nudge-kids-toward-better-choices

Kevin Charles Redmon

NPR

2 April 2013

Text / 800-1500 Words

With child obesity on the rise, public school students have lacked the motivation and access to eat healthy food. Different programs around the country aim to improve student diet in public schools, including Real Eats for Academics and Life in Los Angeles and Cornell’s Smarter Lunchrooms Movement, by emailing nutrition report cards to parents, presenting the healthy food with aesthetic pleasure, and the arrangement of the food for access.

High poverty, high test scores: Auburn school is a shouting success

https://www.seattletimes.com/education/high-poverty-high-test-scores-auburn-school-is-a-shouting-success

Linda Shaw

The Seattle Times

27 April 2014

Text / 1500-3000 Words

As school poverty rates goes up, learning and test scores fall. At Gildo Ray elementary school in Washington state uses a teaching method called director or explicit instruction, in which children learn from a structured approach to teaching with teacher-guided practice. Gildo Ray’s test scores in math and reading are among the highest in the state.

Hard Times for Recess

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/04/hard-times-for-recess

David Bornstein

The New York Times

4 April 2011

Text / Over 3000 Words

Despite strong evidence that school-based physical activity improves children’s cognitive skills, concentration, and behavior, schools under pressure to produce quantitative results and decrease bullying have drastically cut back on recess in recent years. An Oakland-based nonprofit organization called Playworks is working to make healthy play accessible for more children and show schools how productive recess can be to the whole academic world.