Post Tagged with: "Southern Education Desk"

Challenging work brings out a range of emotions in a technology class at Phillips Academy in downtown Birmingham. Photo by Dan Carsen.
Alabama / Audio / Poverty / Race / Special Coverage

Birmingham Schools, Takeover To Today, Part 3: Turning A Corner? Looking Ahead

Birmingham, Ala.– The Alabama State Department of Education’s intervention team has left Birmingham City Schools. ALSDE staff are approving local board agendas and monitoring finances from Montgomery. A year and a half after the state first took the reins, the local board is quietly going about its business. As 2014 approaches, [...]

Auburn University Pioneers Super-Acute Bomb-Sniffing Dogs
Alabama / Audio

Auburn University Pioneers Super-Acute Bomb-Sniffing Dogs

Three years ago, after spending almost nineteen billion dollars on hi-tech research, the Pentagon found the best bomb-detection devices in existence are dogs’ noses. But researchers at Auburn University are trying to make them even better. They’ve developed a new type of bomb-sniffing K-9 called a “VaporWake” dog. Our Alabama reporter Dan Carsen has more on this new tool in the anti-terrorism arsenal.

Common-Core-based standards hang on the wall of master math teacher Beth Moore's classroom at Walker Elementary in Northport, Ala. Schools across the state are using the math standards, and the language arts standards go into effect this fall. Walker has enthusiastically embraced the Common Core. Photo by Dan Carsen.
Alabama / Audio / Common Core Series

Common Core: Is The Hype Really Just Hype?

There’s been a revolution in American K-12 education: the “Common Core State Standards.” Released in 2010, they’re math and language arts standards meant to raise rigor and establish consistency across the nation. They’ve been adopted in 45 states. But in the first of a three-part series, Alabama reporter Dan Carsen tells us that even in those places, all is not quiet on the Common Core front.

Pre-K Access: Good Program, Few Spots
Alabama / Audio / Early Education / Pre-K Series

Pre-K Access: Good Program, Few Spots

Most education researchers and even many economists think high-quality Pre-K benefits children and the communities where they live. But the effects are limited when programs just don’t reach many kids. Even in states such as Alabama, which have highly regarded programs, these services reach only a fraction of eligible children.

The sex education committee made mistakes while reviewing programs. If scoring had been accurate, four programs that were approved for Mississippi schools would not have made the cut. Photo by Stephanie Terrell.
Audio / Interactive / Mississippi / Multimedia / Sex Education Investigative Series

Mississippi Sex Education: Half Of Districts’ Programs Don’t Meet State Requirements

An investigation by the Southern Education Desk has found that the committee appointed by the Mississippi Department of Education to evaluate sex education programs for the state’s schools made mistakes in the approval process.

Thirty Southlawn Middle School students participated on stage in the finale of a live stage performance at Alabama State University as part of Leadership Montgomery’s ‘Steps to My Dream’ program. Photo by Craig Highberger.
Alabama / Video

“Steps To My Dream” Program Introduces Students To Higher Education

Alabama has a 72 percent on-time high school graduation rate. Current statistics show that eight percent of students drop out. Leadership Montgomery, an organization whose mission is to effect positive civic transformation took on the challenge to give students a glimpse of what their future could be after completion of high school.

Students Dig Up The Past In The Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Audio / Summer Learning Series / Tennessee / Video

Students Dig Up The Past In The Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Tourists driving through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park discovered a new attraction this summer. Archaeologists from the National Park Service and the University of Tennessee opened three big holes in a field. But it was who was digging those holes that surprised most folks who stopped by.

Photo by Erica Lembo
Alabama / Summer Learning Series / Video

Teaming Up To Fight Summer Learning Loss

Summer Learning Loss is a serious issue and one that’s been making national headlines lately. Studies have shown that most students lose about two months in math skills over the summer and low-income children lose more than two months in reading achievement, despite the fact that their middle-class peers make slight gains. That’s why education officials in state and across the country are stressing the importance of keeping kids engaged over the summer. And one summer camp program in the Birmingham area is doing just that.