PBS NewsHour: Education Archive | 2010

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	2010 DECEMBER Dec. 30, 2010 Whose Version of History Is Taught? Arizona Law Bans Ethnic Studies Classes An Arizona law is going into effect Friday aimed at shutting down ethnic studies classes in Tucson's public schools, but is binding on all public schools in the state. Lucky Severson reports on the new law in a story that aired on the PBS program, Religion & Ethics Newsweekly.

	Dec. 23, 2010 In NYC, Small Schools Touted to Make a Big Difference in Education Reform An effort to create smaller schools in New York City has spurred some success stories -- and controversy -- among educators. John Tulenko reports.

	Dec. 23, 2010 Who Wins and Who Loses When Big Schools Are Closed Down? For years, educators, parents and experts have debated the merits of whether smaller schools truly provide a better opportunity and atmosphere where children can learn.

	Dec. 14, 2010 Ohio School District Uses Unique Peer Evaluations to Grade Teachers Special correspondent for education John Merrow reports how public schools in Toledo, Ohio, are implementing a unique peer-evaluation program for educators that looks to nurture teachers, but make it easier to remove ineffective ones.

	Dec. 10, 2010 In U.K., More Demonstrations Appear Likely After Tuition Tripling Protests intensified in London after legislation passed to triple university tuition fees. Margaret Warner gets the latest on the protests, what's behind them and what's next with Ned Temko from The Observer.

	Dec. 10, 2010 Violent Tuition Protest Encounter Roils Royals The vote to triple university tuition in Britain triggered protests that turned violent and encountered a Rolls Royce carrying Prince Charles. ITN correspondent Simon Israel has more.

	Dec. 10, 2010 News Wrap: Tensions Run High in Haiti Amid Election Recount In other news Friday, police were out in force in Haiti as officials checked vote tallies from the disputed presidential election. The U.S. has issued a travel warning to Americans and flights to and from Port-au-Prince were halted as well.

	Dec. 9, 2010 British Parliament Approves Controversial Tuition Hikes Surrounded by student protests outside, British lawmakers voted Thursday to triple the university tuition fee cap in a move meant to help stabilize the country's ailing economy.

	Dec. 7, 2010 Secretary Duncan: Schools Must Become Centers of Communities The results from a new global survey show U.S. students are falling behind much of the world in reading, math and science. Gwen Ifill speaks with Education Secretary Arne Duncan about the results and the the state of American schools.

	Dec. 6, 2010 Join 'Education for Innovation' Online Town Hall on Tuesday Morning The NewsHour is taking part in a special town hall meeting Tuesday on education and innovation. Gwen Ifill and Hari Sreenivasan will moderate the event, which will include an interview with Education Secretary Arne Duncan. You can watch it live on The Rundown starting at 8:45 a.m. ET.

	Dec. 1, 2010 Chicago High School Prepares Students for Real-World Manufacturing Jobs With unemployment holding steady above 9 percent, the jobs market looks bleak. But there is one industry that has added jobs: manufacturing. Ash-har Quraishi of Chicago News Cooperative reports on one public school that's retooling to help its graduates take advantage of these jobs.



	NOVEMBER Nov. 30, 2010 Graduation Report 'Encouraging,' But Many Schools Risk 'Dropout Factory' Status New nationwide statistics show a rise in high school graduation rates, but there is still significant disparity between school districts in different parts of the country. Margaret Warner talks to the report's co-author, John Bridgeland, about what the findings mean.

	Nov. 30, 2010 Patchwork Nation: Mapping High School Dropout Rates Of all the factors that go into making a community the local school system may be the most critical. Better schools not only equal better-educated kids, but often better property values and a better quality of life.

	Nov. 30, 2010 U.S. Schools Make Progress, but 'Dropout Factories' Persist In the world of education reform, several U.S. school districts have made significant changes over the last decade, including coming to grips with dropout problems. But the pace of improvement is too slow and uneven to meet the national goals set by the Department of Education and President Obama, according to a new report.

	Nov. 23, 2010 Outgoing NYC Schools Chief Klein: School Reform Momentum Will Continue Jeffrey Brown speaks with Joel Klein, outgoing chancellor of New York City Schools, about his sometimes-controversial eight-year tenure and what will become of the national school reform movement with several high-profile departures.

	Nov. 10, 2010 Outgoing NYC Schools Chief Joel Klein's Tenure Drew Praise, Criticism Many were surprised to hear New York City schools chief Joel Klein was stepping down to rejoin the private sector after eight years heading up the nation's largest public school system and being part of a U.S. school reform debate. Gwen Ifill talks to Sarah Garland of the Hechinger Report for more on what his departure means.

	Nov. 10, 2010 Joel Klein Resigns: What's Next for NYC Schools? Unlike his protégé, D.C. schools chief Michelle Rhee, New York City Chancellor Joel Klein is leaving on his own terms, to return to the business world he came from. Read more on the move from John Merrow.

	Nov. 1, 2010 Brazil Elects First Female President Dilma Rousseff won Brazil's presidential runoff on Sunday, making her the first female president of South America's largest and most populous country. She campaigned on -- and now faces the challenges of -- improving Brazil's infrastructure, education and health care.



	OCTOBER Oct. 26, 2010 Community MusicWorks Performs in D.C. When Sebastian Ruth, founder of the Providence, R.I.-based nonprofit Community MusicWorks, brought his group of music students to Washington, D.C., to accept the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, he knew they had one important stop to make before heading home.

	Oct. 23, 2010 Festival Showcases Future Faces of Science, Engineering Thousands of students ventured to Washington D.C. for the 2010 Science and Engineering Festival. Booths lined the National Mall as the event sought to pique the interest of the nation's youth in science and math through an array of interactive exhibits.

	Oct. 21, 2010 MacArthur Fellow, Community MusicWorks' Sebastian Ruth One of this year's MacArthur Foundation fellows is Sebastian Ruth, founder and artistic director of Community MusicWorks.

	Oct. 18, 2010 Students Explain Science Experiments to President Obama They're too young to vote, but they're already designing cancer-fighting therapies, solar-powered cars and robots to combat distracted driving. President Obama honored these and other student projects at the first-ever White House Science Fair. Watch the video.

	Oct. 13, 2010 Sandra Day O'Connor on Judicial Elections, Supreme Court's New Players Judy Woodruff speaks to former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor about her efforts to improve literacy for students, judicial elections and the new makeup of the court.

	Oct. 13, 2010 News Wrap: NATO Forces in Afghanistan Take Heavy Casualities NATO forces took heavy casualties after six troops were killed in three separate attacks, bringing the total of deaths to 34 for the month of October in Afghanistan.

	Oct. 13, 2010 Sandra Day O'Connor on Life After the Supreme Court Judy Woodruff interviews former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on Wednesday's NewsHour -- and asked the former justice a few questions just for the web about her involvement in the iCivics project and life after the court.

	Oct. 13, 2010 Michelle Rhee Steps Down as D.C. Schools Chancellor Washington, D.C.'s embattled school chancellor Michelle Rhee announced Wednesday that she is stepping down from her post. The NewsHour and correspondent John Merrow have been chronicling the challenges facing the District's children and Rhee for almost the entire time she has been in the position.

	Oct. 5, 2010 Melinda Gates Urges Better Job Training as Community Colleges Innovate, Adapt President Obama shone a spotlight on community colleges Tuesday as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced that it would donate $35 million to help improve graduation rates and job-training programs. Philanthropist Melinda Gates talks to Judy Woodruff about the effort.

	Oct. 4, 2010 Increase in Homeless Pupils Poses Unique Challenge to Public Schools Special correspondent Lee Hochberg reports from Seattle on the rising homelessness for school-age children and the challenges that faces public schools trying to accommodate them.

	Oct. 1, 2010 Student's Death Sparks Questions on Privacy in the Digital Age Ray Suarez gets two perspectives on the many questions raised by a Rutgers University student's suicide three days after his roommate and another person allegedly broadcast his sexual encounter with another man secretly on the Internet.

	Oct. 1, 2010 Rutgers Student's Suicide Prompts Privacy, Cyber-Bullying Debates Ray Suarez looks at the varied reactions to the suicide of a student at Rutgers University and the legal questions it raises.



	SEPTEMBER Sept. 29, 2010 New Letters Illuminate Personalities, Story Behind DNA Structure Discovery Nine boxes of previously unknown letters, postcards and other correspondence from Francis Crick, one of the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA, have been unearthed in the files of his longtime colleague, according to an article published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

	Sept. 28, 2010 Program Aims to Increase Number of Minority College Graduates Special correspondent John Tulenko examines some of the challenges minorities face in college and a program that concentrates on helping them complete a degree.

	Sept. 24, 2010 Facebook's Zuckerberg Lands in the Spotlight Amid Movie Flak, School Donation Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is set to donate $100 million to the Newark, N.J., school system as a new movie comes out documenting the rise of the social networking site. Ray Suarez has more.

	Sept. 22, 2010 Bill Clinton on Democrats' Path to Nov. Victory: Honor Voters' Anger In an interview with the NewsHour's Judy Woodruff, former President Bill Clinton said that President Obama and the Democrats haven't mounted an effective defense against criticism from Republicans, but they do have enough time to convince voters before November that they're taking the right steps to fix the country's economy.

	Sept. 21, 2010 Tying Students' Test Scores to Pay: Burden or Opportunity for Teachers? Tennessee is experimenting with giving a bonus to teachers whose students perform well. This comes as the Obama administration presses similar education reform efforts in other states. John Tulenko of Learning Matters Television reports.

	Sept. 21, 2010 Survey: What Distracts You the Most While Driving? Government leaders and safety advocates are meeting again Tuesday in Washington to discuss ways to keep drivers focused on the road instead of ever-more-prevalent electronic devices and other distractions. We want to know what distracts you while you're driving. Take our survey.

	Sept. 17, 2010 Education Leaders Square Off Over Charters at 'Superman' D.C. Premiere Three documentaries released this year focus on the troubled American education system. The highest-profile is "Waiting for Superman," directed by Davis Guggenheim, who also directed the global warming documentary "An Inconvenient Truth."

	Sept. 17, 2010 Fidel Castro's Favorite Dolphin Show Jeffrey Goldberg's recent interview with Fidel Castro may have raised questions about Castro's commitment to the Cuban model of socialism, but the Cuban leader was absolutely clear on one thing: he enjoys a good dolphin show.

	Sept. 15, 2010 Fenty Loss in D.C. Puts Fate of Rhee's School Overhaul in Limbo Now that Adrian Fenty has lost his bid for a second term as mayor of the nation's capital, the education world is buzzing about the fate of Michelle Rhee, his outspoken schools chancellor.

	Sept. 14, 2010 President Obama Pushes Accountability in Back-to-School Remarks With most U.S. schools now back in session, President Barack Obama relayed a message to American students Tuesday that nothing is beyond their reach as long as they're willing to dream big, work hard and stay focused on their education.

	Sept. 13, 2010 Inspiration, Funding Cited as Top Needs for Math and Science Education At a Brookings Institution event, scientists and educators outlined the biggest problems facing science and technology education in the U.S., namely the need for inspiration, leadership and funding.

	Sept. 3, 2010 Track Hurricane Earl's Atlantic Journey Hurricane Earl continued to churn along the East Coast Friday, heading north from North Carolina and expected to reach southeastern Massachusetts by Friday night. Here are some resources to track the storm.



	AUGUST Aug. 31, 2010 In Washington, D.C., Public School Teachers Put to New Test Teachers in the District of Columbia are being reevaluated. Special correspondent John Merrow looks at a new test for teachers in the Washington, D.C. school district as part of his ongoing reporting on education.

	Aug. 24, 2010 'Race to the Top' Education Funds Awarded to 9 States and D.C. The results are in for the second round of "Race to the Top" education funding, a competition among states for a piece of more than $4 billion set aside by Congress and the Obama administration as part of the $787 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the stimulus program.

	Aug. 24, 2010 Portraits of Iraqis and Their Dreams Iraqis' feelings about their country's future are best reflected in what they say about their own personal dreams. The younger ones appear less scarred -- their parents' and grandparents' generations seem far more so. Margaret Warner introduces some of the people she's met in her travels.

	Aug. 11, 2010 Pew Report: U.S. Broadband Adoption Slows, but Blacks Gain Ground The Pew Internet & American Life Project released its Home Broadband 2010 Report Wednesday, revealing a dramatic slowing of broadband adoption by Americans this year, but showing notable growth in use by blacks.

	Aug. 2, 2010 From China to Amsterdam, Meet Your New UNESCO World Heritage Sites The U.N.'s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has been meeting in Brazil to consider new cultural sites to add to its World Heritage List of places with "outstanding universal value." Five more sites were added on Sunday, bringing the total to 911. Here's a look at some of the newest additions.



	JULY July 26, 2010 New Orleans Superintendent Leaving Legacy of Charter School Expansion As the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches, the superintendent brought in to revive New Orleans' troubled public schools is bidding farewell after turning many of the schools into charters. Before his departure, Paul Vallas speaks with John Merrow about where things stand with the city's school reform efforts.

	July 23, 2010 D.C. Schools Chief Rhee Fires 241 Teachers Using New Evaluation System Washington, D.C. schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee announced Friday the firing of 241 teachers who did not meet standards set forth by a new district-wide evaluation system.

	July 7, 2010 Unlocking More of Mark Twain's Unpublished Material Mark Twain had a lot to say, and most of it was funny. Reading his novels and essays, it doesn't seem like he pulled his punches; he said what he wanted, and a lot of it was pretty radical for the times. But as it turned out, he restrained himself greatly. Spencer Michels reports on the author's long-awaited autobiography.



	JUNE June 15, 2010 Do Higher Costs Lead to Better College Educations? Does the mounting cost of college mean students are getting a better education? Ray Suarez moderates a debate sponsored by the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs about whether the costly higher education system is broken.

	June 4, 2010 Graduates Face Tough, but Improving, Job Market As 2010 college graduates begin to enter a tight, but improving, job market, the PBS NewsHour talked to university career services directors from around the country to see whether this year's graduates face brighter prospects than in years past.

	June 3, 2010 States Grapple With Funding Education Amid Budget Shortfalls Classroom cuts are looming, as the school year winds down for many states facing budget shortfalls. Jeffrey Brown reports on the potential layoffs and the new contract ratified by teachers unions in Washington D.C.

	June 3, 2010 In Mississippi, Growing Vegetables in a 'Food Desert' In the Mississippi Delta, a loose-knit group of teachers, farmers and community activists are trying to teach more students to grow their own vegetables.



	MAY May 20, 2010 In Detroit Schools, State Takeover Leads to Leadership Dispute Correspondent John Merrow reports on the progress of Detroit's public school system, following last year's tumultuous takeover by the state of Michigan, following allegations of corruption, a $316 million hole in its budget and tumbling enrollment.



	APRIL April 29, 2010 Conversation: Winner of the 2010 Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest Earlier this week, 53 students from around the nation gathered in Washington for the 2010 Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest, an annual event that encourages the love of spoken word among young people.

	April 29, 2010 Crist's Independent Bid Opens New Political Frontier in Florida Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is expected to announce Thursday afternoon that he will run as an independent in the race to fill an open Senate seat. How would Sunshine State voters react to a three-way race? We ask two political watchers.

	April 28, 2010 Extended Interview, Reading with Tim O'Brien Thursday on the NewsHour, a book about war that has stood the test of time. Jeffrey Brown talks to Tim O'Brien about his landmark work, "The Things They Carried," a piece of fiction based on the author's experience serving in the Vietnam War.

	April 22, 2010 Earth Day's 40th Anniversary Marked with Concerts, Idea Exchanges Countries around the world celebrated the 40th Earth Day on Thursday and throughout the week with activities such as fashion shows featuring recycled materials, seed plantings at the Shanghai Zoo and musicians in Morocco playing songs about the Earth.

	April 20, 2010 New Community College Standards Could Hike Graduation Rates Community colleges are playing an increasing role in the country's higher educational system, but a high percentage of their students never finish their coursework. Jeffrey Brown talks to experts about a new national accountability standard aimed at bolstering graduation rates.

	April 19, 2010 High Court Considers Free Speech on College Campuses, Workplace Privacy Limits Judy Woodruff talks to Marcia Coyle of the National Law Journal about two major cases before the Supreme Court. The first is a clash over free-speech rights of religious groups on college campuses and the second deals with text messages and workplace privacy.

	April 7, 2010 New Orleans Schools See Progress Despite Troubles In his ongoing look at efforts to turn around ailing schools in New Orleans and Washington, D.C. John Merrow reports on the use of alternative school programs in Louisiana and progress on negotiations between a teachers union and public schools in the nation's capital.

	April 7, 2010 D.C. Schools Chancellor, Teachers Union Reach Tentative Deal Washington, D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee has reached a tentative deal with the city's teachers' union for a new five-year contract. Special correspondent for education John Merrow has been chronicling Rhee's efforts, and he spoke to correspondent Kwame Holman about the tentative agreement.



	MARCH March 31, 2010 Jaime Escalante, Inspiration for 'Stand and Deliver,' Dies at 79 Jaime Escalante, the former Los Angeles mathematics teacher whose work with low-income students inspired the 1988 film "Stand and Deliver," died Tuesday after a battle with bladder cancer. He was 79.

	March 30, 2010 New Law Changes Student Loan Landscape President Obama enacted a sweeping remake of the student lending market by signing the final piece of the health care overhaul into law. Jeffrey Brown talks to a higher education reporter about how the new law will impact college students and their universities.

	March 30, 2010 Tuesday: Obama to Sign Overhaul to Health Care, Student Loan Systems President Barack Obama will cap the overhaul to health care on Tuesday when he travels from the White House to a local community college to sign the package of "fixes" to the legislation passed by Congress last week.

	March 26, 2010 Teachers Lose Funding Over Quibbles with Obama Education Policy John Merrow explores why some teachers' unions are walking away from a share of some $4.35 billion in federal funds through the Obama administration's new Race to the Top grant competition.

	March 22, 2010 Why Don't We Have More Tech Education Programs in Schools? Paul Solman answers your questions on business and economic news on "The Business Desk."

	March 19, 2010 College Loan Overhaul Looms in Health Reform Package A new measure allowing college students to bypass banks and receive college aid directly from the government could pass alongside the health reform bill. Jeffrey Brown talks to Jason DeLisle of the New America Foundation and Renee Mang of Sallie Mae.

	March 18, 2010 March Madness Fervor Hides Low Graduation Rates As the annual college basketball tournament known as March Madness begins, there is a proposal to block men's college basketball teams that don't graduate at least 40 percent of their players. Judy Woodruff talks to a sports journalism professor for more on athletics and academics.

	March 18, 2010 Duncan Wants NCAA to Stress Academics with Athletics As basketball fans hail the arrival of the March Madness tournament season, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said he wants the NCAA to exclude teams from post-season play unless 40 percent of their players finish degrees. Judy Woodruff reports.

	March 17, 2010 Is a College Education Essential for Americans? A series of debates sponsored by the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs address whether America needs more college graduates to remain competitive on a global level, or whether the emerging job markets favor people without degrees. Paul Solman moderates.

	March 17, 2010 Obama Administration Looks to Overhaul No Child Left Behind The Obama administration rolls out its plan to revamp the No Child Left Behind Act this week, aiming to give schools more flexibility in how they evaluate students. Jeffrey Brown talks to two education policy experts.

	March 17, 2010 Miller Center Debate: Does the U.S. Need More Grads? Paul Solman answers your questions on business and economic news on "The Business Desk."

	March 15, 2010 Monday: Health Care Reform; Financial Regulation; 'No Child Left Behind' Supporters of a comprehensive health care reform bill are nearing the endgame, as the fate of the legislation may finally be decided this week.

	March 11, 2010 Kansas City Plans Massive School Closures as Budget Fix Facing a $50 million deficit, the Kansas City, Mo., school board voted this week to close 29 of the city's 61 public schools. Ray Suarez talks to Superintendent John Covington about the board's decision.

	March 4, 2010 Drastic School Reforms Spark Debate on Fixing Education One Rhode Island school district took the drastic step of ousting teachers after they refused to implement mandated reforms to boost poor performance. Judy Woodruff takes a look at the reinvigorated clash between education reform plans and teachers unions.

	March 4, 2010 Finalists Named in 'Race to the Top' Education Program A big story in education news Thursday is that the Department of Education has selected 16 finalists, out of 41 applicants, for the first round of what it's calling "Race to the Top," a competition for $4.35 billion.

	March 1, 2010 Obama Offers $900 Million for Struggling Schools In a bid to cut the nation's high school drop out rate, President Obama on Monday proposed as much as $900 million in federal aid to states that agree to shake up or even close their worst schools.



	FEBRUARY Feb. 26, 2010 Paul Solman Moderates Debate on Higher Education and the Economy On Friday evening, NewsHour economics correspondent Paul Solman will moderate a Miller Center Debate on higher education and the economy.

	Feb. 26, 2010 Paul Solman Moderates Debate on Higher Education and the Economy Paul Solman answers your questions on business and economic news on "The Business Desk."

	Feb. 22, 2010 Math Wiz Adds Web Tools to Take Education to New Limits From a bedroom in the San Francisco Bay area, Salman Khan is using the Web to teach math and science to millions. Spencer Michels reports on how the non-profit Kahn Academy is providing educational materials through its free YouTube video library.

	Feb. 22, 2010 Khan Academy: How to Calculate the Unemployment Rate A 33-year-old math and science whiz kid -- working out of his house in California's Silicon Valley -- may be revolutionizing how people all over the world will learn math.

	Feb. 18, 2010 After Losing Its Bookstore, Laredo Tries to Write the Next Chapter The last bookstore in Laredo, Texas, closed its doors for good one month ago this week. This bilingual and bicultural border town, long challenged by high illiteracy rates, is now adjusting to its new reality.

	Feb. 9, 2010 Michelle Obama: Team Effort Needed to Halt Childhood Obesity In an interview with Jim Lehrer, first lady Michelle Obama said it's critically important for the future of the country to bring childhood obesity under control and encourage more physical fitness.

	Feb. 9, 2010 First Lady Kicks Off Campaign Against Childhood Obesity Michelle Obama launched a new program Tuesday aimed at eliminating childhood obesity within one generation. The "Let's Move" initiative, which seeks to reshape childhood eating and exercise habits, marks her first major public policy effort as first lady.



	JANUARY Jan. 28, 2010 NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman Answers Your Questions I recently had the chance to talk with new NEA chairman Rocco Landesman for an interview we aired earlier this month, and invited you to send us your questions and comments for him. We compiled them and put them to Mr. Landesman last week.

	Jan. 19, 2010 Race for Education Funding Poses a Test for States Billions of dollars are about to come available in new federal education spending, pitting states against one another for a piece of the pie. John Merrow reports.

	Jan. 19, 2010 Students from Haiti's Only Film School Keep Their Cameras Rolling When New York filmmaker Annie Nocenti became the first teacher at Cine Institute, Haiti's only film school, two years ago, she was excited to see what her students would capture. Last Tuesday, her students faced their most challenging test when a powerful earthquake ravaged the island.

	Jan. 15, 2010 Conversation: Katherine Paterson, National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Katherine Paterson, the author of many beloved children's novels such as "The Bridge to Terabithia", was last week named the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.