“Sending text messages to parents of pupils who are absent from school has cut truancy rates in some Scottish schools by as much as 27%, according to figures released today.”

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“Global warming is a key subject that many educators and scientists say should be, but isn’t, taught in every school. And as with other emerging sciences, there remains a need, they say, for more materials available for teachers to incorporate into their lessons”

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“Aiming to customize their solutions to meet the individual needs of teachers and students, a growing number of school systems are ushering in a new breed of school software that relies on open technologies–whether it’s open-source software on their servers and desktops, or so-called Web 2.0 services available free of charge online. Economics and advancements in technology are fueling this latest trend in school software, proponents of the movement say–but it’s also about customization, and the desire to employ a variety of solutions as users see fit.”

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“Like a growing number of districts and colleges, the Katy Independent School District has dedicated a page on its Web site to combating rumors. School leaders say such pages are a quick, easy, inexpensive way to reach parents and taxpayers, who, with electronic means, seem to be gossiping at record speed these days.”

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“Throughout most of the 20th century, the stream of cars rolling off Michigan assembly lines created jobs with high wages and schools with low expectations. When even a kid who dropped out of school early could look forward to a cozy middle-class living, mastering chemistry, geometry or geography didn’t seem so important. But now, at the start of the 21st century, both the state’s leading industry and its school system are at a crossroads.”

“Do Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Learners Need Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Instruction?”

http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_educator/issues/summer2005/cogsci.htm

In several of the largest school systems across the country from Baltimore to Cleveland to Atlanta and Oakland, Calif. half of the students are dropping out.

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One in every five American teenagers admits using the Internet to plagiarize material for school assignments, according to a CBSNews.com poll.

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