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 HOW LEARNING HAPPENS

Mentor Antwon Cooper (left) helps student Julius Barne, 15, during a group activity in a history class.

Mentor Antwon Cooper (left) helps student Julius Barne, 15, during a group activity in a history class. Jun Tsuboike/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Jun Tsuboike/NPR

For At-Risk Kids, Mentors Provide Far More Than Just Homework Help

At Baltimore's Renaissance Academy High School, mentors help students cope with the trauma in their daily lives. The principal says the aim is not just to keep boys in school, but to keep them alive.

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Weighing, measuring and examining equipment inside of people's heads
Leigh Wells/Corbis

K-12

Will STEM Education Be The Child Left Behind?

President Obama talks a lot about the importance of STEM, but advocates worry Congress will set back science education with its rewrite of the federal No Child Left Behind law.

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A student shows off his lost tooth to his classmates.

A student shows off his lost tooth to his classmates. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Elissa Nadworny/NPR

K-12

Forcing Schools To Hit The 'Reset' Button

As Congress debates a rewrite of No Child Left Behind, we look at one school in Durham, N.C. Watts Elementary wasn't just restructured as a result of the law, it was completely reimagined.

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The Elementary and Secondary Education Act hasn't been updated since it was renamed "No Child Left Behind" in 2001 by President George W. Bush. The law was introduced by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965 to help states level the playing field for students living and learning in poverty.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act hasn't been updated since it was renamed "No Child Left Behind" in 2001 by President George W. Bush. The law was introduced by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965 to help states level the playing field for students living and learning in poverty. Matt Rourke/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Matt Rourke/AP

K-12

No Child Left Behind: What Worked, What Didn't

As Congress attempts to rewrite the much-maligned federal education law, it's worth exploring its successes and shortcomings in fixing broken schools.

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Laptop computer handing out a diploma
LA Johnson/NPR

Higher Ed

The Online College That's Helping Undocumented Students

There are no federal laws in this country that prohibit undocumented students from enrolling in college. But few of the students can afford it. Now, one online college is offering them an option.

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Deborah Ball introduces a math problem to students at the Mathematics Teaching and Learning to Teach seminar at the University of Michigan.

Deborah Ball introduces a math problem to students at the Mathematics Teaching and Learning to Teach seminar at the University of Michigan. Brian Powers/University of Michigan hide caption

itoggle caption Brian Powers/University of Michigan

50 Great Teachers

Teaching Teachers To Teach: It's Not So Elementary

Michigan Radio

by Sarah Hulett

How are great teachers created? Practice, practice, practice, says Deborah Ball, dean of the University of Michigan School of Education.

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President Barack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan (left), at North High School in Des Moines this month. The White House and the Department of Education are calling on states to cut the "burden" of unnecessary testing.

President Barack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan (left), at North High School in Des Moines this month. The White House and the Department of Education are calling on states to cut the "burden" of unnecessary testing. Andrew Harnik/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Andrew Harnik/AP

K-12

Obama Wants Students To Stop Taking Unnecessary Tests

President Obama has directed the Education Department to help states cut back on tests that don't help students learn.

In a lesson on the patterns of immigration, a caption refers to slaves as "workers," prompting mom and educator Roni Dean-Burren to protest the caption on social media.

In a lesson on the patterns of immigration, a caption refers to slaves as "workers," prompting mom and educator Roni Dean-Burren to protest the caption on social media. Courtesy of Roni Dean-Burren hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of Roni Dean-Burren

K-12

Why Calling Slaves 'Workers' Is More Than An Editing Error

Houston Public Media News 88.7

by Laura Isensee

This high school geography textbook calls slaves "workers" and "immigrants." The publisher is working to correct the error, but what does it tell us about teaching history?

Mayan boy unraveling in the desert
LA Johnson/NPR

K-12

A Year Later: The School System That Welcomed Unaccompanied Minors

It's been a year since thousands of unaccompanied minors surged into the U.S. In the schools of Oakland, Calif., such children were seen not as a burden but as a challenge.

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