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The AP (1/23, Armario) reported, "The number of states requiring public high schools to offer a personal finance course rose from nine to 15 between 2007 and 2009, according to the Council for Economic Education." And in some districts, the "lessons...start young." For instance, in Miami-Dade County, FL, "social studies classes at every grade level have an economics component. ... In kindergarten, that starts with discussing needs versus wants." Because "squeezing a separate personal finance class into the curriculum can still be difficult as schools focus on state and federal testing standards while dealing with budget constraint," The AP points out, many schools offer personal finance "as part of another subject rather than a separate course."

The Dallas Morning News (1/24, Haag, 350K) reported that "online auction sites and marketplaces" for teachers to sell their lesson plans has allowed some teachers to boost "their incomes by selling thousands of dollars worth of lesson plans a year." Still, some "legal and ethical questions remain" such as "who owns the education materials, and does a school district deserve all or a cut of the money a teacher makes?" According to the Morning News, there is no clear answer to these and other questions surrounding the practice. "Online lesson plan marketplaces...are so new that some North Texas school districts say they haven't heard of them." Consequently, the districts "have no policies or rules that directly apply to teachers buying or selling education materials." Policies some districts state that "any materials created by employees while at school belong to the district." However, the Morning News points out, "applying those policies, which likely predate the Internet, might be difficult."

The Fort Wayne (IN) Journal-Gazette (1/24, Soderlund) reported, "Not meeting federal accountability standards can mean a lot of hard work for school officials. But for private tutoring companies, it means big business." According to the Journal-Gazette, "If a school fails to meet the standards under No Child Left Behind for two consecutive years, that school must pay for private tutors to help struggling students." According to the Journal-Gazette, "Indiana public school districts spent more than $13.7 million on private tutoring services for low-income and low-performing students in the 2008-09 school year, according to the state Department of Education." Before No Child Left Behind, districts "were not required to pay for private tutoring."

The Livingston (MI) Daily Press & Argus (1/24, Rose-Church) reported that the focus on handwriting in teacher training decreased significantly in the 1970s, and "ten years later, the number of students experiencing handwriting difficulties was on the rise." Tara DiMilia of Handwriting Without Tears explained, "In general, what has happened over the last 25 to 30 years with handwriting, with the onset of computers and technology, is the mind-set we don't need handwriting anymore." But, she added, "We can't eliminate (handwriting) completely -- we need it for jobs, and its important to student success." According to experts, handwriting is currently making a comeback, "but it still takes a backseat to the pressure to teach to tests." The resurgence of handwriting in schools is due, in part, to standards set by states such as Michigan, which requires that students learn "how to form uppercase and lowercase manuscript letters in kindergarten and first grade" and learn "cursive writing in second grade."

North Carolina's News & Observer (1/24, Ranii) reported, "Months before Haiti was devastated by an earthquake, a Ligon Middle School class wrestled with the problem of engineering buildings to withstand seismic shifts." The students participated in "the statewide Future City Competition on Saturday" at North Carolina State University that was "part of a national competition sponsored by a coalition of engineering groups." The News & Observer lists some of the "innovations unveiled in Saturday's competition."

        Students Showcase Green Engineering Skills For Future City Competition. The AP (1/25) reports, "South Carolina middle schoolers are getting a chance to show off their skills in green engineering" through the Future City Competition, which is sponsored by Savannah River Nuclear Solutions and USC Aiken. The students "are asked to design a city model using software, then build the city using recycled materials. They also write an essay on green living design." The winners of the state competition will visit Washington next month for the national finals.

        WGRZ-TV Buffalo, NY (1/24) reports on the Future City Competition at the Mount St. Mary Academy, where participants got "to see engineering as a direct influence on their lives and why math and science are relevant to their world." According to the article, "the future cities were imaginative and showed a positive outlook on the future. They were constructed from recycled materials and built for less than $100." This year, the project center around the theme, "Providing an Affordable Living Space for People Who Have Lost Their Home Due To a Disaster or Financial Emergency."

The Denton Record Chronicle (1/23, Tabor) reported on an event at Sanger's Butterfield Elementary School this week called, "Beautiful You," which "is designed to increase girls' self-esteem." The event involved "student facilitators" from the local high school, "female teachers and mothers for a series of exercises discussing body image, effects of bullying, labels people place on others, and how beauty is perceived and what it truly is." The program was created by two Family, Career and Community Leaders of America students at Sanger High. "The two said they plan to offer similar programs at schools across Sanger and enter the program in a contest next month."

The Columbus (OH) Dispatch (1/25, Richards) reports, "Ohio school districts are spending money meant for disabled students to stabilize their shaky budgets, and the state has made it easier for them to do so." Many Ohio districts are receiving double the average amount for special education programs through a $438 million "federal stimulus" reserved for special education. "The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act says that, in years where districts receive more special-education funding, they can reduce their local spending by up to 50 percent of the increase." Last year, however, "the Ohio Department of Education lowered the requirements," allowing "99 percent of Ohio" districts and charter schools to redirect money. Critics say this provision cheats students with special needs.

The Indianapolis Star (1/24, Ruthhart) reported that under Indiana "Senate Bill 309, school administrators could take money from transportation and capital projects accounts and spend those funds on operating expenses." However, the flexibility would only be granted to "school districts where teachers and staff forgo pay raises in the 2010-11 school year." Although Indiana Association of School Business Officials Executive Director Dennis Costerison said "his group supports additional flexibility to transfer funds," he added that "he was uncertain how many districts would be able to achieve salary concessions from teacher and employee unions." Moreover, "the bill's ban on increased pay also would apply to increases in benefits and to step increases, which are required under state law to provide teachers raises for each year of experience," said Costerison.

The Providence (RI) Journal (1/25, Jordan) reports that the Rhode Island Department of Education "is developing a proposal for a school-financing formula that education officials hope will receive prompt legislative support, even if it means some Rhode Island cities and towns will lose out - a prospect that has derailed previous attempts to establish a formula." Rhode Island "abandoned its previous formula years ago and is the only state without one. For the past 15 years, lawmakers have simply added an across-the-board percentage increase, kept the allocations the same, or even cut state aid to schools."

The New York Times (1/24, A27A, Weintraub) reported that Kristin Richmond and Kirsten Tobey "founded Revolution Foods Inc. to ride a political and economic wave: surging support for healthier food in school cafeterias." According to the Times, what began as a graduate school class project "is now a growing company with headquarters in Oakland [CA], 240 employees and operations in Los Angeles, Denver and Washington." Revolution Foods' meals "are prepared fresh daily and feature foods free of artificial preservatives, colors, flavors and sweeteners. Every lunch includes fresh fruit and vegetables."

The Washington Post (1/23, Booth, Wilson) reported that the destruction of Haiti's school system by the earthquake Jan 12 is seen as a threat to the nation's future. "Education officials here estimate that the quake erased thousands of campuses, and at least 75 percent of those in the capital lie in ruins." According to the Post, "the prevalence of schools" in Haiti "highlights their social importance. Nearly every block has one, with many meeting in multiple sessions into the evening." Many students died inside school buildings, including the building for the Andre Malraux School, where up to 30 students lingered in one classroom after the final bell, "cramming in a few extra minutes of study to pass upcoming national exams needed to go on to college." Now, some "officials are trying to gather student records from the debris" in case "the ministry attempts to send them outside the country for studies until the schools here are repaired."

The Chicago Tribune (1/25, Casillas, Mills, 534K) reports, "In spite of Chicago Public Schools chief Ron Huberman's pledge to help at-risk teenagers, in some instances school officials are undermining that effort, making it difficult for such troubled youths to return to school after they have been incarcerated, according to judges, attorneys, probation officials and others in the juvenile justice system." According to the Tribune, "In some cases, officials refuse to re-admit students for fear they will disrupt classes or be violent but do not move to formally transfer or expel students as school rules and the law requires. In other cases, parents cannot navigate the school district's bureaucracy to re-enroll their children after they have been in custody or suspended."

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