Education

The University of Arkansas today released what it calls a "first ever" study exploring the relationship between charter school funding and student achievement.

Imagine a school where classes are organized not by subject but by project — a school created not by administrators, but by teachers fed up with the status quo. A school where kids from a city's toughest neighborhoods are given the opportunity to experiment and the freedom to fail.

In West Philadelphia, that school is a reality. It's called The Workshop School.

Gov. Walker jolted quite a few Wisconsin school districts last week when he proposed scrapping Common Core standards that have been in the works for years.

Many people are intensely interested in how publicly funded charter schools affect children, and that includes not just their academic achievement but their health.

Researchers from UCLA and the Rand Corp. wanted to know whether attending a high-performing charter school reduced the rates of risky health behaviors among low-income minority teenagers.

It's the first day of school at Hall Fletcher Elementary in Asheville, N.C. Principal Gordon Grant stands outside in a white suit and bow tie, greeting students. The kids arrive sporting fresh haircuts and new shoes. One even wears a tutu.

Twenty-year-old Taneka Armstrong wants to land a high-tech job, but her day starts at Taco Bell.

Armstrong stands behind a steel counter, making Burrito Supremes and ringing up customers. She counts pennies and quarters. She also gets orders from her bosses, who she says can be pretty condescending.

"They're just like, 'Oh, did you know that already?' Or, 'Can you do this?' " she says. "Yes, I've been doing it, for almost a year now."

Late Thursday, Gov. Walker urged legislators to repeal the Common Core education standards the state has been moving toward and create new ones.

When we talk about playing and learning, we naturally think of children's museums. Most major cities offer some experience like this, where kids are able to get their hands dirty, and — shocking! — learn something at the same time.

The museums — at least the good ones — are always both engaging and interactive in a way that's fun for kids, but they're also fun for grown-ups too. As we've been reporting for our series on play next month, it got me wondering: What goes into creating great museum experiences, and how do designers go about them?

Anyone involved in manufacturing knows how complicated the process of designing, building and shipping a product can be.

At UW-Milwaukee, a great deal of thought and expertise is devoted to the study of those supply chains between a customer and the manufacturer.

On this edition of UWM Today, host Tom Luljak talks with Anthony Ross, who is the Rockwell Automation Endowed Chair in Supply Chain Management in the Lubar School of Business.

Listen to this story on Morning Edition.

After a long reign as the fastest-growing and most problematic sector in higher education, for-profit colleges are on the ropes.