Education

Alberto Carvalho runs the nation's fourth largest school district — Miami Dade Public Schools. Since he took over four years ago, the district's turnaround has been nothing short of "miraculous", or so his supporters say. During his tenure the dropout rate has plummeted. The high school graduation rate has climbed to record levels and test scores for all students are way up. How did Carvalho do it?

Libraries have been digitizing their collections for years, but the materials can be hard to find. Enter the Digital Public Library of America. Worried that Google has an outsized hand in digitizing books, the DPLA is combining, on one site, the digital collections of libraries nationwide — free.

Werner Herzog's latest project is a slight departure for the acclaimed filmmaker: a 35-minute public service announcement on the dangers of texting and driving. Yes, it's long, he says, but the "inner landscape" of great suffering such accidents can cause "can only be shown if you have more time."

Armed with technology know-how, teens and preteens are learning to hack everyday items and find bugs for major tech giants. Their work can pay off, with companies offering rewards for fixes.

The decision by a suburban Birmingham school district to eliminate its busing program has erupted into a controversy over race and class. Officials in the Hoover school district say they were forced to drop the buses because of a severe budget shortfall. Many community members believe the decision was designed to force out the growing numbers of minority and low-income students who are lowering average test scores in Hoover schools.

With the implementation of the new Common Core standards, parents across the country will notice a few changes in their kids' math homework.

While children attending academically enriching summer camps can improve their education over the summer, kids without the same opportunities might stagnate. Little slips can compound over time, research shows, widening the achievement gap later in life.

An 18-year-old from Florida is the youngest person to be admitted to the bar in the United Kingdom.

After much drama, the Senate finally voted on a student loan bill that would tie the borrower's rate to the 10-year Treasury note on Wednesday. The proposal is a bipartisan compromise and similar both to a House plan and one offered by President Obama.

The charter school movement turns 21 this year and the latest study shows kids in most charter schools are doing as well or better in reading and math than their counterparts in traditional public schools. But now, leading charter school supporters are questioning that study.

Budget cuts and layoffs are hitting teachers in Philadelphia. But the city and a local developer are hoping to offer some relief: a housing project designed for them. At a similar project in Baltimore, having fellow teachers as neighbors brings support and camaraderie after a tough day at work.