CONROE — It would have been so easy to surrender to the defeats and disappointments and walk away from school. The girls confronting unexpected pregnancies, the boys treading water in classes, the students falling so far behind that graduation seemed to recede into the horizon. Any of them could have become just another digit in the latest dropout count. Instead, they clambered back and worked their way to Conroe ISD's Hauke Alternative School, which takes its symbol from the phoenix, the mythical firebird that rises from its ashes to be born anew. On Thursday, 65 Hauke students who once teetered on the brink of failure will march across a stage to receive their high school diplomas - a moment many thought they would never reach. ... Continue reading →
Adam Nossiter/The New York Times Children as young as 10 trek for miles to get water for their families from wells in Niger, where droughts are frequent. ZINDER, Niger — Wars keep children out of school. So does sickness. But in Niger, a sun-baked land where drought occurs with alarming frequency, a major impediment to education is thirst and the long trek required to quench it. The school day had already begun on a recent morning as a procession of small children on donkeys, school-age all, made their way over a sandy field, joining other youths gathered with their animals around deep holes in the ground. As low rainfall has dried up the countryside, the search for water has become ever more difficult. The job ... Continue reading →
Inside E.A. Jones Elementary School, the battle against childhood obesity is being fought with fresh ingredients. Bulletin boards tout the merits of home gardens and expose the tongue-twisting preservatives in junk food. Students take a "food adventurer" pledge, promising to sample new recipes and never to utter the words "yuck" or "gross." Stainless steel bowls burst with a bounty of greens, vegetables and herbs freshly harvested from the school garden. And fifth-grade chefs sport aprons and spout exuberant reviews of their seed-to-plate cooking class. "I love it!" said Andy Jaime, 11, his eyes lighting up behind his glasses. "We learn about different types of food and how to eat healthy." It's a typical day in the Fort Bend ISD school's culinary classroom, where professional chefs ... Continue reading →
