by Sally Holland, CNN

Alice Springs, Australia (CNN) - In 9-year-old Georgia Auricht's classroom in the rural Australian bush town of Kulgera, there's only one other student - her older brother, Jake - and their teacher is 170 miles away.

"I love learning. I enjoy the math a lot and sometimes I like my times tables and I like a little bit of language too," said Georgia.

From the wide expanse of scrub bushes to the cows that wander onto the dusty roads, there's not much civilization in this part of Australia. Those who choose to live in the outback adapt to the isolation. Yet the community of a local school still brings them together, even from a distance.

The small School of the Air building in Alice Springs, Australia, caters to elementary and middle school students as much as 800 miles away, covering an area twice the size of Texas or ten times the size of England.

Georgia's father, Owen Auricht, is the officer in charge of Kulgera police station. His territory is so expansive and remote that it can take him five hours to get to a car accident in his jurisdiction.

Growth of the Internet has made distance learning much more common now than just a few decades ago, when he took classes at the School of the Air.

"Basically it was a radio the size of a six-pack of beer," said Auricht. "It was a little metal box that was linked up to an aerial on top of a schoolroom."

Auricht received all of his books via mail, generally from air drop, at the beginning of the school year. Every few weeks, he would mail his written work and tests to his teacher in Alice Springs to be graded.

Today's School of the Air students receive a complete IT setup including a satellite dish, computer, printer and scanner. They can see their teacher and the other students on the screen during classes, leading to more classroom interaction.
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by the CNN Wire Staff

Joplin, Missouri (CNN) - Calling the students an inspiration "to me (and) the world," President Barack Obama urged Joplin High School graduates Monday to heed the lessons they've learned and spirit they've shown to rebuild not only their tornado-ravaged Missouri city, but also their nation.

"America only succeeds when we all pitch in and pull together - and I'm counting on you to be leaders in that effort," said Obama. "Because you are from Joplin. And you've already defied the odds."

Minutes after 450 seniors from the same Missouri school got their diplomas last May 22, a monster twister tore through the community. More than 161 people were killed - the worst death toll for such a tornado since modern record-keeping began in 1950 - while dozens of buildings were torn to shreds by winds as strong as 200 mph.

One of them was Joplin High School itself, with the damage so severe that students ended up attending classes in a vacant section of the city's Northpark Mall.

Joplin 'on the mend' one year later

By Jacque Wilson, CNN

(CNN) - As the district director of physical education and health literacy for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Jayne Greenberg's annual budget is $0.

That's right - $0.

It's almost unbelievable when you know the statistics - that one in six U.S. children are obese, that nearly one-third are overweight, and that these rates are even higher for Hispanic children (of whom Miami has a high population).

But Greenberg doesn't despair. "I've been in my position since 1995 - I've never had a budget," she says. "It's always been up to me to find my own money."

She has also found a way to encourage students to sign up for gym class again.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools is one of nine regional finalists in the Active Schools Acceleration Project's first annual Innovation Competition. ASAP is an initiative started by ChildObesity180.org, an organization dedicated to reversing the trend in childhood obesity.

The requirements were simple: Schools had to show a way they were encouraging students to move throughout the day. The school's program had to be creative, include all fitness levels and be easy to duplicate in other districts.

Read the full story

By Carl Azuz, CNN

(CNN) Graduates at both the high school and college levels can easily get lost in the complexities of money management, planning and work ethic. But let’s start with the big one. When it comes to common slip-ups by recent graduates, social media are a virtual black hole.

Social media missteps

By now, seniors have heard the warnings – that what they post online is rarely, completely private. You know how you wouldn’t want embarrassing photos or information about your last breakup appearing in a school yearbook? Well, think of Facebook and Twitter as a yearbook for the entire world. And if you're a college graduate whose profile picture reveals a funnel, a frothy drink, and the Jersey Shore (or Lake Havasu…or Daytona Beach…or a Caribbean cruise), there’s a possibility that the company you want to work for will see it.

But while some Facebook pictures and wall posts can be taken down, students won’t get the chance to take down their public tweets. They’re exactly that – public – and they’re now scheduled to stay that way forever.

The Library of Congress is keeping a Twitter archive for posterity. And no matter who you are, how old you are, or what you’ve ever written about in 140 characters or less, every single public tweet EVER is being archived. Does that mean that a potential employer/spouse/child/admissions officer will be able to read what you wrote back in 2009? Yes. Can you take your tweets back? No. The only thing you can do is make your future tweets private – a setting that will keep them from being archived. But everything that’s ever been publicly shared will stay that way.

Summer slacking

Social media aren’t the only danger zones for graduates, of course. Another potential stumbling block is the coveted summer break. Between the ninth and tenth grades, you might've kicked back, relaxed, worked only when needed (or convenient), and ruled the pool. But recent college graduates who stay in that pattern are almost certain to lose whatever jobs are available to those who started their search before they even donned a cap and gown.

And if you’re leaving high school for higher education, you don’t want to be lost when you land on campus. You’ll have to learn how to register for class. Larger campuses will have bus routes you won’t know, and there’s a lot of stuff in your bedroom and your bathroom at home that won’t be included in a dorm. So taking some time to get the lay of the land at college, to do some shopping in advance, or just to work up a transition plan will pay off – and give you more time to go to ice-cream mixers while your dormmates go to Target.

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By Jim Redovian, Special to CNN

Editor’s note: Jim Redovian is a father of six children, all educated in the public school system; he has two grandchildren attending public schools. He is a former board member for the DeKalb County School District, which covers much of the eastern half of the Atlanta metro area. It is the third-largest district in Georgia and one of the nation’s 30 largest.

Being a product of the public school system in Northern Ohio, my education came from a system that had less than 30,000 students and only one high school. It was governed by a Board of Education elected by the residents of our city and administrated by a superintendent hired by the board, all of whom were important parts of the community in which the students lived.

Fast forward twenty years and I am an adult with children of my own who are attending a system very similar to the one I was brought up in. As a young businessman, I couldn’t help but think that the duplication of services among the small cities would be more economical if systems were combined into larger entities to share such services as superintendent, management, bus service, food service, board of education and human resources. It just made sense to my business instincts.

I moved to Atlanta in late 1977 and was introduced to just that type of school system. I have learned a lot in the 35 years I have been involved as a parent, volunteer and ultimately a member of the elected nine-member Board of Education. Bigger is not always better.
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By Andrea Woroch, Special to CNN

Editor’s note: Andrea Woroch is a nationally-recognized consumer and money-saving expert who helps consumers live on less without radically changing their lifestyles. You can follow her on Twitter @AndreaWoroch for daily savings advice and tips.

Graduation marks a pivotal moment in every college student’s life as he or she says good bye to carefree school days and enters the real world. Making the transition into responsible adulthood has never been easy, but hefty student loans and a lackluster job market makes it more difficult for our younger generation than ever. With so many money worries to face, a thoughtful graduation gift could make all the difference.

Here are several practical gift ideas to help college grads get a kickstart on post-academic life.

1.  A Check

Money is a much appreciated gift as most college grads leave school with surmounting debt and bills to pay. In fact, student debt in the U.S. has peaked at nearly $1 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and that scary figure is sure to haunt young professionals for years to come. Consider giving a check towards the principal of the grad’s student loan or credit card.

2. Gift Cards

Recent grads face lots of new expenses, whether living on their own or traveling for job interviews. Creating an online gift card registry at CardAvenue.com will help family and friends find the most preferred gift cards to curb everyday expenses whether for restaurants, department stores, supermarkets or gas stations.

3. Moving Services

Four years of college ensures that your grad has accumulated a lot of clutter. Moving home or into a first apartment is an expense that many overlook, however, the cost of a truck, gas, boxes and the movers themselves can get extremely pricey. Consider contributing to the move by picking up the tab for the truck and provide assistance with loading or unloading boxes and furniture.
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CNN education contributor Dr. Steve Perry says he isn't a fan of gap years because that's what summer is for.

From Starting Point: A Utah high school might have to make cuts to programs like music and theater after being fined by the government for soda.

Editor's note: Chelsea Clinton is a board member of Common Sense Media, a nonprofit advocacy organization focused on media and technology's effects on children and teens, and wrote the foreword to "Talking Back to Facebook." James P. Steyer is founder and CEO of Common Sense Media and the author of "Talking Back to Facebook."

By Chelsea Clinton and James P. Steyer, Special to CNN

(CNN) - Amid the buzz over the Facebook IPO, the ever-evolving theories about how Twitter is reshaping our communications and speculation about where the next social media-enabled protest or revolution will occur, there is an important question we've largely ignored. What are the real effects of all this on the huge segment of the population most affected by social media themselves: our children and our teens?

The explosive growth of social media, smartphones and digital devices is transforming our kids' lives, in school and at home. Research tells us that even the youngest of our children are migrating online, using tablets and smartphones, downloading apps. Consumer Reports reported last year that more than 7.5 million American kids under the age of 13 have joined Facebook, which technically requires users to be 13 years old to open an account. No one has any idea of what all of this media and technology use will mean for our kids as they grow up.

By the time they're 2 years old, more than 90% of all American children have an online history. At 5, more than 50% regularly interact with a computer or tablet device, and by 7 or 8, many kids regularly play video games. Teenagers text an average of 3,400 times a month. The fact is, by middle school, our kids today are spending more time with media than with their parents or teachers, and the challenges are vast: from the millions of young people who regret by high school what they've already posted about themselves online to the widely documented rise in cyberbullying to the hypersexualization of female characters in video games.

These challenges also include traditional media and the phenomenon of "ratings creep" in the movies that our kids consume. Movies today - even G-rated ones - contain significantly more sex and violence, on average, than movies with the same rating 10 or 20 years ago.

The impact of heavy media and technology use on kids' social, emotional and cognitive development is only beginning to be studied, and the emergent results are serious.

Read Clinton and Steyer's full column

by Donna Krache, CNN

(CNN) - The Florida Department of Education has released the results of its most recent statewide standardized tests, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test  in reading and writing.

Results for the FCAT reading tests for grades nine and 10 showed that 52% of those students were reading at or above grade level, virtually unchanged from 2011, according to the Florida Department of Education.

This year’s writing test results, however, revealed a far different story. Writing scores have plunged. Last year 81% of fourth-graders scored a 4 (at grade level) or higher on a 6-point scale. This year, only 27% did.

Last year, 82% of eighth-graders scored a 4 or higher. This year, only 33% did. Among 10th-graders last year, 80% scored 4 or higher, but in 2012, 38% did.

A 4 used to be the score that demonstrated that a student was performing at grade level, but in an emergency meeting last week, the state Board of Education decided to revise that benchmark to a 3.

The board said it didn’t want to lower grading standards but took action while the state looks for reasons why writing scores dropped so much this year.
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