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by Corey MitchellA group of Chicago parents and residents fighting to have a say in what happens to their neighborhood high school have entered the second week of a hunger strike.The Chicago Sun-Times reports that members of the Coalition to Revitalize Dyett High School havelobbied for years on behalf of the school, first to prevent a planned closure, then to put a new neighborhood school in the building.Read the rest of the story at Education Week.

Photo Credit: Ed Yourdonby Rebecca KleinStudents in America’s schools are much, much poorer than they were nine years ago.In 2006, 31 percent of America’s students attended schools in “high-poverty” districts, meaning that 20 percent or more of the district’s students lived below the federal poverty line. By 2013, however, this number jumped to over 49 percent, according to an analysis of U.S. Census estimates from the nonprofit EdBuild. This means that nearly half of the nation’s children between the ages of 5 and 17 attend schools in communities where a large chunk of families are struggling to get by.See the map and the rest of the story at the Huffington Post.

Photo Credit: dcJohnby Grace SmithThere will be no penalty for New York state school districts that had large numbers of students who refused to sit for the New York standardized tests this year.Education officials made the announcement to put to rest the uncertainty over how districts would respond to the anti-testing movement. Kate Taylor of The New York Times reports that state and federal officials had warned for months that districts that fell below the 95% participation rate might stand to lose federal funds. Leaders of the “opt-out movement” argued that these were nothing but empty threats.Read the rest of the story at Education News.

Photo Credit: U.S. Dept. of Agricultureby Amy SchimkeAs the second phase of Colorado’s “Breakfast After the Bell” law takes effect this fall, thousands more low-income students will have access to free breakfast served during school hours.It’s a development lauded by advocates who say the program improves attendance and achievement, but not always by administrators in the districts required to provide the universal free meals.Read the rest of the story at Chalkbeat Colorado.

Photo credit: Woodleywonderworksby Hallie JacksonLONDONDERRY, N.H. — Forget emails and immigration: the topic du jour for half-a-dozen Republican candidates Wednesday involved education.Topping the agenda at a policy forum in the key early-voting state of New Hampshire was Common Core, the school standards program that has become deeply unpopular among conservative voters in the Republican Party.Read the rest of the story at NBC News.

Photo Credit: U.S. Dept. of Agricultureby Ron NixonWASHINGTON — A majority of Americans support providing schoolchildren with healthy meals that consist of more fruits and vegetables and fewer foods high in calories and sodium, according to a national poll released on Tuesday by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. Read the rest of the story in The New York Times.

Photo credit: Timlewisnmby Leslie PostalThe study to determine whether Florida’s new standardized test is a valid one is due in Tallahassee on Sept. 1. The study of the Florida Standards Assessments is being run by two outside testing companies that have filed detailed reports on what they’ve done — but provided few clues on what, if anything, they’ve determined so far.Read the rest of the story at the SunSentinel.

On Sept. 15, 2005, two weeks after Katrina and the levee breaches, I drove with my parents into New Orleans. It was my 25th birthday.We used my press pass from The Village Voice to get past a military checkpoint so we could assess the damage to their home near Tulane University. It turned out to be minimal: a few slate tiles off the roof, tree limbs downed, a putrid refrigerator full of rotting food to drag to the curb.Read the rest of the story at NPR.org.

Photo credit: Woodleywonderworksby Ty TagamiThe vote is more than a year away, but debate over Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed takeover of failing schools has moved from the Capitol into community centers and schools themselves.It pits Georgia’s cherished ideal of local control of schools and tax dollars against the urgency to improve education via an “Opportunity School District.”Read the rest of the story at AJC.com.