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It wasn’t news to many of the educators across the country, but the poverty numbers recently released are still alarming. With an economic slowdown well into its third year and unemployment figures still reaching double digits in some areas, poverty rates are up as well. According to recent data released from the U.S. Census Bureau, the rate of poverty across the United States has gone up 1.6 percent, although some individual states are seeing even larger increases. This translates to more than one million children nationwide who have now been added to the poverty rolls.

Poverty Widespread Across the Country

The U.S. Census Bureau report shows that statistically significant increases in poverty were seen in about 20 percent of the country. As many as 653 counties experienced poverty increases among children between 2007 and 2010, and only eight counties nationwide reported a poverty decrease. The data provided represents single-year figures of 2007 and 2010 to study the change in poverty levels since the recession began. The numbers provided by the U.S. Census Bureau help to determine the distribution of federal and state funding to local communities.

Nationally, nearly 20 percent of children qualify as poor, according to a report in the . In addition, one-third of the total counties in the country have thresholds well above that level, while one-quarter boasts numbers below the national average. Some of the states that showed the highest increases over four years were New Jersey, Nevada, Florida,

Facing pressure and a potential lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union, a small Missouri agreed to discontinue voluntary, single-sex classes in its schools. The Adrian R-III school district is not the first to come into the ACLU fight over single-sex classrooms since the U.S. Department of Education approved the practice under specific conditions in 2006. Single-sex classrooms have been the source of debate between government leaders and educators for some time, as studies supporting the practice have been somewhat inconclusive, but concerns over equal rights for both genders have come into question.

This CBS News video discusses single-sex schools.

Why Missouri Began Offering Single-Sex Classes

According to a report at Reuters, the Missouri school district began offering single-sex classes to certain grades in their schools this year. Students in grades 6 through 8 were the primary recipients of this choice, although some higher grades received single-sex class options as well. Class options included math and communication art, according to . The superintendent of Adrian schools, Kirk Eidson, said the decision was made in the interest of students since some research indicates that students may perform better in single-sex classrooms.

“There were some behavioral issues that impacted learning,” Eidson explained to Reuters in regards to the co-ed classes. Eidson added that students who chose to participate in single-sex classrooms this year were doing better with fewer classroom distractions.

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The big yellow school bus that lumbers through residential streets throughout the school year is a sight often taken for granted by parents and students alike. However, those buses may become scarce in New York if dire predictions about a transportation strike in New York City ring true. A union representing city school bus drivers has warned of an impending strike if their labor demands are not met soon.

The Dispute Leading Up to Strike Talk

According to a New York Daily News report, local 1181 of the Amalgamated Transit Union is the group threatening the strike. The primary point of contention is a demand by the union that pre-kindergarten bus drivers receive seniority-based job protection like other school bus drivers in the city. The union wants these bus drivers to receive protection, even if their current company does not win a new contract. The concern arose when city officials began talking about collecting bids for a new transportation company when the contract expires in June of next year.

The president of the drivers’ union, Michael Cordiello, told the Wall Street Journal that if the city did away with senior protections for experienced drivers, the result could be many more unprepared bus drivers on the streets of New York City. He mentioned a charter bus accident in the Bronx that occurred in May, killing 15 people.

This video reports on the 2013 school bus strike in New York City.

A new report card is out for charter schools this month, courtesy of Mathematica Policy Research. The study is considered to be the most comprehensive, longitudinal study on charter school networks to date, and it offers valuable information on whether these public schools are serving the purpose originally intended for them. While data is somewhat mixed throughout the study, there are a few key facts that can be taken from the research to explain why some charter schools are more effective than others.

The CMO and the Study

The Mathematica study revolves around data collected on charter school management organizations or CMOs. These organizations serve as networks that operate multiple charter schools. Currently, there are around 130 CMOs across the country that are responsible for meeting the needs of approximately 250,000 students. While this number does not encompass all of the charter schools in operation currently, the number of schools overseen by CMOs has been growing. According to the , CMOs started out overseeing about six percent of all charter schools. Today, that number has grown to 17 percent.

According to a press release on Mathematica’s website, this latest study selected 40 CMOs to examine management practices and instruction methodology at 40 of these organizations to determine how effective they were in impacting the achievement of students within their schools. Of that 40, 22 networks provided sufficient data for accurate analysis. The core of the study was achievement in the middle school years,

Healthy bodies are the first step to preparing young minds for the rigors of academic studies. Research has shown a straightforwardlink between students' physical health and their educational success. One program that has successfully merged the two is Fuel Up to Play 60, a nutrition and physical activity program designed for the classroom. This year marks the third anniversary of the successful program, and more schools than ever before are gearing up to motivate students to develop healthy lifestyle habits and take charge of their physical health.

What is Fuel Up to Play 60?

Fuel Up to Play 60 is a partnership program between the National Dairy Council and the National Football League. The program also receives significant support from the United States Department of Agriculture. The fundamentals of Fuel Up to Play 60 include teaching children how to make nutritious food choices and encouraging them to get a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity every single day. The program comes at a critical point, with obesity among children reaching nearly epidemic proportions currently. Today, children are facing many of the obesity-related health conditions that were once reserved for adults only, such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and the early signs of cardiovascular disease.

"We need to provide today's youth with opportunities to make their own health decisions and access fun ways to live a healthy lifestyle," Jean Ragalie, RD, President of the National Dairy Council, stated in a press release on