Education News

Some Wyoming school districts are offering starting teachers close to $40,000 a year, which is as much as $20,000 more than some rural districts in Montana,

Programs, public and private, are starting or expanding as research shows kids suffer health problems, including obesity, from too much sedentary time indoors with TV and computers.

The percentage of children ages 3 to 5 who attended early childhood care and education programs — including day care, Head Start, pre-kindergarten and nursery schools — increased from 53 percent in 1991 to 60 percent in 1999. It then decreased to 57 percent in 2005.

“This is a cutting-edge example of the kind of economic development strategies that state and local areas will increasingly want to pursue,” predicted Mr. Bartik, a member of the school board and an economist at W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, a local non-profit think tank. “The issue is broader than just the merits of tuition assistance programs. The issue is how communities and states can develop and attract human capital.”

“Higher education is
now nearly essential
for success in Maine’s
workplace. But almost
two-thirds of Maine
adults—455,000 individuals
—do not hold a
college degree, and some
7,000 young people leave
high school each year
with no immediate plans
to enroll in college.” An advisory panel called Thursday for dramatic growth in Maine’s community colleges to help the state meet an increasing demand for skilled workers.

“We believe this whole issue of properly preparing students for a global society is very key.” William DeLauder, executive director of the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program

We can also do a better job of ensuring students are adequately prepared for college.

"The power of knowledge is most relevant when applied outside of the classroom,"

"SKC has done a remarkable job training heavy equipment operators and
truck drivers," said MDT Director Jim Lynch. "The college serves a key
role in providing skilled individuals to work in the state’s $350
million-a-year highway construction industry."

“Everybody up there in Ravalli County is so excited they can hardly stand it,”