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Rachel Jones Rachel Jones reports on education, social policy, and welfare reform issues at NPR. She has also covered children’s health and development, as well as well as racial disparities in health care.
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Rachel Jones

Thursday

Paying for College

Going Back to School, and Paying for It

This week on All Things Considered, we've been hearing from families struggling to pay for their children's education. Today we examine what happens when parents themselves go back to school -- and come face to face with the costs.

Going Back to School, and Paying for It

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Friday

Education

Maine's School Laptop Computer Program Revisited

Three years ago, Maine became the first state to give out laptops to every 7th and 8th grader in the public schools. We look at how the program is working.

Maine's School Laptop Computer Program Revisited

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Thursday

National

Study: Post-Foster Care, Teens Unprepared for Adult Life

Most states stop providing housing, medical care and other services for foster care youth at age 18. New research suggests that many leaving the system are not yet ready to handle life on their own.

Study: Post-Foster Care, Teens Unprepared for Adult Life

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Tuesday

Children's Health

Changes to Voucher Program Aim to Improve Diets

Federal officials want to improve the diets of poor families who depend on a federal food program. Changes to WIC -- the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children that serves 7 million Americans -- would encourage mothers to breastfeed and to use vouchers to buy fruits and vegetables.

Changes to Voucher Program Aim to Improve Diets

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Wednesday

Education

Teachers, Schools Challenge No Child Left Behind Law

Nine school districts and the nation's largest teacher's union file a federal lawsuit in Michigan claiming the No Child Left Behind Act has placed new demands on school districts without providing the funding to pay for them.

Teachers, Schools Challenge No Child Left Behind Law

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Saturday

Children's Health

Study Finds Link Between Daycare, Aggression

A government study on daycare suggests that the quality of daycare matters more than the amount of time a child spends there. But researchers also found that in some cases, long-term daycare can make children more aggressive.

Study Finds Link Between Daycare, Aggression

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Wednesday

Sports

Maine Aims to Ease Pressures on Student Athletes

A new Maine initiative seeks to change the culture of competitiveness for student athletes, especially at the middle and high school level. The project urges coaches and parents to acknowledge negative behaviors surrounding school sports, and make a public pledge to change them.

Maine Aims to Ease Pressures on Student Athletes

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Wednesday

Health

Journal Focuses on Black-White Mortality Gap

In an issue of the journal Health Affairs that is devoted to racial disparities in health care, former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher calls for greater equality in health care to close the gaps between blacks and whites in death rates and life expectancy.

Journal Focuses on Black-White Mortality Gap

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Thursday

Education

University Program Courts Black Male Teaching Students

A program at South Carolina's Clemson University and other colleges strives to ease the drastic shortage of black male teachers in the state's elementary schools.

University Program Courts Black Male Teaching Students

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Sunday

Education

Governors Focus on High School

Forty-two of the nation's governors come to Washington to demand more funding for education at the National Education Summit. At issue are the costs many states are incurring in their attempts to follow the No Child Left Behind Act.

Governors Focus on High School

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Wednesday

Education

College Grading System Considers Student Effort

A historically black college in South Carolina rewards students not just for the quality of their work, but for the effort they put into it. But some complain that the policy puts the value of students' education into question.

College Grading System Considers Student Effort

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Saturday

Health Care

Aiding Those on Wrong Side of Health-Care Divide

While low-wage workers are the least likely to have health insurance, they are the most likely to have serious health problems. The problem is highlighted at a clinic which reaches out to people who earn too much to be eligible for Medicaid. but whose jobs carry no insurance.

Aiding Those on Wrong Side of Health-Care Divide

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Friday

Indian Ocean Tsunami 2004-05

Tsunami Disaster Puts Focus on Child Trafficking

Many are concerned that children orphaned by the tsunami disaster are being kidnapped or sold into slavery. Though most such reports have proven false, authorities in countries affected by the disaster are taking steps to protect young victims from exploitation. Hear NPR's Rachel Jones.

Tsunami Disaster Puts Focus on Child Trafficking

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Friday

National

Medicaid on Rise in Budgets

A report released by the National Governors Association finds that, for the first time, 22 states are spending more on Medicaid than on K through 12 education. The study suggest this surprising new trend isn't going to change anytime soon. NPR's Rachel Jones reports.

Medicaid on Rise in Budgets

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Friday

National

Study Finds Mixed Results in Hope Six Housing Project

New research examines what happens to residents displaced in the federal Hope Six program. The 14-year-old program seeks to tear down old public housing projects and replace them with a mixture of affordable housing. NPR's Rachel Jones reports.

Study Finds Mixed Results in Hope Six Housing Project

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