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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

Friday

Education

Faith-Based Hiring Spat Threatens Head Start

As Congress considers the reauthorization of the 40-year-old Head Start program for young children, a key concern is whether local programs should be able to hire employees based on their religious background. Democrats are threatening to derail the legislation over the issue.

Faith-Based Hiring Spat Threatens Head Start

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Tuesday

Friday

Education

Head Start Study Suggests Minimal Benefits

The results of a new large-scale study of the federal Head Start program suggest that in some areas, the childhood development program produces only minimal, short-term benefits. The findings are from the study's first phase. Program supporters say it's too early to draw conclusions.

Head Start Study Suggests Minimal Benefits

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Wednesday

National

System Fails Welfare Recipients in Chicago Area

A new study outlines the causes of a dramatic decline in Chicago-area welfare cases. Researchers found that bureaucratic delays and inefficiency are in large part to blame.

System Fails Welfare Recipients in Chicago Area

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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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