Saturday, December 9, 2023 | 
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Gretchen Krebs

Researchers found that light quality and classroom color both contributed significantly to student learning rates.
Education
New U.K. study says classroom building design has significant impact on learning rates
Researchers from the U.K. were surprised to discover how big an impact room features like color and light have on student learning.
By Gretchen Krebs
This June 27, 2012 file photo shows an American flag flying in front of the Supreme Court in Washington.
Education
25 years of censorship: How Hazelwood silences students’ personal, political, religious expression
Saturday is the 25th anniversary of the Hazelwood decision to allow schools to censor student writing in official school publications. Here’s a look at how the decision has been applied to censor personal, political and religious student expression.
By Gretchen Krebs
The New York Times reports almost half of surveyed colleges expect full-time enrollment to decline and a third of schools expect declines in tuition revenues relative to inflation.
Education
Colleges expect full-time enrollment to decline, annual survey reveals
Moody’s Investors Service has a new report showing more colleges are expecting declines in enrollment and revenue.
By Gretchen Krebs
Have schools improved the way they educate girls, or have they just made it harder for boys to succeed?
Education
Girls are getting better grades than boys, but is anyone getting a good education?
Have schools improved the way they educate girls, or have they just made it harder for boys to succeed?
By Gretchen Krebs
Students listen during Valerie Gates' ESL class at West High School in Salt Lake City, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013. At front are Mike Eugene Gonzalez, center, and Huy Huynh.
Education
An American education: refugees and new immigrants face challenges to graduation
Despite excitement for school, English language learners, especially new arrivals, face an uphill battle toward graduation.
By Gretchen Krebs
Hannah Kunkel hugs her their-grade teacher Megan Chapman, whom Hannah's mom credits with helping her once-shy daughter to reach her potential in school.
Family
Better teacher careers yield better student outcomes
As parents know and studies show, a great teacher like Chapman can have a lifelong impact on a child’s personal and academic development. Great teachers can raise a student’s confidence, test scores, lifetime educational achievement and even their adult earning potential. As Stephanie Kunkle, Hannah’s mother puts it, “a teacher like that is just worth their weight in gold.”
By Gretchen Krebs
Utah
‘Fiscal cliff’ impact on schools will be uneven
With the “fiscal cliff” deadline a few days away and no new attempts in Washington, D.C., to avert it, already lean school systems continue to brace themselves for sudden funding cuts. How will your child’s school fare?
By Gretchen Krebs
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Faith
Will Texas scrap its textbooks because of religious bias?
A recent analysis of Texas social studies textbooks has revealed a religious bias, but the details are unexpected.
By Gretchen Krebs
Can better high school math and science fix the problem or do we need to overhaul the way we pay for graduate degrees?
Business
Mismatch between jobs and workers stems from ‘education gap’ not a ‘skills gap’
At every level, from high school to grad school, workers to employers, the real gap is in expectations and education. Can better high school math and science fix the problem or do we need to overhaul the way we pay for graduate degrees?
By Gretchen Krebs
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Ross Hrynewych, a Marine with Marine Forces Pacific, runs alongside his neighbor, Alex Lomax, during Mary Fay Pendleton School’s “Run to Afghanistan” at the school track, March 29, 2012. Along with teachers, family members, service
Education
Operation Educate the Educators helps schools support military-connected students
Military-connected students face unique challenges that many teachers are unprepared to meet. Operation Educate the Educators aims to change that.
By Gretchen Krebs
Schools are starting to capitalize on the technology students love to use, including smartphones, tablets, and other personal devices.
U.S. & World
Smartphones can have a huge impact on student achievement
Schools are starting to capitalize on the technology students love to use, including smartphones, tablets, and other personal devices. In one study, test scores improved by 30 percent after smartphones were introduced to low-income students.
By Gretchen Krebs
In this Friday, Oct. 19, 2012 photo, students study in a library on the campus of California State University, Long Beach in Long Beach, Calif.
Utah
How did education fare in this election? In California, voters choose higher taxes over cutting school budgets
Six states had education initiatives on their ballots this year. In California, voters choose higher taxes over cutting school budgets.
By Gretchen Krebs
A teacher is evaluated at Harry S. Truman Elementary in West Valley City. Policymakers are beginning to recognize that good teaching goes far beyond getting children to fill in answer bubbles.
Utah
A better way to grade teachers: Grading on how teachers promote student learning rather than test scores
Nikhil Goyal says the learning stopped in third grade when his class began to prepare for state-mandated math and English tests.
By Gretchen Krebs
Mountainville Academy fifth graders do an outdoors science project on Friday, April 1, 2011. The charter school has escalated from a struggling school to an academically successful school. (Photo/Laura Seitz)
U.S. & World
At charter schools, high enrollment, low oversight bring mixed results
Across the country, communities continue to put energy and dollars into charter schools, despite the lack of both oversight and convincing results.
By Gretchen Krebs
Nikhil Goyal, 17-year-old author and advocate for the role of student voice in education reform.
Utah
Students suggest better ways to grade teachers
Over the next few years, school systems in cities across the U.S., including Memphis, Chicago, New York, Pittsburgh, and Denver, will phase in teacher evaluations that combine several measures to give a better picture of teacher success.
By Gretchen Krebs
Children in military families often move six to nine times between preschool and graduation, and many go months without seeing a parent who is on active duty. Frequent moves can disrupt their social lives and academic progress, while personal knowledge of
Utah
To teach military kids, educate the educators
Operation Educate the Educators aims to help teachers and schools meet the unique needs of students from military families.
By Gretchen Krebs
Oliver Burdick and Guillermo Mendoza raise their hands to answer a question in Jill Newby's kindergarten class at M. Lynn Bennion Elementary School in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012.
Utah
Cash-strapped, crowded schools eye ways to help all students
Overcrowding presents myriad challenges, but new evidence points to a few inexpensive innovations that actually have a bigger impact on student success than reducing class size.
By Gretchen Krebs