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"In the 21st century, the best anti-poverty program is a world-class education." That sentence from the State of the Union address is bound to spark debate, and here's why:

We know too many well-educated people who are out of work. We can all name the well-educated people who helped plunge the nation into the deepest recession in many decades. Education alone guarantees nothing, and people in schools are right to get their backs up when others imply that schools manufacture poverty. There are just too many other culprits nowadays.

But we should face facts. High school dropouts barely stand a chance, even in good times. Children who can't clear even the lowest hurdles in state tests face a grim future if things don't turn around for them. Schools that lose more than half their students to the streets don't do much to promote social mobility in a ...

Harvard epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch, an expert on pandemics, has advised the U.S. government on the possible trajectory of the H1N1 influenza virus. He recently spoke with us about what we might expect from the virus this year.

Public School Insights: Do you have any predictions for the kind of flu experience we can expect in the coming months?

Lipsitch: I think that the first thing to say about any predictions about flu is that they are probably wrong. The goal is to be as close to right as possible, but everybody who spends time working on flu becomes very quickly humbled, not making predictions even about the near-term future.

Having said that, I think that the current situation clearly shows that this virus can spread very effectively even when it’s not the usual flu season of December, January and February. I think that given the precedent of prior pandemics and the evidence we have about ...

Public health officials are bracing for the H1N1 flu virus to hit schools in the fall. A vaccine may come after the flu's onset, and it might be in "limited supply." (For resources on the H1N1 flu, see our H1N1 flu page.)

According to an email I received from someone at WestEd, the Centers for Disease Control are putting together "Web Dialogues" to gather public input into vaccination policy. Here's the CDC's media advisory:

MEDIA ADVISORY - INVITATION FOR COVERAGE

WebDialogue: H1N1 Public Engagement Dialogue
* Make Your Voice Heard on the H1N1 Pandemic Flu Vaccine *

In July, the Secretary of Health and Human Services announced that the federal government expects to initiate a voluntary fall vaccination program against the 2009 H1N1 flu virus. The CDC will help state and local health organizations develop the vaccination program and are working to decide the scope of the program for vaccinating Americans against the novel H1N1 pandemic influenza virus.

The CDC is asking for public discussion, deliberation, and input as the agency considers whether to simply make vaccines available to those seeking immunization, to promote vaccination to those most at risk, or to implement a widespread immunization program. ...

Child advocates have worried in recent years that recess has been disappearing from public school calendars as schools focus more heavily on academics--primarily math and reading.  Is this concern warranted?  According to the National School Boards Association's Center for Public Education, the answer is yes and no.

In its recent analysis of research on the fate of recess, the Center reaches the following conclusion:  "To borrow from Mark Twain, reports of recess's death seem to have been grossly exaggerated....  Even so, the pressure on schools to find more instructional time is real, and it seems to be leading many districts to shave minutes from the recess time they provide. In addition, children who attend high-poverty, high-minority, or urban schools are far more likely than their peers in other locations to get no recess at all-a definite 'recess gap' that commands our attention." ...