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Presents news briefs related to developments in the field of education as of May 7, 2003. Grant provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development for the rehabilitation of a secondary school in Umm Qasr, Iraq; Judgment ruled by a federal judge about reinstation of a 17-year-old student at a school; Measures taken by officials in Cincinnati, Ohio, on the discovery of lead dust and paint chips in classrooms.

Educators have discovered that the image of child workers, who may be forced to toil in fields or factories for long hours with low pay and little access to education, can hook students' interest and get them thinking about wider issues. Although child labor has always existed, elementary and secondary schools in the U.S. are beginning to teach about it in a concerted way. Helen Toth, the associate director of the American Federation of Teachers' international-affairs department has stated that young people identify with the victims of child labor because of their closeness in age which makes it an attractive topic for teachers. For many students, learning about child labor provides an introduction to activism.

Discusses views of American students on the outlook for war against Iraq and efforts made by them to protest against it. Anti-war protest initiated by Zoe Christiansen, a student of 9th grade of Montpelier High School in Vermont; Sessions organized by educators at James Madison Memorial High School in Madison, Wisconsin that will feature anti-war speakers.

Without internships, specialized training or other types of practical experience, graduating high school students who want to go straight into the workforce may have problems while finding jobs in 2003, employment experts say. "New entrants are only one small part of the total number of people out there looking for jobs," said William Dickens, a senior fellow in economics and government studies at the Brookings Institution, in Washington. Since November 2001, the national unemployment rate has wavered between 5.6 percent and 6 percent, signaling a consistent number of people looking for jobs in 2002. In existing economy, it is increasingly the case that people with education beyond a high school diploma have a lower unemployment rate overall and make higher wages, said Michael Chittenden, a spokesman for the Employment Policy Foundation.

The article reports that teenagers seeking summer jobs in the U.S. would be disappointed due to the declining job market in the city in 2003. The annual job fair for teenagers was canceled in Wichita, Kansas. Due to the weak economic conditions more adults are doing those jobs which are commonly taken by teenagers and budget cuts have shut down many popular youth-job programs. In Minneapolis, Minnesota the parks and recreation board has had to scale back dramatically its summer-job program for 14- to 18-year-olds, called Teen Teamworks. The national unemployment rate for 16-to 19-year-olds continues to rise, providing hard evidence of teenagers' predicament.

Few people know more about the town of Marysville, Michigan than Kevin Miller's communication arts students.The 40 students, mostly juniors and seniors at the 900-student Marysville High School, are creating a documentary on the town, located on the St. Clair River northeast of Detroit, starting from its early days as a logging community and chronicling its later automobile and ship-building industries. Dylan MacLean, a 17-year-old senior, said his work on the video has helped prepare him for a job as a producer or director in the television industry.The students aim to make a more interesting and informative video that Mr. MacLean(Dylan MacLean) said he hopes will be enticing to all Marysville residents.

In a time when many students in urban districts are struggling, school leaders in Long Beach, California, wanted to give one of their schools a name that would empower students and motivate them to succeed. The name Colin L. Powell Academy of Success has been the backbone for an emphasis on values such as honor, courage, and respect, officials say. But a plan to name an elementary school in Fairfax County, Virginia, after the secretary of state has drawn fire in the Washington suburb that Powell calls home. Opponents say that the choice carries too much political aspect and they prefer geographic names for their schools. Despite the flak, the Fairfax County school board voted unanimously to name the school for Powell.

As school administrators tackle numerous instances of water, paint, and soil tainted by lead, a study shows that blood lead levels officially considered safe are now believed to hurt a person's intellectual development. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 434,000 U.S. children ages one to five have blood lead levels higher than the acceptable level. Children under the age of six are most at risk because they are at a high point of growth and also tend to put their hands and other objects in their mouths, said Bruce Lanphear, one of the study's authors and a pediatrician at the Cincinnati, Ohio-based Children's Hospital Medical Center. Meanwhile, officials at the 700-student Seawell Elementary School in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, conducted an impromptu cleaning after dust from exposed steel beams in the ceilings of a few preschool classrooms tested positive for lead.

Brittney Danaher, thought to be the youngest teacher in Texas, related herself to 9th grade Spanish students at Herman E. Utley Freshman Center in Rockwall, Texas. At 20-years-old, state education officials believe Danaher could be the youngest of about 282,600 teachers in Texas, and perhaps the first teenager to have worked in the state's schools since the early-to mid-1900s, when teachers were not required to have bachelor's degrees. After two years in a regular high school, Danaher transferred to the Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities, at Lamar University in Beaumont, where she took high school and college courses concurrently. Administrators have stopped her from going into the teachers' lounge because she is often mistaken as a student.

The article focuses on the problems faced by charter schools including insufficient funding and a lack of resources for serving needy students. Researchers with Policy Analysis for California Education warns that unless charter enthusiasts can escape deep-seated structural constraints, the independent schools may reproduce stratified layers of student performance, just like garden-variety public schools. The researchers found that charter school educators are failing to acquire federal money to assist students from low-income families, that many teachers in charter schools do not have full credentials, and that quality differs among types of charter schools. Bruce Fuller, the director of the study and a professor of education and public policy at the University of California in Berkeley has emphasized that, "Charter schools have a harder time attracting teachers than do regular public schools because of lower pay and the dual roles teachers must play.".

resents news briefs related to education in the U.S. as of March 19, 2003. Increase in amount spent by public school districts in the U.S. on school construction in 2001; Apology by school officials in Baltimore County, Maryland for ignoring the state's directions to read standardized-test questions to students with special needs; Description of financial crisis faced by the East Cleveland school district in Ohio.

Focuses on the efforts of the University of North Carolina Association of Student Governments' president Jonathan Ducote to increase financial aid for higher education. Need for a increase in financial aid for higher educational; States that need an increase in financial aid for higher education; Deductions in budgets for higher education in the U.S.

Reports on the protest raised by U.S. students against the possible U.S. war with Iraq on March 5, 2003. Number of schools participated in the protest; Threat of absence from classes by students in Maryland.

Reports on Boca Raton, Florida-based Omni Middle School's online system Edline which help parents to keep check on children's progress by logging on to school's Web site. Benefits of the online system; Features of the system; Problems with the use of technology.

Focuses on the neglected paintings in Chicago public schools. Efforts done by founder of the Chicago Conservation Center, Barry Bauman to restore the paintings; Work done by Chicago students to publicize the paintings.

Presents news brief related to education in the United States as of February 2003. Survey findings related to the size of Hispanics population in the U.S.; Observation of holiday in Tulsa, Oklahoma school district on February 12, 2003; Retirement of Cleveland Hammonds Jr., the superintendent of Saint Louis public schools.

Reports on the denied request of a Utah school teacher to take her students to art exhibits in Las Vegas, Nevada, casinos.

Reports on a study conducted by researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital regarding backpack-related injuries in U.S. students. Effect of backpack-related injuries on a student's back; Enforcement of a law that limits the weight of a backpack; Percentile of students that are hurt due to tripping over a backpack; Other kinds of injuries caused due to backpacks.

Presents news relevant to the United States education system as of January 15, 2003. Announcement made by the superintendent of Memphis Public Schools, Tennessee, Johnnie B. Watson regarding his retirement plans; Plans for performance evaluations of principals in New York City; Suit of a Colorado school district for refusing recognition to a Bible club; Others.