An innovative rural school district is creating a community-based, authentic work experience in which students prepare for the future while honoring their community's past.

The effects of an ongoing measles outbreak centered in Washington state have spread well beyond the patients who’ve contracted the virus, creating logistical challenges for schools and public health officials.

While state school-finance systems have not changed much over time, they are devoting more targeted help to English language learners and student from low-income backgrounds than in the past, a new study finds.

New guidance from the U.S. Department of Education says all private school students are entitled to "equitable services" under federal coronavirus emergency relief. Let's explore what that means.

In this lesson, 7th grade English/language arts teacher Emily Park-Friend takes her students through a three-step interview activity.

ESEA/NCLB reauthorization is off and running. As it races forward, here are seven things to keep in mind.

The Houston school district has settled a federal lawsuit brought by the teacher's union over the school system's controversial teacher evaluation system, which involved a secret algorithm.

The newly formed group, which plans to challenge the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation for market share, wants feedback from the public on its proposed standards and processes.

The Albert L. Evans Jr. Honorary Scholarship is a tribute to Bert Evans and his example of generous philanthropy.

Youngsters in Northern Ireland celebrated UEFA EURO 2012 with a specially-themed event for UEFA Grassroots Day, one of several activities arranged across the country.

Former Swiss internationals including Pascal Zuberbühler helped turn the UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship semi-finals into a family-orientated festival of football.

Source: Reuters - Wind and solar power are growing as sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels, but storing renewable energy through the night, when the sun isn’t shining, or when no wind is rotating the turbines, remains a hurdle.

A number of studies have examined the early impact of the varicella vaccination program on varicella-related hospitalizations and have found evidence of decline after vaccine implementation.

This study further documents the continued decline in varicella-related hospitalizations during the 1-dose varicella vaccination era and demonstrates statistically significant declines of >65% in all age groups. These data suggest that varicella vaccination prevented ~50 000 hospitalizations from 2000 to 2006. (Read the full article)

Cardiovascular risk factors predict the development of premature atherosclerosis. As the number of risk factors increases, so does the extent of these lesions. Assessment of cardiovascular risk factors is an accepted practice in adults but is not used in pediatrics.

In this study, the authors discuss how the presence of ≥2 cardiovascular risk factors is associated with vascular changes in adolescents. The findings were compared with the Patholobiological Determinants of Atherosclerosis in Youth risk score to demonstrate that a simple method of clustering is a reliable tool to use in clinical practice. (Read the full article)

The use of steroids as a treatment for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy results in a slower progression in weakness. Bisphosphonates often are used in conjunction with steroid therapy to enhance bone health.

The combination of steroids and bisphosphonates seems to be associated with significantly improved survival rates compared with treatment with steroids alone. (Read the full article)

Intussusception is the most common cause of intestinal obstruction in young children. To date, there have been no prospective studies that have been able to develop a reliable clinical prediction model to determine which patients are at low risk for intussusception.

This study is the largest prospective cohort study to date to evaluate children with possible intussusception. It includes both univariate and multivariate analyses to develop clinical prediction models for patients at low risk for intussusception. (Read the full article)

Approximately 27% of children with rotavirus in the hospital acquire it while hospitalized for another condition. Pediatric rotavirus vaccination greatly decreased the number of children hospitalized with rotavirus from 2007 to 2008.

Routine community-based rotavirus infant vaccination protects hospitalized children from acquiring rotavirus. Thus, community-based vaccination efforts should be encouraged as a strategy to decrease hospital-acquired rotavirus. (Read the full article)

Nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) has been the initial respiratory support for many preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Nasal intermittent positive-pressure ventilation (NIPPV) seems to increase the beneficial effects of NCPAP by combining it with ventilatory inflations.

This study suggests that NIPPV, as an intial respiratory support for preterm infants with RDS, is feasible and safe and may have beneficial effects, when compared with NCPAP. (Read the full article)

Although gastroenteritis guidelines describe the need to perform oral rehydration, it remains underused, resulting in excessive use of intravenous rehydration. Other interventions, such as antiemetic administration, vary according to location, often resulting in differences in cost and outcomes.

In this nationwide cohort, intravenous rehydration use varied dramatically. Use was associated with the institution providing care and an increase in the need for future health care provider visits. Use of ondansetron also varied significantly across Canada. (Read the full article)

Educators, public health authorities, and law enforcement are confronting an increasing number of cases in which youth made sexual images of themselves and other minors and transmitted them via cell phones and the Internet.

This study provides the first detailed and comprehensive national estimate of the percentage of youth who create and distribute various kinds of sexual images. (Read the full article)

Aluminum is ubiquitous and exposure is unavoidable. Adverse health effects have been associated with large exposures in workers or those with chronic kidney disease. There are no established age-specific reference ranges or toxicity data for populations of healthy children.

We demonstrate the wide variability of aluminum reference ranges in biological samples and that the ranges are not based on studies including healthy children. Further research is necessary to establish clinically relevant reference ranges for healthy children. (Read the full article)

Two UK models predict the risk of mortality in very preterm Western infants (1) alive at onset of labor and (2) admitted for neonatal intensive care. Prognostic models need temporal and geographic validation to evaluate their performance.

The 2 models showed very good performance in a recent large cohort of very preterm infants born in another Western country. The accurate performance of both models suggests application in clinical practice (Read the full article)

Children with sickle cell disease are at high risk of complications from influenza infection and have been recommended to receive annual influenza vaccine since the 1970s. Few safety studies, however, have examined the safety of influenza vaccine in this population.

This large cohort study did not find an association between influenza vaccination and hospitalization for sickle cell crises in children with sickle cell anemia. (Read the full article)

The medical home is associated with beneficial outcomes in children with special health care needs and in the entire pediatric population. It is unknown if it benefits the majority of the pediatric population (ie, children without special health care needs).

This study is the first to demonstrate an association between the medical home and beneficial health care utilization, child health, and health-promoting behavior outcomes in children without special health care needs. (Read the full article)

Available clinical prediction rules to identify children with cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis at low risk for Lyme meningitis include headache duration, cranial nerve palsy, and percent cerebrospinal fluid mononuclear cells. These rules require independent validation.

These clinical prediction rules accurately identify patients at low risk for Lyme meningitis in our large multicenter cohort. Children at low risk may be considered for outpatient management while awaiting Lyme serology. (Read the full article)

Lactoferrin is a glycoprotein with anti-infective activities being part of the innate defensive network. Bovine and human lactoferrin share high homology. Bovine lactoferrin can prevent late-onset sepsis in preterm very low birth weight neonates.

In preterm very low birth weight infants, bovine lactoferrin is able to prevent not only late-onset sepsis but also systemic fungal infections. This protection is achieved independently from their colonization status. (Read the full article)

Although there is some older literature examining how arrest prevalence accumulates through adolescence and adulthood, there is no contemporary research examining the arrest histories of a representative sample of American youth.

Using a contemporary US sample of adolescents and young adults, we estimated the cumulative arrest prevalence through age 23. The results suggest a substantial increase in the cumulative prevalence of arrest since the 1960s. (Read the full article)

Smoking during pregnancy has been related to thicker carotid intima media thickness in young adults, and this was also shown in neonates.

This study is the first to show that the effect of smoking during pregnancy on the vasculature of children is (still) visible at the age of 5 years. Pregnancy appears to be the critical period for this damage to occur. (Read the full article)

Three-fourths of US preschool-age children are in child care; many are not achieving recommended levels of physical activity. Daily physical activity is essential for motor and socioemotional development and for the prevention of obesity. Little is known about physical-activity barriers in child care.

Injury and school-readiness concerns may inhibit children’s physical activity in child care. Fixed playground equipment that meets licensing codes is unchallenging and uninteresting to children. Centers may cut time and space for gross motor play to address concerns about school readiness. (Read the full article)

Sleep problems are common during childhood, but screening for sleep problems in the clinic setting is often cursory. Moreover, there are few longitudinal studies examining the prevalence and persistence of sleep problems in young children.

Patterns of sleep problems vary across early development, but sleep problems arising in infancy persist in 21% of children through 36 months of age. Parent response to a nonspecific query about sleep problems may overlook relevant sleep symptoms and behaviors. (Read the full article)

Studies on vaccine safety are crucial to the ongoing success of our national immunization program. ITP has a known association with MMR in young children, occurring in 1 in 40 000 doses. The risk after other childhood vaccines is unknown.

This study found no increased risk of ITP after vaccines other than MMR in young children, confirmed an association of ITP with MMR, and also found that ITP may occur after certain other vaccines in older children. (Read the full article)

Newborn screening (NBS) programs may store bloodspot samples and use them for secondary purposes, such as research. Recent public controversies and lawsuits over storage and secondary uses underscore the need to engage the public on these issues.

This public engagement study identifies values underlying citizens’ acceptance of and discomfort with research from NBS samples. Well-designed methods of public education and civic discourse on the risks and benefits of storage and secondary uses of NBS samples are required. (Read the full article)

Hepatitis A infection causes severe disease among adolescents and adults. Hepatitis A vaccination (HepA) is recommended universally at 1 year, with vaccination through 18 years based on risk or desire for protection.

This is the first study to evaluate adolescent HepA coverage in the United States using provider-reported vaccination data. HepA coverage was low among adolescents, leaving a large population susceptible to hepatitis A infection maturing into adulthood. (Read the full article)

Although follow-up examinations are recommended for suspected victims of sexual abuse or assault, little is known about the potential benefits of a second examination with regard to diagnosing trauma or sexually transmitted infections.

In ~23% of pediatric patients evaluated for sexual abuse or assault, a second examination by a specialist changed the interpretation of trauma likelihood or results in the detection of a sexually transmitted infection. (Read the full article)

Previous observational studies and randomized trials have reported an association between the use of epidural analgesia for pain relief in labor and intrapartum maternal fever. Studies have also reported an increase in adverse neonatal outcomes with intrapartum maternal fever.

Among low-risk women receiving epidural analgesia, intrapartum maternal temperature >99.5°F was associated with adverse neonatal outcomes, with the rate of adverse outcomes increasing directly with maximum maternal temperature. Without temperature elevation, epidural use was not associated with adverse neonatal outcomes. (Read the full article)

Most states require driver education (DE) for novice drivers, and several recent substantial efforts have sought to realign DE with the aim of producing safer drivers. However, teen participation rates and how they differ among relevant subgroups remain unknown.

This study provides national estimates of teen driver participation in formal DE, a recognized gap in the literature, and identifies disparities in behind-the-wheel training among certain racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and gender groups, particularly in jurisdictions without a DE requirement. (Read the full article)

The number of individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) continues to increase in the United States and other developed countries. Most prevalence estimates indicate that ASD is diagnosed less commonly in Hispanic individuals compared with non-Hispanic (NH) white populations.

Prevalence of ASD in Arizona’s population-based cohort is higher than reported previously. Prevalence in the Hispanic population and NH white population increased significantly over time, with a significant decrease in the gap between Hispanic and NH white prevalence. (Read the full article)

Comprehensive home visits conducted by Community Health Workers including environmental remediation and office-based nurse case management improve asthma outcomes.

Implementation of a comprehensive quality improvement program as part of enhanced care of pediatric asthma patients with a history of hospitalizations or emergency department visits can improve health outcomes and be cost-effective as well as reduce health disparities. (Read the full article)

Active termination of life in newborns with myelomeningocele because of assumed suffering in these newborns has been extensively discussed. However, the level of discomfort and pain in these newborns has never been substantially assessed.

This is the first study presenting quantitative data on discomfort and pain in newborns with myelomeningocele. Therefore, it can be of guidance in the choice of treatment: either active treatment or palliative care in the context of end-of-life decisions. (Read the full article)

Previous studies have identified barriers to providing optimal pediatric palliative care, including general communication issues between clinicians and family members. However, there is a paucity of data regarding the barriers specifically relating to advance care discussions.

This study identifies significant barriers to advance care discussions for children with life-threatening conditions. Clinicians perceive parental issues as the most common impediments to these discussions. Furthermore, providers believe that advance care discussions happen too late in the course of illness. (Read the full article)

The availability of rapid response systems to assist deteriorating patients is the standard of care in children’s hospitals. Metrics for evaluating their effectiveness include cardiac and respiratory arrest rates, rare events that require years of data to show significant improvements.

A proximate outcome for in-hospital mortality among patients receiving rapid response system assistance was developed. This "critical deterioration" metric was eightfold more common than arrests and demonstrated criterion and construct validity, facilitating meaningful evaluation over shorter periods of time. (Read the full article)

Pneumonia is still a significant problem in young children from developing countries where zinc deficiency is prevalent. Although zinc supplementation reduces the risk of childhood pneumonia, the effect of adjunct zinc on severe pneumonia is unclear with conflicting results.

The overall effect, if any, of zinc as adjuvant therapy for World Health Organization–defined severe pneumonia in young children is small. (Read the full article)

For children and young people with life-limiting conditions, palliative care services should be available, but few national or local data are available to estimate the burden of these conditions.

The prevalence of life-limiting conditions in children and young people in England was double the previously reported estimates, at 32 per 10 000 population. This identifies a need for specialist pediatric palliative care services. (Read the full article)

Inhaled nitric oxide for premature infants has been evaluated in multiple studies; however, these trials differed in treatment initiation, duration of therapy, and inclusion criteria. Furthermore, these trials reached differing conclusions regarding the benefit of inhaled nitric oxide.

We used a large sample of infants from children’s hospitals and found that the use of inhaled nitric oxide in premature infants was variable even when controlling for demographic characteristics and disease. (Read the full article)

In the prerotavirus vaccine era, diarrhea-associated hospitalization and outpatient rates among American Indian and Alaska Native children were higher than those among the general US population. Routine rotavirus vaccination has dramatically decreased rotavirus diarrhea burden in the general US population.

Decreases in diarrhea-associated hospitalization and outpatient rates among American Indian and Alaska Native children in postvaccine years were observed in all Indian Health Service regions, with declines greater in each subsequent year after vaccine introduction. (Read the full article)

Febrile seizure risk 7 to 10 days after measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) is double that of separate measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) and varicella vaccines among 1-year-olds. Whether MMRV or MMR and varicella affect febrile seizure risk among 4- to 6-year-olds has not been reported.

Using Vaccine Safety Datalink data, we examined risk for febrile seizures after measles-containing vaccines. This study provides reassurance that MMRV and separately administered MMR and varicella were not associated with increased risk of febrile seizures among 4- to 6-year-olds. (Read the full article)

Nearly one-third of all US children are overweight or obese, with even higher prevalence among Mexican American children. Overweight and obesity increase systemic inflammation, contributing to increased risk for chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease.

Obese Mexican American children had concurrent alterations in both inflammatory markers and traditional disease risk markers, relative to healthy weight children. Our results provide evidence partially explaining the health disparity for disease in Mexican American children who are overweight/obese. (Read the full article)

Evaluating dehydration severity is a challenging task. Clinical dehydration scores that combine multiple clinical findings are promising. One clinical dehydration scale score has been developed and subsequently evaluated; however, few participants in the derivation and validation studies were significantly dehydrated.

In children requiring intravenous rehydration, the dehydration scale displayed moderate reliability and weak associations with objective measures. Thus, although the scale can assist in assessing dehydration, it should not be used in isolation to dictate interventions (eg, intravenous rehydration, hospitalization). (Read the full article)

Following a rapid increase from 1980 to 2001, the prevalence of obesity among school-age children and adolescents in the United States has plateaued. Few studies have examined obesity trends among younger children in the past decade, and findings are inconsistent.

Among children aged <6 years at this multisite pediatric practice, the prevalence of obesity was fairly stable during 1999–2003, but substantially decreased during 2004–2008. This decrease was smaller among children insured by Medicaid than children insured by non-Medicaid health plans. (Read the full article)

Kindergarten entry vaccination requirements are associated with higher coverage for early childhood vaccines.

Middle school entry vaccination requirements may also be associated with higher coverage for adolescent vaccines, whereas education-only requirements appear not to have an impact at this time. (Read the full article)