LA students breach school iPads' security

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It took just a week for nearly 300 students who got iPads from their Los Angeles high school to figure out how to alter the security settings so they could surf the Web and access social media sites.

The breach at Roosevelt High and two other LA schools has prompted Los Angeles Unified School District officials to halt a $1 billion program aimed at putting the devices in the hands of every student in the nation's second-largest school system, the Los Angeles Times reported. The district also has banned home use of the iPads until further notice as officials look for ways to make sure students use the devices for school work only.

The actions come as school officials nationwide grapple with security measures for iPads and other devices as they introduce them to tech-savvy students.

"I'm guessing this is just a sample of what will likely occur on other campuses once this hits Twitter, YouTube or other social media sites explaining to our students how to breach or compromise the security of these devices," School District Police Chief Steven Zipperman wrote in a confidential memo to senior staff obtained by the Times. "I want to prevent a 'runaway train' scenario when we may have the ability to put a hold on the rollout."

Roosevelt was among the first schools to distribute iPads as part of the district rollout. Its students initially were allowed to take home the Apple tablets, and they learned they could easily delete their personal profile information, giving them greater access to the iPads' capabilities.

Westchester High and the Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences in Granada Hills also reported the problem, though in smaller numbers.

Roosevelt students began to tinker with the security software on the devices after "they took them home and they can't do anything with them," Alfredo Garcia, a senior at the school, told the Times.

Before long, students were on the Internet, sending tweets, socializing on Facebook and streaming music through Pandora, students told the newspaper.

The district said in a statement Wednesday that steps have been taken "to ensure it has 100 percent control over what is accessible" on the devices.

Potential precautions include permanently barring home use of the tablets and strengthening the security software that limits how the devices are used.

Zipperman suggested in the memo to senior staff that the district might want to delay distribution of the iPads.

When the technology breaches came to light Tuesday, Superintendent John Deasy "ordered a moratorium on allowing tablets to leave campus until the problem has been resolved," the district statement said.

Via Yahoo News!

Missing Montana math teacher is dead, school officials

(Reuters) - A Montana high school math teacher who vanished last weekend while on her morning jog is dead, and a man has been taken into custody in connection with her disappearance, authorities said on Friday.

Sherry Arnold, 43, was last seen setting off for a run on Saturday in her hometown of Sidney, a fast-growing agricultural community in northeastern Montana. Her husband, Gary Arnold, later reported her missing, police said.

Sidney Public Schools Superintendant Dan Farr said law enforcement authorities had informed family members and district officials of Arnold's death, but declined to elaborate.

Sidney Police Chief Frank DiFonzo said in a prepared statement that authorities had taken one man into custody and were seeking information from another in connection with Arnold's disappearance.

A 47-year-old man has been jailed in neighboring Williston, North Dakota, and a 22-year-old man is being held for questioning in Rapid City, South Dakota.

"Because this investigation is rapidly moving forward, we are not able to provide any details of the case at this time," DiFonzo said in the statement.

He said a tip to a crime hotline led to the breakthrough in the investigation, which has blanketed the northern prairies of Montana and the Dakotas and drawn investigators from the three states and the FBI.

Sidney Mayor Bret Smelser said the crime had shattered the sense of security in the community of 5,000 people, where new homes were being built amid rapid growth brought on by a boom in oil and natural gas extraction through hydraulic fracturing.

"We never think it will happen in a small town. Now it has and we have to deal with it," he told Reuters.

Smelser said Arnold's disappearance and death has prompted a run on handguns and concealed weapons permits, especially among women, and caused some residents to view outsiders with mistrust.

Arnold, a math teacher at Sidney High School, vanished on Saturday after leaving her home wearing running clothes and mittens. One of her shoes was recovered during an initial search of the area.

A statement on the school district's website said counselors would be on hand following the news.

"She's a well-respected, well-liked teacher," Farr said. "She was the kind of teacher that every parent would want in front of their children. She would go the extra mile to help one of her students."

The school district dismissed students early from class on Friday afternoon and cancelled planned sports events.

Farr said counselors have been available to students and staff since Arnold vanished and that additional support would be offered in coming weeks.

Late Friday afternoon, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer released a statement about Arnold, saying she would be remembered as "a wonderful daughter, mother, wife, teacher and a beloved member of the Sidney community."

(Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Greg McCune)

(This story corrects the headline and first paragraph to reflect officials saying the missing woman is dead rather than she has been found dead.)

View the original article here at Yahoo News!

School bus crash injures 15 children, 8 adults in Pennsylvania

(CNN) -- Fifteen children and eight adults are recovering from injuries after a school bus slammed into a car and rolled over near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, authorities said.

The bus, carrying 22 people, was on its way to a children's camp when the wreck occurred Sunday, the Pennsylvania State Police said in a written statement.

Everybody on board the bus was taken to area hospital with injuries ranging from minor to moderate, the statement said. The driver of the car was also being treated for injuries, it said

Authorities said the crash took place when the driver of a Cadillac attempted to pass the bus but failed to see oncoming traffic. The driver, identified as 79-year-old Edward Shaffer of Hagerstown, Maryland, overcorrected and ended up in the path of the bus, it said.

The force of the crash caused the bus to roll over, the statement said.

Emergency crews were forced to extricate three children who were pinned in the bus, police said. Shaffer was also extricated from his car, police said.

CNN

Young and Homeless (Part I): Finding Stability at School (OneWorld.net)

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was produced with support from a New America Media fellowship to report on children in poverty in California, and is part one of a three part series exploring youth homelessness and education.

FRESNO, May 21 (New America Media) -- Every morning, Anissa Gutierrez leaves her home at the Fresno Rescue Mission Emergency Family Shelter, located in an industrial area of central Fresno, and walks her three children to Lincoln Elementary School.

Along their brief journey, Gutierrez , 8 year-old Lily, 7 year-old Gavien, and 5 year-old Deon pass the homeless shelter Poverello House, and a lot filled with small sheds that also house the homeless, called Village of Hope. They continue past the scattered tents and makeshift shelters that comprise the city's homeless encampments, and walk along the Highway 99 overpass.

Once they arrive at Lincoln Elementary, Lily and Gavien wave goodbye to their mother and then scamper toward the schoolhouse, blending in with their classmates.

Gutierrez, 35, lost her apartment days before Christmas, and moved into the Rescue Mission shelter last January. School, she said, provides her kids with a few hours of ”normal life” during a period of uncertainty.

"I want them to go to school and stay in school for the rest of their lives," said Gutierrez, a Fresno High School graduate who said that growing up, "I didn't know college was something I could actually do."

No matter how much Gutierrez “hates” walking out the shelter’s front doors and facing the wretched surroundings, nothing will stop her from making the daily pilgrimage to Lincoln Elementary with her kids. Prioritizing their education, said Gutierrez, means ensuring that “they don't end up here" later in life.

With 2,400 homeless students (more than 60 percent of them Latino), Fresno Unified School District has the second highest number of homeless students in the state, trailing only the Los Angeles school district.

"School is a sanctuary, and education represents hope and a way out of poverty for a lot of these kids," said Joe Martinez, community relations and outreach manager for the Fresno County Economic Opportunity Commission's Sanctuary and Youth Services, which provides shelter and resources to homeless youth.

"This is a place where they can come and have dreams and goals,a€

But even though many homeless youth and their families prioritize education, and despite federal and local resources intended to help them, barriers still exist. Only about 60 percent of homeless students in Fresno’s school district graduated from high school last year. Nationally, about 38 percent of homeless people have achieved less than a high school degree by age 18, according to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty.

With the recession leaving increasing numbers of families homeless a€“ and with education widely regarded as a cornerstone to future success and stability a€“ this adds up to a crisis that could have ramifications for decades to come.

In 2008, 224,249 California students attending grades K-12 -- or 3.6 percent of all public school students -- were reported to be homeless, according to KidsData.org. And according to the National Center for Homeless Education, the number of homeless students enrolled in California schools is rising at an alarming rate: 29 percent between the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 school years alone. Neither figure includes children, or youth, whose lives are so chaotic they don’t even make it to school.

The troubles for Gutierrez began late last fall, when she unexpectedly found herself covering the cost of rent and utilities for an apartment she and her children shared with a relative. Even with financial support from the county, she could not shoulder the full bill, and she lost the apartment in late December. The family was homeless by Christmas.

During that rough time, she and her three youngest children crashed at the homes of various friends and family members, always leaving before they had worn out their welcome. Despite their mobility, Gutierrez did her best to keep her kids in school. "I was just trying to keep them on a stable track," she said.

When a room finally opened up at the Rescue Mission’s family shelter in January, Gutierrez and the kids moved in. After constantly moving, Gutierrez was grateful her children could go to school each morning knowing they had a steady place to return to in the evening.

"They get to go to school every day and I know they ate, I know they have somewhere to go home to," said Gutierrez, who wears baggy sweatshirts and sunglasses pushed into her dark ponytail, and hopes to someday become a car mechanic.

Susan Cavazos was also thankful to have secured a room at the shelter for herself and her three sons. They had moved into the shelter after their apartment burned down, and they had lost everything.

Cavazos shares Gutierrez’ faith in education. Her oldest son is enrolled in the Gifted and Talented Education (GTE) program and her middle child is an avid basketball player. "My hope is to get them through school, to get them through college, and I'm going to stick with them 100 percent," she said.

And like Gutierrez, living at the shelter has only underscored the importance of education for her children. "Look around at where we are -- is that what you want?" Cavazos said she reminds her children.

Though the shelter is situated in a gritty part of Fresno, the interior is welcoming. There are nine bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, plus a front room that doubles as a chapel, and a kitchen with laundry machines. Much of the shelter is decorated with colorful murals, flowers and biblical verses.

"When you come in, it's comforting, it's relaxing," said shelter manager Robin Bump. "We want them to feel like they are safe and everything is going to be OK."

Demand has increased in recent years, Bump said. The number of families aided by the non-profit shelter increased from 154 in 2008 to 179 in 2010, and according to Bump, "there are more out there that need help."

Most of the families in the shelter are single women with children. Over the past year, at least 10 families landed in the shelter after the home they were renting was foreclosed upon.

Gutierrez's challenges didn't end once she found a room at the shelter. Under the federal McKinney-Vento Act - the primary piece of federal legislation aimed at supporting homeless students - homeless youth can remain at their original school regardless of where they are staying, and travel there using bus tickets provided through the school district. They can also enroll at a school without having a permanent address.

But getting Lily and Gavien to their original school meant waking up at 5 a.m and taking two buses. Despite her commitment to maintaining stability in her children’s lives, Gutierrez faced a tough choice. Eventually, she decided to transfer them to a school more nearby, Lincoln Elementary.

"It hurts my heart that I had to swoop them out of school and take them away from their little friends that they've made," Gutierrez said.

It was a Monday night, and the kids had stayed home from school that day as they recovered from a hacking cough that was going around the shelter. Gutierrez’ daughter Lily was bundled in a pink down jacket, even as she sat in the shelter's kitchen. Changing schools wasn’t easy, she chimed in.

"I have to make new friends," she said in a small voice.

To ensure that Lily and Gavien didn't fall behind at their new school, Lincoln Elementary and the Fresno school district provided assistance to Gutierrez and her kids: A tutor helped Lily with her homework before school each morning, and Project ACCESS -- which assists homeless Fresno Unified students with enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school -- provided the kids with backpacks, supplies, snacks, and jackets.

Relatively speaking, Lily and Gavien have a lot of support: They have a warm, clean shelter with their own room; they live in a district that is recognized for its outreach to homeless students; and, perhaps most importantly, they have their mother. Will this be enough to help them meet the challenge of succeeding in school when they lack something as fundamental as a home of their own?

"Overall, children that are homeless are not performing as well as other students in their district, or as well as the economically disadvantaged subgroup," said Diana Bowman, program director for the National Center on Homeless Education.

But, Bowman said, there is still hope for talented, motivated homeless students. "Generally, for strong students, the impact (of being homeless) won't be quite as bad," she said. "If they are weak, struggling students, and have a history of school mobility and homelessness, it's more difficult to achieve."

It was evident that being homeless prevented Lily and Gavien from experiencing school as many of their classmates might.

Asked where he does his homework, Gavien responded simply, "I do mine in the car." Gavien, a goofy kid who enjoyed making silly faces for the camera, is still young and adaptable enough to think nothing of that.

"Sometimes we just go out (to the parking lot) and sit in the truck," Gutierrez explained. "We just get tired of being here. We listen to the radio out there."

The kids also don't participate in school sports or other after-school programs while at the shelter. "Because we are here (at the shelter,) it is hard to get them into stuff like that, because there is no telling if we will be able to keep them in that school, once we leave here," Gutierrez said. “That (hurts), but it has to be done. It's just easier for me, and for them, if they don't start stuff like that here."

It’s a concern that Cavazos shares. On that Monday night in January, Cavazos wore bright pink lipstick and a large, silver cross around her neck, but her mood was cloudy. “I don’t want to mess up my kids’ education,” she said. “That’s what they have. That’s the only thing they have.”

It was almost 7 p.m., so Gutierrez and Cavazos led their children to the Rescue Mission's nightly chapel service, which, as shelter residents, they are obligated to attend. During the service, the residents prayed that Lily, Gavien and Deon would recover from their illness, and that everyone would soon find a home of their own.

"I just want them to be happy," Gutierrez said of her kids. "I just want to take care of them. I can't spoil them, or give them everything in the world, but I want them to be happy."

Want to Know More?

» VIDEO: Inside the Fresno Rescue Mission

» Read Parts II and III of this series at NewAmericaMedia.org

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Parents of teen who committed suicide sue school, district

By the CNN Wire Staff STORY HIGHLIGHTSThe boy's mother files a federal lawsuit against a Texas school districtShe says the staff failed to protect Asher Brown, 13Asher had told his mother and stepfather that he was taunted, they claim (CNN) -- The mother of a Texas teenager who committed suicide last year filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday, arguing the school he attended did nothing after receiving complaints he was being bullied.

Asher Brown, 13, an eighth-grader at Hamilton Middle School, shot himself to death at home last fall.

Amy Truong, Asher's mother, also names Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District in the lawsuit. She argues the middle school staff witnessed some incidents of bullying, physical assaults and name-calling against her son. Despite a policy on bullying and harassment, the suit states, district personnel "had an actual practice and custom of looking the other way."

Last year, Truong and the boy's stepfather told CNN's Anderson Cooper that Asher was bullied because he was small, did not wear fashionable clothing and was a Buddhist. They also said Asher told them he was gay and had received taunts about his sexuality.

The school district had no immediate reaction Tuesday. According to the lawsuit, it has stated there was no evidence of any bullying or complaints filed on behalf of Asher. But the lawsuit says his stepfather, David Truong, went to the school district to talk about Asher being bullied.

The Truongs said they are lobbying the Texas Legislature for anti-bullying reform legislation, according to CNN affiliate KPRC.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive damages and asks that the school adopt a policy known as "Asher's Rule" in which students can confidentially report bullying and harassment.

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Tucson shooting suspect's school releases records

Pima County Sheriff's Dept., AP

Nearly 3,000 pages of documents released by an Arizona community college that Jared Loughner attended show how school administrators struggled to keep up with a flood of media requests and protect its own image after the January shooting rampage in Tucson.

EnlargeClosePima County Sheriff's Dept., AP

Nearly 3,000 pages of documents released by an Arizona community college that Jared Loughner attended show how school administrators struggled to keep up with a flood of media requests and protect its own image after the January shooting rampage in Tucson.

In the thousands of emails and documents released by Pima Community College on Friday, none was dated before the Jan. 8 shooting and most were requests by members of the media for information on Jared Lee Loughner, the suspect in the shooting that killed six and wounded 13, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Requests included questions about whether the college ever sought to get Loughner a mental health evaluation when he was a student at the college, or whether he threatened to kill anyone on campus. The college either refused to answer questions or released short, prepared statements.

Loughner began attending classes at the college in 2005, but was eventually kicked out because of behavior campus police considered disturbing. He was told to get a mental health evaluation or not return.

In one email, college Chancellor Roy Flores told all employees that national news media organizations had sent teams of reporters to campus looking for anyone who knew Loughner. He instructed them not to delete any emails mentioning Loughner so the college could comply with public records laws.

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High school students earn more credits than those in the past

By Sally Holland, CNN Producer STORY HIGHLIGHTSStudy finds teens take harder courses than in 199013% took rigorous classes in 2009, up from 5%Only 25% completed less than the standard curriculum in 2009, down from 60% in 1990 Washington (CNN) -- A new report on high school course work indicates that students are completing more challenging courses and taking more credits than they did in the past.

The High School Transcript Study looked at the curriculum choices for the 2009 graduating class at more than 700 public and private schools representing 37,700 students from across the U.S.

According to the study, graduates in 2009 earned three more credits than their counterparts in 1990, amounting to an additional 420 hours of instruction over four years of high school per student. They also took more challenging courses.

The study divided the students into three curriculum levels: standard, midlevel and rigorous. A rigorous designation indicated the student completed four credits of English, three credits in social studies, four credits in mathematics that included geometry, algebra and precalculus or higher, three credits in science that included biology, chemistry and physics and at least three foreign language credits.

Thirteen percent of the high school graduates in 2009 took the courses required to rank in the rigorous category. This is up from 5% in 1990.

Students who took Algebra I before high school were much more likely to reach the rigorous level according to the study.

"There is a correlation, but not causation," said Henry Kranendonk, who is a member of the National Assessment Governing Board. "The correlation is clearly strong that students who are taking algebra prior to high school are setting themselves up for a more rigorous curriculum."

The mathematics requirements to reach the rigorous benchmark are hard to reach in four years of high school so a head start helps, he added.

Just adding algebra to a middle school curriculum is not necessarily the answer.

"The current certification for teachers in the middle school level, by and large, is not adequate for them to be teaching the kinds of courses we are talking about, like algebra and geometry," Kranendonk said.

Back in 1990, 60% of students completed less than the standard curriculum requirements. That number dropped to 25% in 2009.

For the study, a standard designation meant that the student completed four credit hours in English and three each in social studies, mathematics and science.

The lack of a science course was generally the reason students did not make a higher designation.

"Many graduates lacked only the required science courses to reach the next higher curriculum level," according to Janis Brown, a statistician for the Department of Education. "For example, of the 25% of graduates who did not complete a standard curriculum, 39% lacked only the required three credits in science to attain a standard curriculum."

The High School Transcript Study is done every four or five years by the National Assessment of Educational Progress to look at trends in coursework, credits and grades of U.S. high school graduates.

The full report can be found at http://www.nagb.org/high-school-transcript/.

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Newark school woes transcend money

By Todd Plitt, USA TODAY

Simone Jacobs expresses concerns about charter schools at Science Park High School last month.

EnlargeCloseBy Todd Plitt, USA TODAY

Simone Jacobs expresses concerns about charter schools at Science Park High School last month.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker quickly raised $43 million in matching donations. But what's followed has been less rosy:

•The superintendent left in February after being fired by Republican Gov. Chris Christie; a new leader hasn't been named. The state has controlled Newark's schools since 1995.

•A plan to close some schools and to let charter schools share space with public schools infuriated parents — especially after it was revealed the plan was written by a consulting firm founded by New Jersey's acting education commissioner.

• Booker has been criticized for not revealing enough about the sources of the $43 million and for spending $1 million on a survey of parents' thoughts on school reform.

"It's like they have somebody trying to figure out how they can screw this up the most," says Richard Cammarieri, a former school advisory board member. "Everything they've done is totally tone deaf."

So has anything changed for Newark's 40,000 schoolchildren since the Facebook gift?

"A lot," Booker says. "Suddenly Newark went from sort of a status quo (school) district to a district that is focused on reform."

"Absolutely not," says City Councilman Ras Baraka, Booker's political rival and also a high school principal. "The real on-the-ground stuff, no."

Only about half of Newark's high school students graduate, and half of those do so through a special test for those who flunk the standard proficiency exam.

Booker contends that Newarkers are ready for more charter schools and longer school days and support efforts to weaken teacher and principal tenure rules. Those changes "all poll very dramatically well in our city — but we've never taken dramatic action on anything," he said in an interview. "Now, from the governor's office to the school board, you have a lot of alignment on what it's going to take to make those reforms."

Little agreement has been on display at raucous public meetings where parents, students and teachers have opposed proposed changes.

"These are people's babies, and you don't just make decisions about people's babies without engaging and having some sort of communication with the parents," says Shavar Jeffries, school advisory board president.

Critics of the current plan say good changes already underway will be neglected if the focus is on charter schools. They cite the three-year-old Global Village School Zone, a network of seven schools that offers both education and social services. Brick Academy is a school run by teachers.

"If you know there are pockets of success in this city, you get those people and ask them what's working," says Michael Iovino, a history teacher at a high-performing magnet school.

Charter schools " are like the new Air Jordans," says Carol Tagoe, the mother of three children in a Global Village school that is being merged with another underpopulated school. "Everybody wants to get them, and then when the dust settles, we realize that was a big mistake."

Charter school parents object to being called anti-public. Kimberly Barton's third-grade son Kymor goes to a charter that is planned to share space with a public school. "We just want to make sure we have someplace to go next year," she says. "The problem is that everyone thinks that charters are trying to take over, which we're not."

Booker says his plan involves far more than charters. In September, more schools will have extended school days, principals will have more authority, and new public schools will replace badly performing ones, he says.

But the mayor has been challenged on his legal authority to implement changes — despite Christie's announcement that Booker is in charge of fixing the schools.

"There is a lack of clarity on what exactly the mayor's role is," says Jeffries, the school advisory board president.

Booker "should be involved. That's appropriate," Baraka says. "There's a difference in being involved and controlling it. ... People look at that and say, 'Back up, back up."

Booker, however, is not backing up. When plans are in place, the city will push for return of control from the state to the school district. And then, perhaps, there will be a push for mayoral control of the schools.

"It's very problematic when you have a big district to try to run it with a large group of people, many of whom have conflicting interests," Booker says.

For the moment, the power struggle goes on. The first grants of Facebook money have been given to start five new public high schools, including one intended for gay students. Last week the school advisory board voted against opening the new schools. The district plans to open them anyway. Students are already signing up.

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters

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For D.C., Budget Deal Revives School Voucher Program, Reinstates Ban on Abortion Funding

AP

Feb. 26: Washington Mayor Vincent Gray addresses the Democratic National Committee winter meeting in Washington.

The eleventh-hour budget deal to fund the federal government for the next five months includes two controversial policy riders that have infuriated Washington D.C. local leaders.

One bans Washington from spending its own money to provide abortions for low-income women and the other includes money to revive the city's school voucher program, which subsidizes private school tuition for needy students with federal funds.

In a Saturday morning tweet, Mayor Vincent Gray called both riders a "shameful violation of our right to govern ourselves."

"This is ludicrous," Gray said in statement."While one rider purports to provide educational aid to children in need, the other takes away desperately needed aid from poor women. Hypocrisy is alive and well in the United States Congress."

Gray called on all D.C. residents to voice their opposition to the "colonial status of the District of Columbia."

The GOP-led House voted to reinstate the program last month and passed a stopgap measure this week that included the abortion rider. But those bills had little chance to go any further with the Obama administration opposed to vouchers and the abortion rider. 

However, the Republicans were able to get those initiatives included in Friday night's deal that cut spending by $38.5 billion.

Congress eliminated the voucher program in 2009. Critics of vouchers, including teachers unions, say it draws money away from public schools.

Under the program, which began in 2004, more than 3,700 students, mostly black or Hispanic, have won scholarships which provide up to $7,500 in private-school tuition.

In 2009, the Obama administration lifted the ban on D.C. funding abortions. But earlier this year, House Republicans proposed reinstating the ban in a larger bill that would effectively make permanent a string of separate restrictions, including the so-called Hyde Amendment, which have to be renewed periodically by Congress.

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Consumers cut credit card debt in Feb., but boost car, school loans

U.S. consumers unexpectedly took on more debt for vehicles, vacations and education than expected in February, the fifth consecutive monthly increase, the Federal Reserve reported this afternoon. At the same time, Americans continued to pay off their credit cards.

Overall, total consumer debt rose at an annually adjusted 3.8%, the largest increase since June 2008. Consumers now owe $2.42 trillion.

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Guilty of school yard execution-style killings

Alexander Alfaro was 16 when he took part in the execution-style shootings of three college students in 2007. STORY HIGHLIGHTSAlexander Alfaro convicted of murder, felony murder, robbery, other chargesAlfaro is the third person found guilty in the killings of three menThree other defendants have yet to go to trialProsecutor: "I hope that this verdict will give some small degree of solace to the families" (CNN) -- Alexander Alfaro was convicted Tuesday on 16 of 17 charges related to the 2007 execution-style killings of three college friends.

Alfaro, 20, was convicted of murder, felony murder, robbery, conspiracy and weapons charges, according to acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray. Alfaro was found not guilty of attempted murder of Natasha Aeriel, the sole survivor of the attack.

He is the third person convicted in the killing of Terrance Aeriel, 18; Dashon Harvey, 20; and Lofemi Hightower, 20, by shooting them in the head after forcing them to kneel against a wall on the grounds of an elementary school in Newark, New Jersey.

Alfaro's attorney was not immediately available for comment.

Three other defendants -- Jose Carranza, 32; Gerardo Gomez, 18; and Shahid Baskerville, 19 -- have yet to go to trial.

"We hope that he will join both of his other co-defendants, who are now serving multiple life sentences in state prison,'' said prosecutor Robert Laurino at a news conference announcing the verdict. "As I have sadly said on two prior occasions, I hope that this verdict will give some small degree of solace to the families of Lofemi Hightower, Dashon Harvey, Terrence Aeriel and Natasha Aeriel.''

"Our work did not end today," said Romesh Sukhdeo, a prosecutor who tried the case. "We will now move forward and prepare for the next trial, which will probably take place in the fall.''

Two other men involved in the attack have been sentenced to life in prison.

Melvin Jovel was sentenced to a total of 245 years in November 2010. He received three life sentences for each murder and 20 years for attempted murder, Carter said.

Rodolfo Godinez, the first defendant to be tried for the killings, was found guilty on all 17 counts.

Carter said Godinez was involved in gang recruiting and characterized himself as the ringleader who used a handgun and a machete in the slayings. He was sentenced in May 2010 and is serving 216 years in prison.

Alfaro was 16 at the time of the killing. He will be sentenced on May 19 and faces multiple life sentences, prosecutors said.

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Ga. gives D.C. pointers in probe of school cheating

  ShareReprints & PermissionsWhen Atlanta investigators announced in August that teacher-led cheating on standardized tests appeared to be limited, then-governor Sonny Perdue slammed the investigation as "woefully inadequate" and appointed his own team to reopen the probe — with the weight of law behind it.

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Supreme Court Upholds Arizona School Vouchers

AP

The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of an Arizona school voucher program that critics say improperly directs taxpayer funds to religious schools.

Monday's 5-4 ruling expands long-standing court precedents that citizens don't have standing to legally challenge taxes they don't like simply because they're taxpayers. 

The minority on the court maintained that since the case involved claims of a violation of religious freedoms, that the Arizona plaintiffs didn't need to demonstrate a specific personal injury.

The decision, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy and joined by the court's more conservative members, preserves Arizona's school voucher program that is funded by tax credits offered to state taxpayers. Most of the students who use the voucher money attend religious schools.

Opponents of the Arizona system filed a lawsuit claiming the $500 tax credit, available to all individual taxpayers, designed to help pay for private education violates the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from establishing any religion in the United States. The high court in 1968 said taxpayers didn't need to show that they had been personally harmed when lodging an Establishment Clause claim.

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Supreme Court leaves in place Ariz. school tax break

"Monday's decision was a major victory for the Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization, which had intervened in the case to support the Arizona tax-credit program. The Obama Justice Department also had sided with Arizona and had argued that the 1968 case should be narrowly construed. "

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Supreme Court leaves in place Ariz. school tax break

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Study: Spare time, drinking factors into school performance

And what about the students at elite colleges, known for their "work hard, party hard" ethos, who may use substances but make great grades while doing so? Turns out, they're not immune. "I was able to exactly replicate the previous finding with the work-hard, play-hard students," Wyatt said. "Although their grades are inflated to the point where they look super-smart ... you have to realize that they're probably still not recognizing their full potential."

That assertion caused some grief for Wyatt when he took it to a few Ivy League colleges (which he declined to identify). Officials at two of them blew him off, he said, saying that their students still get better grades than anyone else, so who cares?

Other colleges cannot even attempt to make that argument. There has been a decades-long decline in how much students study, Wyatt showed. In the 1960s, college students spent 24 hours a week studying. As of 2005, that number had dropped to 11. There are potential positive implications to students studying less: they're more socially competent, spending more time on leisure and sports, and participating in dynamic learning methods like group work.

But there are negative consequences, too: increased substance use, decreased academic engagement, and decreased professional preparedness. (Wyatt recalled his students in a developmental psychology class, who included text jargon and emoticons in their reflection papers.) "One of the main reasons why students aren't spending as much time studying is they don't know how to study," Wyatt said. "They don't know how to study efficiently."

To that end, Wyatt said, the most important thing to take away from his research is the importance of effective tutoring. "Although tutoring has been proven time and time again," he said, "it's a really hard nut to crack, simply because students resist it almost like it's a sickness. They see it almost as a punishment."

Some colleges are urging students to make tutoring appointments rather than agreeing to visit the lab during open hours. One college this year added an extra resident assistant on each floor of its freshman dorms, plus one "floater RA" per building who visits every room every night to talk with students about their studies. In this way, the RA forms a relationship with the resident and acts as an informal tutor/supervisor to students who might not otherwise seek help. The college, which Wyatt declined to identify because it plans to publish its own study on the experiment, has seen a decline in emergency room visits, campus vandalism, alcohol violations and sexual assault.

Mark Gehrke, a student at Boise State University, said he started a tutoring program at his fraternity this semester, and the average member's grade point average is now 3.5. When other Greek organizations saw the grades of those students, he said, almost all of them added in-house tutors. Gehrke also reinforced the idea that campus activities reduce the negative effects of drinking: when Gehrke got involved in student government, he said, it set his priorities in order, and that newfound passion trickled over into his classroom performance. Offering opportunities for students to socialize on-campus without alcohol — and doing so with something more compelling than "free pizza" — is a great way to improve student success, Wyatt said.

Officials at the session also expressed interest in using the study as a warning sign for new students and their parents — a red flag at freshman orientation to show that, "if you want to succeed," as Wyatt put it, "these are the two main predictors: studying hard and staying off the bottle. That's it."

Some attendees suggested other ideas to improve academic outcomes. "Having worked in housing for 13 years, I'm always thinking about how students spend their time," said Kevin Michael Kerr, general manager of student housing at Greenville Technical College, in South Carolina. At Greenville, starting next year, all students who intend to eventually transfer to a four-year degree program will be required to take a class in which they re-learn how to study and think critically. Halfway through the class's first semester, students are already coming back with better grades.

Wyatt approved. "Educating students to study better is the crux of our entire academic system," he said. "Just being able to say, 'You need to study more' isn't enough. You need to study better."

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