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As students return to school after summer, the risk of H1N1 grows stronger. Students confined to close quarters are at greater risk of contracting any type of illness, and this year, the flu is much more serious. To combat the risks of shared seating, enclosed classrooms, and close student contact, public schools are actively creating plans to prevent the spread of H1N1 before the school year begins.

Attempting to Prevent the Spread of H1N1 in 51±¬ÁÏs

As reveals, public schools across the country are preparing for the potentially pandemic spread of H1N1 among their elementary, middle, and high school students. In fact, "Health experts say the illness poses a special risk to schools, which are set to re-open at the start of the flu season."

In an attempt to prevent the spread of this serious virus, some public school leaders are requiring that students receive mandatory vaccinations. While nearly all public schools require kids to have vaccinations for illnesses such as polio and the measles, some leaders believe that students should be vaccinated for H1N1 when the treatment becomes available. Based upon current vaccine testing, students should be able to gain access to the vaccination by October of 2009.

The US Center for Disease Controls (CDC) warns parents and school leaders that the H1N1 could "come back strong this year and trigger a severe flu season," and subsequently, the CDC "is recommending vaccines for several

Today's children must be prepared for tomorrow's demands. Considering technology's paramount role in nearly every career and industry, developing technological fluency is important for every child.

Understanding the relationship between technology and education, public schools have begun to incorporate innovative laptop programs to help improve student learning and performance. According to ERIC Digest, laptop programs have been part of organized education practices since 1988; however, these laptop opportunities have only recently gained national popularity in the past few years.

By incorporating laptops into public school classrooms, teachers can enhance the curriculum, providing students extensive research opportunities, access to up-to-date information, and many other learning benefits.

The Learning Benefits of Laptop Programs

As ERIC Digest further reveals, several leading computer companies have actively engaged in research to evaluate the benefits of laptops in public schools. In examining the perks, researchers and instructors report educational advantages, such as:

• Textbooks are expensive and often outdated, but students can engage in up-to-date research through the internet with laptops.
• Students can reinforce their lessons through their laptop's technological tools, including study games, class-specific discussion blogs, and other digital resources.
• Students can edit and correct their writing with greater ease, as the laptops provide students with instant dictionaries, spell-checking tools, and thesaurus resources.
• Students can become versed in technological tools, which will help provide students with greater preparation for their technology-based careers in the future.
• Students from different financial backgrounds can have

Bill Gates revolutionized the PC industry, but will he be changing the face of America's public schools? Based upon his generous donations to educational institutions, as well as his commitment to education research, the answer may be a resounding "yes."

Mr. Gates recently spoke at the 2009 National Conference of State Legislatures in July and expressed the importance of improving teacher performance in order to improve student learning and school success. According to PHYSORG, a science and technology based newsgroup, Gates argued that enhanced methods of measuring both student and teacher performance would ultimately help build for a stronger educational system. As Gates further explains, "The U.S. must improve its educational standing in the world by rewarding effective teaching and by developing better, universal measures of performance for students and teachers."

With Gates retired from Microsoft, many educational leaders are eagerly awaiting his potential contributions to improving our nation's public schools.

Gates Foundation: Improving Education, Half a Billion Dollars at a Time

Bill Gates, along with his wife, Melinda, established the Gates Foundation to alleviate humanity issues both internationally and domestically. In recent years, the Gates Foundation has garnered attention for its incredibly generous contributions to public schools. Specifically, according to , the Gates Foundation has allocated half a billion dollars to improve teaching in public schools!

The Gates Foundation reviewed nearly 110 school districts, and thus far, has selected a group of finalists. Currently, Pittsburgh area schools are ranked with contenders from

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act mandated that all public schools evaluate their teachers based upon stricter qualifications. However, not all schools have revamped their employee rosters and hiring checklists, leading parents to wonder, "are my child's teachers still qualified?"

According to the US Department of Education in 2005, all public school teachers must be considered "Highly Qualified" in order to teach. To be labeled as a "highly qualified teacher," instructors must hold a bachelor's degree, full state certification, and proof of subject-area competency.

While the standards of a "highly qualified teacher" are generally reasonable, many schools in the United States expressed challenges in achieving these goals. Specifically, schools in rural areas found it nearly impossible to hire new, "more qualified" teachers than the limited number currently employed. As a result, the mandates of NCLB were revised to allow for more flexibility.

To find out if your local public school teachers meet all of the NCLB qualifications, consider the following standards outlined by the legislation.

NCLB "Highly Qualified" Requirements

The requirements for achieving the "highly qualified" teaching status depends upon one's subject area and additional state-based guidelines. Generally, all elementary teachers are required to meet the following criteria:

• More than 180 days of teaching experience
• Pass state-mandated subject tests
• Certified for all elementary education (as opposed to specific subject areas)

Middle school and high school teachers are required to meet the following criteria:

• More than 180 days of teaching experience
• Passing score on state subject-area tests