Jessica Ahlquist, a 16-year-old-junior at Cranston High School West, is an outspoken atheist who believes that prayer should not be on display in public schools. Last month she expressed her views at school board hearings and a federal judge ruled in her favor deeming prayer's presence at Cranston High School to be unconstitutional. In retaliation, residents have threatened Ahlquist and others like State Representative Peter G. Palumbo have called her "an evil little thing." 

A new study in Science Magazine is calling into question the logic behind single-sex schooling. The report, "The Pseudoscience of Single-Sex Schooling," says that single-sex education is "justified by weak, cherry-picked, or misconstrued scientific claims rather than by valid scientific evidence." This has stirred up controversy amongst same-sex education advocates.

It’s back to school season, so The Takeaway is doing a special series on educational issues in America. Many school districts are facing deep budget cuts, while also feeling the pressure to raise student achievement. That puts a lot of pressure on teachers, students, and administrators alike. Today, two students whose school choir lost funding due to budget cuts last year are speaking out. Rather than throw in the towel, the students went to great lengths to try saving the choir — as well as several other extra-curricular programs at their school.

Ever wonder how a story on The Takeaway evolves? Our stories can start with everything from a tweet to a listener response phoned in during the morning's show, and move forward over the next hours as we interact with guests, put together radio segments, and blog on the subject at hand. This week, one of our stories began with a paper about student performance being impacted by unemployment rates. In the visual element below, you can see first hand how the story progressed, from our initial tweet and listener responses to a blog from Takeaway contributor Beth Kobliner. 

It’s report card season around America, the time of year when thousands of students and parents wait on pins and needles for what they hope will be good grades. But this year, some, if not many parents, may find themselves disappointed. And here’s why: student test scores tend to drop along with a community’s economy – regardless of whether their own parents have lost their jobs.

The tornado that churned through Joplin Missouri on Sunday left three schools in rubble. School was out at the time the twister hit, but District officials estimate that 3,000 of Joplin's 7,800 students were in the path of destruction, and many teachers are still trying to account for their students — reaching out, says Kindergarten teacher Susan Moore, "through facebook, phone banks, texting... any way we can." Rich Oppel has been reporting on the search for our partner The New York Times.

It’s college acceptance letter season, and all this week, we’re talking about college-related issues. Up until the 1960s, historically black colleges were the primary higher learning institutions available to African-Americans. Some of the most famous black people in the U.S., from Oprah Winfrey to Spike Lee, have attended them and went on to achieve great success. But in our seemingly less-segregated times, are these colleges really a good educational option?

High school seniors are glued to their mailboxes this week as they await college acceptance letters. However, after they get in, the question of how to pay for college looms. Personal finance expert and Takeaway contributor Beth Kobliner has some advice on how to get the right financial aid and to tell us about some affordable options for a college education.

What is more useful a technical degree or a liberal arts degree. And, which is likely to help you get a job? Two people who stand on opposite sides of the fence. Brian Fitzgerald is the executive director of the Business Higher Education Forum. He stands in favor of science, technology, engineering, and math — or “STEM” degrees. And Mark Bauerlein is an English professor at Emory University. He believes you can’t go wrong with a liberal arts degree.

Columbus Day is one of only 10 federal holidays, and in most schools across the country, it's recognized as a celebration of the man who discovered America. For many Americans, Christopher Columbus is a hero.

But in recent years, educators, politicians and scholars have argued that the conventional teaching of the holiday offers a lionizing myth of Columbus, and that students should be made aware of the uglier truths that followed his arrival in the Americas.

The House is expected to return from its summer recess for an emergency vote which, if passed, could potentially save tens of thousands of teachers' jobs. When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called for the emergency vote, some Republicans accused the Congresswoman of pandering to teachers' unions and special interest groups ahead of November’s mid-term elections.  

On Thursday, Arizona's SB 1070 officially goes into effect, meaning law enforcement will be able to question anyone they suspect to be in the country illegally. Leading up to Thursday, there has been a growing climate of fear among immigrants in the state. Many undocumented families have decided to leave Arizona, some heading to other states and some going back to their home countries. Monday was the first day of school in the Balsz Elementary School District, an area where more than 70 percent of the population is Hispanic. We talk with Superintendent Jeffrey Smith who says that more than 500 students were not in attendance yesterday.

Today, the American Academy of Pediatrics is releasing a new clinical report suggesting that parents let their head lice infested children stay in school.

With the unemployment rate for people in their twenties hovering around 15 percent, it’s tempting for recent college grads to just skip the terrible job market and stay in school. And many of them are doing just that. Last year, there was a 6 percent increase in graduate school enrollment, and this year, 27 percent of college grads will go to grad school instead of entering the job market. But Takeaway work contributor Beth Kobliner says it might not be the best choice for everyone.

When we talk about bullying at school, we usually hear about it from the victim's perspective. But what is the role played by the parents of the bullying children? In the aftermath of the Phoebe Prince suicide in South Haldey, Mass., we find out how much parents can be responsible for their children's aggressive behavior. 

Earlier, we asked you to start the conversation on this topic. Read those comments here.

All week long we are 'Getting Schooled' on the Takeaway — talking about the big issues in our schools today and how things are changing, now that No Child Left Behind is being revamped and the Department of Education is disbursing $100 billion in stimulus money. We kick off the conversation by taking a look at why American schools do so poorly in comparison to other industrialized countries and what we can learn from them.

Finnish student Elina Lamponen spent a year as an exchange student in small-town Michigan, and comments on leaving Helsinki and big-city life, as well as how American high school compared to her schooling thus far in Finland.

For this week’s family segment, we discuss a topic that’s on lots of teenagers’ and parents’ minds right now, as April 1st ticks closer: college acceptance. And how to balance hopes for a dream school versus the reality of what a family can afford.

With 21,000 Haitian American students, Miami-Dade schools have struggled with the aftermath of Haiti's earthquake perhaps more than any other school system in the United States. 

As some public schools experience steep budget cuts, they turn to parents for help. Among other things, they're sending letters home, asking for cash to help keep school programs running. To find out what else schools are asking parents to do during a budget crunch, we talk to New York Times Motherlode writer Lisa Belkin, and Jody Becker, a mom and journalist based in Irvine, California who is helping her daughter's school.