TheLoop21.com

No more Senior Year?

by annie
Senior year, the most highly anticipated year of high school, might be optional for some students. Allowing senior year to be an option makes me think what high school would have been like if I knew 12 grade was not mandatory.

Utah State Sen. Chris Buttars initially proposed that the 12th grade be hacked from the education system statewide, CNNMoney reports. But the senator is now suggesting that Utah make senior year of high school optional. Butter hopes to provide financial incentives for students who opt to graduate early, which could save the state $102 million annually.

Buttars hopes his program will help spread the word about early graduation, provide students with grants up to $2,000 toward a college education, and ultimately reduce the school district's $30 million deficit by a third.

And the protests over tuition, education begin

by annie
Rallies and protests over education cutbacks are beginning. Students, teachers, parents and many others on more than 100 campuses are planning protests and walkouts over the major budget cuts, layoffs and tuition increases.

Students in at least 32 states are expected to join the grass-roots campaign, USA Today reports. This has been boiling up since demonstrations last fall in California, where students, faculty and unions protested plans for a 32 percent tuition increase amid the state's fiscal crisis.

Compete to get President Obama to come to your high school graduation

by annie
Who would ever think the president of this country would take part in one of the most memorable moments in a teen's life? While the first lady fights against childhood obesity, President Obama is preparing to speak at someone's high school graduation.

The White House and the Education Department are giving public high schools the opportunity to compete to have the president speak at their commencement ceremony this spring, USA Today reports.

The winning school must demonstrate how it's helping prepare students to meet Obama's goal of the U.S. having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.