News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Consumers, advocates rushing toward health-reform deadline
Mike Sherry – The Hale Center for Journalism As an uninsured agriculture worker, Salvador Lopez said he’d welcome health coverage so he could afford diabetes medication. Health insurance would also help his wife, said the Excelsior Springs, Mo., resident. Not feeling well on Saturday, she actually had her blood pressure checked at the health fair…
KC high school students reflect on race, education with ‘American Promise’
Broadcast students at the Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts took part in an advance screening of the documentary “American Promise,” which follows two African American boys from preschool to high school graduation. At age five, best friends Seun and Idris are accepted at Dalton, one of the most prestigious private schools in the…
KC health commission expands anti-violence effort
For several years, the Kansas City, Mo., Health Commission has delved into the city’s violent crime problem by trying to stop the spread as if it’s a communicable disease. The commission’s main vehicle for this approach has been the Aim4Peace program, which (among other things) sends trained “interrupters” into the streets to help curb the…
Book about Center School District chronicles academic transformation
In 2006, Center School District was a struggling urban school district. The district was provisionally accredited and met only six of Missouri’s 14 education standards. Eight years later Center School District has earned state accreditation with distinction and is meeting all 14 education standards on its annual performance review. “Parents and Schools Together” chronicles Center…
Kansas training educators to protect student privacy
A Kansas program that trains educators how to safeguard students’ digital records received national recognition last week during U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s remarks at the Common Sense Media Privacy Zone Conference. “As you know, though, many of our school systems have work to do to bring (privacy) policy into line with fast-changing technologies….