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Unifying America: ‘Braver Angels' Try To Bridge The Political Divide

Natalie Brand

March 18, 2021 |

CBS News |

Multi-Media |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

Braver Angels works to decrease political polarization by pairing up Republicans and Democrats for one-on-one conversations about each other’s political views and experiences. The goal of the conversations is to encourage understanding through talking and listening, not to change anyone’s views. Participants often find they share similar goals but just have different perspectives on how to achieve them. The group has about 15,000 members representing every state. Membership surged after the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capital, after which around 4,500 Braver Angels gathered virtually to try and heal.

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How Jersey City Middle Schoolers Stopped a Flood

Phil Roberts

March 12, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Jersey City, New Jersey

In a science class in a local New Jersey school, students came up with a green solution to a storm water management and flooding problem in their parking lot when it rained. With help from the Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program out of Rutgers University and funding from city agencies, they were able to build planters and install concrete to absorb the runoff. The project galvanized the community, encouraging the school to expand their STEM curriculum.

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Road Salt Is Imperiling Aquatic Ecosystems. It Doesn't Have To.

Anne N. Connor

March 11, 2021 |

Undark |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Lake George, New York

An experiment in upstate New York showed how town officials could maintain clean and safe roads during the winter season and protect the environment. By using a salt brine before winter storms, they were able to plow the roads more efficiently and, at the same time, reduce the amount of salt going into waterways that could impact freshwater ecosystems. The effort, launched by the nonprofit FUND for Lake George, required “a culture shift within the towns’ maintenance departments,” but the communities were able to cut their salt usage in half over two years.

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To serve kids in the pandemic, a tribe and a Washington school district create a unique learning space

Dahlia Bazzaz

March 09, 2021 |

The Seattle Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Port Angeles, Washington

Leaders from the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and Port Angeles School District had a vision of creating a go-between space for students while school buildings were closed. Within the span of a month, this small community managed to create one.

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Mindfulness training is helping Philly students – and teachers – thrive

Jessica Blatt Press

March 09, 2021 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Amy Edelstein thought that if high school students knew how to meditate they could learn how to focus, stay on track, and regulate negative self-talk. They could become better. So, in 2014 she started the Inner Strength Foundation to provide public schools with research-backed mindfulness curriculum. The curriculum has become a 12-week program, with instructors visiting classrooms in 19 schools across the city once a week.

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Colorado District Uses High School Apprentices to Grow Its Own More Diverse Teacher Workforce

Asher Lehrer-Small

March 09, 2021 |

The 74 |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Colorado

The Cherry Creek School district is using apprenticeships to create a more racially diverse pipeline of K-12 educators in Colorado. High school juniors and seniors are paid to participate in the apprenticeship, and are able to earn college credit as well. This is one of the ways the district is working on having its workforce reflect its student bodies more accurately. Currently 85% of teachers are white, and half of its student body is kids of color. Now in its second year, the program has grown from an initial cohort of 12 youth apprentices to 26,

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Preserve, revive, restore: Indian ponds spring back to life

Anuradha Nagaraj

March 08, 2021 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Saligao, Goa

Through a government funding program, several communities are working on initiatives to improve their access to clean drinking water. In India, one community formed a citizen’s group, cleaned up a local pond, and restored its natural water flow. Another initiative involved more than 1,000 women from 21 villages to build rainwater harvesting structures. These projects are seen as models for water conservation efforts as climate change exacerbates the country’s ongoing water crisis.

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Massachusetts Actually Might Have a Way to Keep Schools Open

Katherine J. Wu

March 04, 2021 |

The Atlantic |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Massachusetts

In Massachussetts, a two-month long state-run pilot program is allowing some schools to resume in-person classes. Each week, more than 300,000 students are tested through the program. Instead of individual tests, the program uses “pool-testing,” “which batches samples from multiple people into a single tube.” The method is cheaper. The weekly tests allows schools to stay ahead of outbreaks. For now, the state is paying for the program, which costs up to $60 million. After the two months, the districts will have to pay for the program themselves.

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Data and Door Knocking: One City's Push for Racial Equity in Vaccines

Dan Gorenstein

March 04, 2021 |

Tradeoffs |

Multi-Media |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

To improve racial equity in Covid-19 vaccine distribution, the Chicago public health commissioner along with volunteers in Chicago's Belmont Cragin neighborhood have worked together to bring a pop-up vaccination clinic to a local high school and increase outreach to residents via phone calls, text messaging, and door-knocking. Since opening, the site has been able to vaccinate 2,000 people per week.

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Schools Look To Algorithms To Flag Students Who May Harm Themselves

Alisa Roth

March 03, 2021 |

NPR |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Mason City, Iowa

Companies like Gaggle are typically used by school districts to track student online behavior, but now they are tracking something else—self-harm. Machine learning flags words that might indicate a student is thinking of hurting themselves. “It gives us insight into what the student's thinking.” Gaggle identified 64,000 student references to suicide and self-harm. The company claims to have saved 927 student lives. In Mason City, districts receive alerts when a student’s search is flagged. “Nicole Pfirman says there have been a few times where she believes an alert saved a kid's life.”

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