Exchange City, an interactive economic education program, partners with elementary schools to give students an opportunity to live in the adult world for a day, assigning them roles and responsibilities in a life-size replica of a real city. Run by the nonprofit Junior Achievement, Exchange City lets students fulfill roles as diverse as storeowner, banker, or police officer, while learning first-hand what it takes to create a business, run a newspaper, supervise employees, and hold elected office. Prior to their daylong experience, teachers and adult volunteers attend on-site training workshops, and students complete an interdisciplinary in-class curriculum.

With the adoption of an ambitious policy regulating the nighttime illumination of buildings, the city of Toronto is "saving" two birds with one stone: protecting migratory birds and conserving energy. For unknown reasons, city lights attract birds, killing tens of thousands annually. A new city council resolution specifies that all new buildings must incorporate the needs of migratory birds into their design and management. In partnership with other organizations, the city is also launching a public awareness campaign, "Lights Out Toronto," to encourage residents to participate in this conservation effort.

While many see video games as a cause of today's obesity crisis, West Virginia officials are trying to transform such games into a solution by introducing technology that promotes exercise into the classroom. State middle schools are now using the video game "Dance Dance Revolution" in their physical education classes, and the game will be introduced to all schools by 2008. The wildly popular game requires players to step on a special mat that corresponds to symbols they see on a video screen and, in a pilot program conducted last year, has been shown to help children lose weight.

According to organizers of the effort, Illinois is the first state to offer farmers and other landowners the opportunity to earn and sell greenhouse gas emissions credits by adopting various conservation practices. State agencies and agriculture and conservation groups have partnered with the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX)--North America's only voluntary, legally binding emission reduction and trading system--to create the Illinois Conservation and Climate Initiative (ICCI). Officials recognize the importance of using markets to allocate emissions credits to those who most value them and to take advantage of the emerging market in carbon trading.

Across the pond, an East London school is encouraging class participation and attention by banning raised hands. With teachers choosing who answers questions in class instead of calling on volunteers, the "No hands up" method holds all students accountable for material. Pupils in a pinch can also "phone a friend" by nominating another student in the classroom to answer instead. Administrators report that the new practice has improved attention levels.


Douglass Elementary School, in Boulder, Colorado, customizes curriculum to accomodate the differing learning styles of girls and boys and help improve the academic achievement of boys, who currently lag behind girls. For example, administrators and teachers give students more freedom to move around the classroom, latitude to choose study topics, and avenues to express themselves kinetically, such as in art or role-playing. Douglass's success in implementing these strategies to reach boys in a systematic manner has recently received national coverage and interest.

Public libraries are turning to web-logs, or blogs, to maintain an interactive community dialogue. Taking cues from many other institutions that have used online diaries and forums, librarians use blogs to communicate with parents and children about library programs, new books, and research tips. In Connecticut, for example, librarians are offered continuing education courses on how to create their own blogs to serve their constituents better.

As Asia increases its economic and cultural influence, many Americans have prioritized the study of Chinese languages for their children. Proposals to allocate hundreds of millions of dollars to teach Chinese in public schools are being circulated in Congress. Some school systems are way ahead; Chicago, for example, has developed the country's largest Chinese language program with 3,000 students enrolled annually. And Oregon's public and higher education facilities have won grants to expose students to Chinese from kindergarten to college, with scholarships for those willing to take a college curriculum entirely in Chinese. With the College Board set to launch a Chinese Language and Culture Advanced Placement program in the fall of 2006, many schools across the country are expected to join this trend.

New from the Michigan Municipal League--a CD-ROM resource to train local public officials in the issues, programs, and opportunities related to affordable homes.

Newsletter produced by: Alexander Dworkowitz , Brendan St. Amant, and Vanessa Ruget (researchers and writers); Joellen Secondo (editor).