Kavitha Cardoza

Arkansas was the first state to start sending letters home flagging students' Body Mass Index. Twenty years later, they do not appear to have had any effect on childhood obesity.

Pediatricians historically have not had much instruction on how to deal with childhood obesity. But now medical schools are starting to train their students on leading with empathy.

About 20 years ago, Arkansas started weighing children in school and sending home letters to try to combat obesity. Even though obesity rates only have risen, many other states picked up the policy.

Districts store all kinds of sensitive student data, which means the consequences of a school cyberattack can follow pupils well into adulthood. And it's not just their credit that's at risk.

School systems of every size have been hit by cyberattacks. "It's not Johnny in his room trying to break in and change his grades anymore," says one superintendent.

State and federal governments have made hundreds of millions of dollars available to pay for Grow Your Own teacher programs. But researchers say it's unclear whether they actually work.

Puerto Rico, the nation's sixth-largest school district, is in crisis. It's both uniquely vulnerable to natural disasters and unusually ill-equipped to help children recover from them.

If you're noticing the dust on the bookshelf or the crumbs on the floor, here are tips and tricks from NPR's Life Kit for how to clean better, starting with your bedroom.

Advocates have been calling for changes in the field. They say these jobs are exhausting, with low wages, little respect and little career growth. "We need a complete transformation," one expert says.

Home health aides work for low wages, but they're critical for elderly and disabled people. A proposal to inject billions of dollars in federal funding may be an opportunity for sweeping change.