Today, child care standards vary wildly from state to state. And even within states, standards may vary depending on the size or type of provider: Smaller, at-home providers are frequently subject to much less rigorous requirements.

The supporters held a rally for the Indian Heritage Middle College, an alternative high-school program, asking Seattle schools today to keep it in the district. The program was supposed to close last year but was delayed by Superintendent Jose Banda. Now it is supposed to move to a space in Northgate Mall. 

Educators say shorter school days allow teachers to complete required non-class work at a time when there is no money to pay teachers to do the work outside of school hours. But education analyst Jami Lund said the uptick in partial days is driven by something else -– collective bargaining and districts willing to give up class time when there is no money for teacher raises.

The UW and WSU have developed a plan that takes 32 low-income high school graduates and puts them into a five-year engineering program. The program allows students to get used to the college workload before entering the regular engineering curriculum the next year.

School Board Member Kay Smith-Blum says she is dropping her candidacy for a State Board of Education position. She will stay on the Seattle School Board until at least the end of her term this year and may seek re-election.

The ACT test for high school students will have a computer version available by 2015. A pen and paper option will still be available for a while. More students are now taking the ACT than the SAT for their college entrance exam. 

After eight years on the board, DeBell is hanging up his hat, with hopes of doing something new. Three school board seats will be on the ballot this year. 

Kim Mead, an Edmonds teacher, becomes leader of the state's most powerful union of public school teachers this summer. She won election as the WEA's president late Friday night.

Oregon operates the second-most-expensive public preschools in the nation, at a cost of more than $8,500 per child for a half-day, Head Start-like program, according to a study just released.

Through his work in transforming his small school into a place where nearly every student graduated with some college credit, Jeff Charbonneau — a science teacher from Zillah High School in Yakima Valley — was named national teacher of the year by the Council of Chief State School Officers.