Overcoming an Epidemic: Opioids in Pennsylvania

The United States has rising childhood obesity and schools deal with kids who are picky. Through innovative school gardens and kid taste testing food, entrepreneurs across the nation are getting children to eat vegetables at school and love it.

The rapid development of emerging economies across Asia and Africa is lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty - but there is much debate as to how to best structure this growth. If these economies evolve in the same way as in the West - with unchecked, excessive resource consumption and heavy pollution - the planet may be on the fast track to disaster. Earthrise explores how these nations can grow sustainably using improved, eco-conscious technologies like renewable energy and eco-friendly farming practices.

When the federal government fails to stimulate social change, local areas step up. Tennessee is giving more structure and funding to community college education, and it’s drastically increasing graduation rates. Alaska and other states are getting rid of money bail. All around the country, citizen activists are becoming advocates and attempting to make our political system accessible to everyone. Despite partisan politics in Washington, D.C., the country is nonetheless experiencing social progress.

Canada and Australia have both used targeted immigration policies to grow their rural populations. But Canada’s more holistic approach seems to match the long-term needs of migrant and local populations better than Australia’s.

Journalist Marcella Bombardieri calls community college "one of America's largest and most important anti-poverty programs." The president of Amarillo College in Texas is testing just how far community colleges can go to fight systemic issues - day care, social workers, and emergency funds for students' daily expenses are part of his plan. Other administrators are looking on at the dramatic experiment with mixed views and takeaways.

In 2017, New Jersey eliminated the cash bail system – meaning that potential offenders awaiting court could not be held in jail for money. Instead, judges use an algorithm that considers the individual’s criminal history, flight risk, and threat level to the community. As New York considers doing the same, it looks the impact it has made in New Jersey.

A number of barriers prevent young children in Appalachia from enrolling in formal preschool classes. In response, a fleet of buses is traveling to remote communities to teach students academic and social skills.

Farmers in Oklahoma adopted the practice of fencing cattle away from streams and providing alternative clean water sources, dramatically improving water quality, restoring local wildlife, and enhancing veterinary outcomes and productivity for local ranchers.

To help shore up learning gaps in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, two Indiana middle schools doubled students’ instructional time in English and math, dedicating two class periods to each subject each day. The state also made it easier for schools to test students throughout the year instead of just once at the end of the year, providing checkpoints for educators to measure their progress and tailor instruction accordingly.

Las escuelas agrícolas agroecológicas implementadas por ACUA y tres asociaciones de mujeres (AMC, AMP, AMH) constituyen un programa integral que combina formación técnica en agricultura orgánica con empoderamiento femenino y desarrollo de autonomía económica, utilizando una metodología "campesino a campesino." Más de 685 mujeres rurales en cuatro distritos de El Salvador ahora puedan generar ingresos propios, alimentar a sus familias de manera saludable y fortalecer su liderazgo comunitario mientras cultivan en tierras propias o alquiladas sin uso de químicos.