And more than that, they’re pinning their hopes on it attracting more teachers to the McDowell County school system, whose ills are exacerbated by a revolving door of novice instructors and substitutes. At one point, McDowell County had the second-highest rate of deaths from prescription opioids, a number 13 times the national average. The shifts that have beset McDowell County are happening all over the country. McDowell County has taken this to heart, partly out of necessity and partly because other measures have failed. Research shows that by the time children in poverty enter kindergarten, they already lag behind other, better-off students.

Source: Washington Post October 19, 2019 22:39 UTC