"So far the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive," said Brandi Waters, senior director of AP African American Studies at the College Board. Waters, a New Jersey native who holds degrees from Yale, Harvard, Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvania, said many students have called the course "a transformative experience."

The inaugural Washtenaw County Head Start Awareness Award honored a trio of people who follow the "Head Start" program's mission in their everyday work, said Teresa Harrington, WISD Head Start quality assurance specialist. The honorees received their awards during a Nov. 28 meeting of the Washtenaw County Board of Education.

Leaders in Oakland USD in California have turned to the community to find paraprofessionals who can help teachers by providing additional personalized instruction in early literacy.