Students from Communities In Schools of Charleston recently participated in a cooking club at a local food bank to learn how to prepare healthy meals.

Homeroom: In recognition of National Teacher Appreciation Week, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan honored four educators across the country with a phone call to thank them for the important job they do. And on Monday, he sat down with his former high school English teacher, Darlene McCampbell, , and thanked her personally for inspiring him, and for the impact she had on his life.

Great teachers often have different titles – parent, mentor, tutor. And at Communities In Schools, that title is often site coordinator. Anyone who pushes, inspires and encourages students gets credit for helping them become well-rounded adults.

That reminds me to acknowledge those  who helped shape my future. Thank you Ms. Goldberg, for teaching me the finer points of interviewing. Thank you Mrs. Stone, for helping me find my voice. Thank you, Mr. Graham, for…

The Huffington Post: A new report was released by the Institute of Medicine that offered solutions to the serious obesity issue we are facing in America. This article points out that since children spend half of their waking hours in school, and consume between a third and a half of their daily calories there, addressing the issue of obesity in schools is a good place to start. Communities In Schools works diligently to provide support for economically disadvantaged students and families. And we take it a step further, by making sure that nutrition is also part of the equation.

Some Communities In Schools sites offer cooking programs help students learn about the variety of ways to prepare healthier meals. In some schools there room to start a garden, or site coordinators encourage students to get their hands dirty in an already-existing community garden.. Activities like these provide hands-on experience with healthy food and help children make a connection with what they consume.

It comes down to information and choices, and helping young people learn more about nutrition at an early age could go a long way in helping them make good choices as adults.

The New York Times: Harvard’s doing it. Stanford’s doing it. So are Penn and Princeton, and many other elite schools across the country. The New York Times describes the size, depth and seriousness of universities in their efforts to offer free online courses. Online learning removes the barrier of access, putting teachers and instructors who have subject matter expertise directly in front of students. And it supports students who learn differently, and who may do better at online learning than traditional learning. Communities In Schools supports online learning and bridges the technology gap so that all students receive an early introduction and access to the technology they will need to compete in the global workforce post-high school and beyond.

Bonus! Check out this great video of Arne Duncan with his favorite teacher, Darlene McCampbell.