Quick Hits

Colleges invest in athletes' grades: The time, money and resources spent on academic support for student-athletes take an astounding jump. (The Tennessean)

More New Orleans schools to convert to charter status: The Recovery School District is forging ahead with long-range plans to give charter status -- and thus more independence -- to many of the schools it still operates in New Orleans. (Times Picayune)

Coalition taking on teen pregnancy: A coalition of San Antonio community members has united to fight the city's teen pregnancy problem and is calling on the state Legislature to require more comprehensive sex education in schools and make it easier for teen moms to access contraceptives. (San Antonio Express-News)

Special education teachers refocus strategies to passing state tests: Arrowhead High School teacher Kathy Kopp ticked through her lesson on essay construction. Then she gave her sophomores one more tip for their upcoming language arts test from the state. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Your name here - Los Angeles Unified will sell naming rights: Name for sale! There are no signs saying "Your Name Here," but there might as well be. For the right price, Los Angeles Unified will sell naming rights to its new arts high school on Grand Avenue. (Los Angeles Times)

Geothermal energy put to test at schools: Some school districts in Arizona are considering geothermal energy to reduce utility costs. (Arizona Republic)

Baby Dolls Raise a Stink: Corrine Vigna, 4, whispers to her mother, Nancy, about her No. 1. Christmas wish, Baby Alive Learns to Potty. The doll talks, eats and answers nature's call, but mistakes can happen as a warning on the box reads: "May stain some surfaces." Critics of such realistic toys wonder if some things are best left to the imagination. (Washington Post)

Teachers face dilemma when students want to Facebook: What seems like an easy question — Will you be my friend? — is not necessarily so for teachers who have joined the Facebook phenomenon. (Houston Chronicle)

More white parents choose public schools: Perceptions of quality, Nashville neighborhood networks influence choice over private schools. The student population is 60 percent white and 35 percent African-American, with the rest divided between Asians and Hispanics. The removal of two pre-kindergarten classes, which were predominantly black, helped boost the numbers. (The Tennessean)

Colleges should help cut textbook costs: Noting the ever-rising costs of college textbooks that could run students $400 to $800 a semester, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released a report yesterday suggesting ways colleges, and students themselves, could help cut textbook expenses. (Newsday)

Teacher Beats Student to death for not doing homework: An Egyptian mathematics teacher has appeared in court in Alexandria accused of beating an 11-year-old to death because he did not do his homework. (BBC)

German fourth grade students try to poison teacher's pet: School children have tried to poison their classmate at a primary school in Hamburg because she was too smart, daily Express reported this week. The eight-year old girl still can’t believe what happened to her. “They wanted to poison me and wanted me to die.” (thelocal.de)