Jody Lawrence-Turner

Here's a chance to have your art displayed in a U.S. Congress member's office.

Washington bus crash kills driver, several students are injured.

Musicians will perform jazz during a fundraiser next week surrounded by artwork their tunes inspired. The oil pastels – some with brightly colored swirls, some featuring precise shapes and others with dark lines and deep hues – were created by Chase Middle School art students as they listened to a CD created by the school’s jazz band.

Camaraderie and joy filled a Madison Elementary School classroom where students came together to play table games last week. Laurelle Skipper playfully ignored William Johns when the fifth-grader warned her that her Jenga technique would lead to failure. Glenn Stites pretended not to notice Chance Schmidt moving the wrong game piece on their Hoot Owl Hoot game board.

Spokane Public Schools has been named a District of Distinction for continuing to raise its graduation rate.

Spokane Public Schools officials now know how school schedules will need to change to accommodate adding 30 minutes to the school day for elementary students. There are two options under consideration, with a decision expected on March 11. Both options mean a change for middle school students’ schedules, however.

Girls ages 12 to 17 are more likely than boys to become addicted to prescription drugs. Nearly half of the 2.1 million admissions to drug and alcohol treatment facilities in the United States in 2013 were for females, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Spokane Public Schools and Central Valley School District kindergarten registration is next week.

Three teen girls in Central Valley High School’s DECA program are busy preparing for their own version of “Shark Tank.” Their entrepreneurial idea has already impressed local DECA judges, now Paige Tucker, Kazlyn Roullier and Lauren Williams need to sell Rhythm Radio – an app that syncs music to your heart rate while exercising – at the upcoming state competition.

A teacher shortage is looming across Washington. The addition of full-day kindergarten along with smaller class sizes through the third grade will require more teachers next school year.

Buses powered by little feet are headed to Spokane schools this spring. A movement led by Spokane Regional Health District to offer children guided walks to school is aimed at encouraging exercise and keeping kids safe.

The wiggling stops and their attention narrows. In almost no time, fourth-graders are identifying human bones, building circuit boards and coding video games. “If they taught this in school, I’d be listening more,” Adams Elementary School student Logan Sloane said.

Spokane students in a program for would-be high school dropouts groaned with disbelief on Thursday when they learned they’ve been labeled based on their socioeconomic status. Close to 75 percent of On Track Academy students live in poverty. Teens in the program designed to help students catch up on credits so they can graduate on time were told that growing up poor often means they are dumber, won’t go to college and are more likely to die young.

Debbie Renn hugged and kissed her younger sister and watched her board a Greyhound bus in Spokane bound for Arizona in 1987. It was the last time she would see her.

More kids are eating breakfast at school across the U.S., but Washington lags in reaching eligible low-income children.

Spokane County voters sent a nearly unified message about education in Tuesday’s election by approving 18 of 21 school tax proposals. Even Central Valley School District appears likely to pass a bond for the first time since 1998.

Spokane County voters sent a nearly unified message about education in Tuesday’s election by approving 18 of 21 school tax proposals.