Sara Leaming

Fred Schrumpf's office is the office of last chances; the last stop of last stops for kids who have fallen through the cracks. The Havermale High School principal knows this. So when 16-year-old Tom enters his office to see if he can swap a math class for an art class, Schrumpf doesn't hesitate to let the teen explore his interests. Tom likes art.

Scientific experiments don't always work the way they are supposed to. That's what some young scientists at the WSU Spokane Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement competition found out Tuesday.

Daniel Spring didn't need sign language to communicate his feelings Friday. The partially deaf sixth-grade student at Linwood Elementary School was grinning from ear-to-ear after performing skits and using sign language to tell stories and songs to the entire student body and parents at the north Spokane school.

Thomas Rockefeller was selected Wednesday to be the new superintendent of schools for the Mead School District. Rockefeller, 49, is currently the superintendent of the Pullman School District. He was selected by the Mead School Board as one of two finalists for the job. Michael Dunn of Cheney Public Schools was the other finalist for the post, selected from an original pool of 18.

Spokane will be star-struck, though the when or exactly where isn't being revealed. And unlike most films shot here, in "Home of the Brave" Spokane will be Spokane, movie officials said.

Nine-year-old Austin Cozza began his morning at Brentwood Elementary School on Monday by logging on to the world. All around him, Cozza's third-grade classmates at the Mead school were also powering up white Apple iBook computers and connecting wirelessly to the Web. Online at their desks, the students measured reading levels, which will be available to parents during conferences next week.

University High School sophomore Emily Potter knows the WASL is a big deal. But like "the back of my hand," the 16-year-old Central Valley student weaved her way this week through four days of reading and writing on the high stakes state test, also known as the Washington Assessment of Student Learning.

For more than 50 years, Spokane resident Doris Tryon has solicited the "yes" vote for Spokane Public Schools. The 83-year-old has volunteered with the citizens campaign for every school district bond and levy issue presented to voters since 1951. She served two terms as president of the campaign effort by the Citizens for Spokane Public Schools.

Playing the role of "Peter Pan" is more than just memorizing lines and convincing the children to run away to Neverland. As Central Valley High School freshman Jack Sorensen learned this week, it's also about flying into walls.

Some parents say a new math program for Spokane high school students doesn't add up. Spokane Public Schools joined the "math wars" last month, when the school board adopted Core-Plus Mathematics, a new curriculum for students in grades nine through 12.

A sprained ankle didn't stop Cody Thompson from walking door to door to spread the word about the two school levies in Mead. Using crutches, the 15-year-old hobbled up and down neighborhood streets in Colbert, ringing doorbells and encouraging residents to vote "yes."

Thirteen-year-old Zane Allinger had to spell out the word describing the pounding sensation in his heart Wednesday to earn the top prize at the Spokane Valley Spelling Bee. "Palpitation" was the winning word in the battle for the trophy at the 33rd annual event held at Bowdish Middle School. The bee is held each year for students in grades six through eight from the Spokane Valley.

When asked if he knew who Margaret Spellings is, 8-year-old Seth Rose had to think for a minute. "I think she's the president's handler," the Holmes Elementary third-grader said. "Or something like that."

A Spokane-based airman and nine other U.S. service members died when a pair of Marine Corps helicopters crashed off the coast of Africa, U.S. military officials confirmed Sunday. Senior Airman Alecia S. Good, 23, of Fairchild Air Force Base was on board one of two CH-53E choppers carrying a dozen crew and troops from a U.S. counterterrorism force that went down during a training flight Friday in the Gulf of Aden, near the northern coastal town of Ras Siyyan in Djibouti.

Howard Waterman's lifelong commitment to education began as a junior high school student in Juneau, Alaska, when he appeared in the town's newspaper as a member of the Future Teachers of America. "He knew at a very young age that he wanted to be a teacher," his wife, DeAnn Waterman said. "And he lived it everyday."

West Valley High School is a large neighbor with a big parking problem. The $29 million school remodel that's currently underway has created a temporary parking crunch, sending cars spilling into the driveways and onto the lawns of nearby homes.

Centennial Middle School seventh-grader Stephanie Town poured sugar and water into a bucket Wednesday and stirred the sticky substance like a mad scientist, spilling much of it on the floor. "It's sinking," said another girl while peering into the bucket. Now there was a gaggle of girls around the container.

In 1979, Ponderosa Elementary School was on the cutting edge of elementary school design. Following an education trend sweeping the nation, the Central Valley school was built without walls, hallways or classroom doors.