--------------------------------------------------------------  NEWS OF NOTE
Women's eNews, Allison Stevens | May 1, 2012As child-free women begin to close the gender wage gap, moms only make 73 cents to the male dollar. It's called the "motherhood penalty." By contrast, men get higher starting salaries if they have children. Two Decades Later, Children of the L.A. Riots Share Memories Colorlines, Jorge Rivas | April 30, 2012 Children of the 1992 L.A. Riots remember the civil unrest and share their memories with Colorlines Multimedia Editor Jorge Rivas. Common Core Standards Drive Wedge in Education Circles USA Today, Greg Toppo | April 30, 2012 Common Core standards are designed to get students ready for college and careers by strengthening, simplifying and focusing elementary and secondary education. But two years ahead of its planned implementation, critics on the left and right have seized upon it. Promise of the American Dream is Broken (Opinion) CNN, Tavis Smiley and Cornel West | April 27, 2012 Tavis Smiley and Cornel West write that corporations have put profits over people and are destroying the American Dream. The Criminalization of Bad Mothers The New York Times, Ada Calhoun | April 25, 2012 Originally created in 2006 to protect children from potentially explosive meth labs, Alabama's chemical-endangerment law is a Class A felony that carries a mandatory sentence of 10 years to life. The law has since been used to criminally convict women for their newborns' positive drug tests. High School Tries New Approach to School Discipline ACES Too High, Jane Stevens | April 25, 2012 High school principal Jim Sporleder believes in "discipline with dignity." Expulsions at his school have dropped 85 percent since he embraced a new approach to school discipline--one that takes into account students' adverse childhood experiences. Why Engineering, Science Gender Gap Persists PBS NewsHour, Jenny Marder | April 25, 2012 Computer science, physics and engineering fields remain overwhelmingly male. A lack of female mentors and subtle discrimination are factors that contribute to the science gender gap. 11 Minutes To Eat School Lunch?!? Mother Jones, Tom Philpott | April 25, 2012 Students say they don't get enough cafeteria time. Is the shrinking lunch period training them to be fast food consumers? Life on the Bubble Chronicle of Social Change, Daniel Heimpel, John Kelly, Anna Jacobi | April 24, 2012 California lawmakers have raised the age youth leave the foster care system. But due to budget woes, this change will be phased in over time, meaning that older teens will fall through the safety net. Who Shot Desmond Jones? Fort Myers News-Press | April 24, 2012 Desmond Jones was 13 years old when he was shot and killed in April 2011. His murder remains unsolved. | 
