skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, February 8, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

January jobs report: Unemployment rate falls to 4%, wages rise more than forecast; Trump signs order imposing sanctions on International Criminal Court over investigations of Israel; Ten Commandments in public schools debate reaches South Dakota; Virginia ranks among worst states for wage theft; Mexican long-nosed bat makes appearance in Arizona.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Attorney General Pam Bondi strikes a Trump tone at the Justice Department, federal workers get more time to consider buyouts, and an unclassified email request from the White House worries CIA vets.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

During Black History Month, a new book shares how a unique partnership built 5,000 schools for Black students, anti-hunger advocates say ag communities would benefit from an expanded SNAP program, and Americans have $90 billion in unpaid medical bills.

TX teachers work to register students to vote

play audio
Play

Tuesday, November 5, 2024   

More than 100 former and current students from Adamson High School in Dallas are eligible to vote for the first time this year, because of the work of a high school math teacher and her colleagues.

Rosie Curts is a math teacher there and a Volunteer Deputy Registrar, or VDR - and since 2018 has worked to make sure that any eligible student at her school who wants to vote is registered to do so.

She said she wants to normalize voting for young adults.

"If you can get a person to vote as soon as they're eligible, they're more likely to turn into a lifelong voter," said Curts. "They are adults, they're getting out into the world, and I want them to know voting is what adults do. When you become an adult, you need to do things like get a job, pay your bills, and you need to do things like vote."

State law requires that high schools help students register. Curts said the nonprofit March to the Polls comes to campus each semester to hold voter registration drives.

Curts said she would like for the school district to offer VDR training to all high school teachers so they can reach more students.

Once the teens are signed up, she said she creates a nonpartisan voters guide which addresses the topics they are most interested in.

Curts said she receives positive feedback from the first-time voters after they cast their ballots.

"One kid sent me his selfie with his 'I voted' sticker," said Curts. "One girl said, 'Guess what, I voted early the first day of early voting, I loved it.' And I've had kids say that they think of me when they vote now - it's awesome."

According to the 2020 Census, 2.9 million Texas residents are between 18 and 24 and are eligible to vote. They make up 10% of the state's electorate.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
Opponents of a South Dakota bill that would require the Ten Commandments be posted in all public school classrooms say it would be an unfunded mandate. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A South Dakota House committee takes up a controversial bill today that would require all school districts in the state to display the Ten Commandment…


play sound

Virginia ranks third behind only Maryland and Delaware among the worst states for the average amount of back wages companies owe to their workers…

Environment

play sound

Some North Dakota school districts are part of a movement that has embraced electric school buses, but the federal funding shakeup carried out by the …


Florida immigrant advocacy groups are intensifying efforts to help undocumented individuals navigate encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. (David Peinado/Pexels)

Social Issues

play sound

Immigrant advocates in Florida are ramping up efforts to help families navigate President Donald Trump's new immigration orders, which have increased …

Social Issues

play sound

The rate of U.S. high school seniors seeking higher education is on the upswing, according to research from Lumina Foundation. Although Hoosier …

Gov. Kathy Hochul's free community college proposal would apply to people pursuing first-time associate degrees for jobs in high-demand fields, including nursing, teaching, technology and engineering. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

New York State is making historic higher education investments. As part of the 2026 budget proposal, Gov. Kathy Hochul proposes free community …

Social Issues

play sound

Gov. Josh Shapiro's proposed state budget includes a significant increase for public education to address Pennsylvania's school funding issues and …

Social Issues

play sound

Alabama nonprofits are coming together to tackle challenges that may threaten their survival, from declining donor support to shifting federal …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021