Afternoon Announcements: A New York High School Goes Completely Digital

Archbishop Stepinac High School in New York has become one of the first high schools in the country to drop all textbooks like dead weight and replace them with a “digital library.” When students started classes Monday, they were zipping to an app or website on their tablet or laptop and had instant access to all 40 texts in the Stepinac curriculum, not to mention all sorts of note-taking, highlighting and interactive features. The Journal News

Until recently, schools mostly looked at the student body’s overall attendance rate and the truancy–or unexcused absences–of individual students. Now a growing number of states and school districts are increasing their focus on students who are “chronically absent” from school–whether the absences are excused or unexcused. States have different definitions of chronic absence, but it is often defined as missing at least 10 percent of the school year for any reason. Huffington Post

Amid lingering political opposition to the Common Core State Standards, a national survey by a Utah-based company shows support for the standards from both parents and educators. Deseret News

Working adults will be able to earn college credit for what they already know, through the University of Wisconsin’s Flexible Option, reports NPR. Students will be able to earn a degree by proving they’ve mastered skills and knowledge. Community College Spotlight