Edward Bryan, who represented the leader of the group, told The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer (bit.ly/14B2mq5) that he intends to write a letter of protest to prison officials. In response, prison system spokesman Chris Burke cited prison rules that high-school equivalency classes are a first step toward returning to society. Exceptions to participation in the program are limited to inmates who have emotional, mental or physical impediments or who face deportation. The defendants, all members of the same Amish sect, were convicted of hate crimes in 2011 attacks meant to shame fellow Amish they believed were straying from the strict religious interpretations espoused by the sect's leader.

(AP) — It seemed to hit the Capitol like a brick: a sudden groundswell of criticism over a move by Gov. Tom Corbett and the Pennsylvania State Board of Education to toughen academic achievement standards and tie them to graduation tests for the state's roughly 1.7 million public and charter school students. Senate Education Committee Chairman Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, seemed similarly surprised by the criticism, which came from teachers' unions to conservatives who back public school alternatives. The proposed Pennsylvania Common Core standards are currently in Corbett's office undergoing a policy and cost review before they are to be sent in the coming weeks to a five-member state government regulations board whose approval is necessary before they can take effect. Under the proposal, public school students in the 2016-17 school year must pass a set of three course-specific exams — algebra, biology and English literature — to graduate. Some Democratic lawmakers and public school administrators question the wisdom of requiring a graduation test in poorer school districts that struggle to afford smaller class sizes, updated instructional materials, tutors and counselors.

(AP) — Bill Monaghan, associate director of the Glenn Black Lab of Archaeology at Indiana University, used his hands for emphasis as he spoke to local middle school students Friday about earth works construction, the mounds and past farming practices at the Angel Mounds State Historic Site. Monaghan didn't expect students to walk away remembering his 15-minute story explaining archaeology, but he said he would be happy if they remembered the methods used and that he was excited about what he does. The sporadic rain and drizzle didn't seem to bother the approximately 420 local sixth- and seventh-grade students that visited Angel Mounds Friday for the seventh annual Archaeology CSI (Cultural Scene Investigation). Over the two-day event, about 700 middle schoolers learned about the science, math and social studies behind archaeology that they can relate to current class lessons. On Thursday, classes from Henderson County South Middle School, Holy Spirit, Holy Rosary and Helfrich Park STEM Academy walked around Angel Mounds and visited 12 stations that included the museum. At one station, a USI professor discussed stratigraphy, or the layering of rocks and sediments; at another, the manufacture and use of native tools was explained, and students could try to throw an atlatl, or spear thrower, that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in dart throwing. The National Science Foundation funds the class, Monaghan said, to train 23 students in geoarchaeological methods through a multidisciplinary approach to understanding archaeological sites.

[...] after losing a two-year fight with a Fortune 500 company determined to buy their beautiful, 104-year-old property and turn it into a boutique hotel — even though it wasn't for sale — the women of the Anna Louise Inn have to leave the neighborhood. While most of the 60 women living there are relieved that the fight with Western & Southern Insurance Group appears over, they can't help but also feel sad and angry. The historic downtown Cincinnati neighborhood where the women live, known as Lytle Park, became an important part of their recovery, since most were coming from dangerous parts of the city where it'd be easier to slip back into their former ways of life. The Anna Louise declined and won $12.6 million in federal and state tax credits to renovate the home, where some rooms are smaller than 100 square feet and all the women have to share bathrooms and one kitchen. "Western & Southern had the money to fight and the Anna Louise Inn didn't," said Howard, who is about to receive a degree in social work, which she wants to use to help women flee abusive relationships. The Anna Louise will now be among a bevy of properties in the neighborhood owned by Western & Southern, which developed Cincinnati's tallest building in 2011 and has renovated a handful of historic properties in the area, including an upscale hotel. Barrett, who has repeatedly declined requests for an interview, has become a loathed figure at the Anna Louise, not only for his tireless efforts to acquire the property but also for the way he has talked about the women living there, repeatedly referring to them as recovering prostitutes and saying they just don't belong in the neighborhood.

The summit that wrapped up Friday brought together representatives from the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Department of Justice, tribal and state judges, and representatives from tribes in South Dakota, Oklahoma, Washington and Minnesota to discuss the Indian Child Welfare Act. Social Services Secretary Kim Malsam-Rysdon tells the Sioux Falls Argus Leader (http://bit.ly/18863Wg) that state officials learned about the date a week ago and could not make it work.

Kevin, 8, has lived with posterior fossa syndrome since 2010, which has radically changed the way he walks, talks and moves. After initially being diagnosed, the boy who at one time played soccer and ran in the backyard of his home was brought down to barely being able to move or talk. Jennifer, who was working as a neurological nurse at Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery and was 8 months pregnant at the time with Kevin's little brother, Quinn, remembered fearing for the worst that her son might have a tumor, which would match the criteria for his symptoms. Jennifer said she remembers how after the surgery, Kevin had a temperature of more than 100 degrees and that his left lung had collapsed, forcing him to be put on a feeding tube for a time. Kevin's father, Dan, said he didn't know what to think as it was happening, but listened to doctors who said that the posterior fossa syndrome, which had been discovered after the removal of the tumor, was not expected to last long. According to Dr. Gregory Friedman, pediatric neurooncologist at Children's Hospital in Birmingham, posterior fossa syndrome affects the cerebellum and brain stem and can include symptoms of mutism, difficulty walking and emotional distress. Friedman, who first treated Kevin when the tumor was discovered, said that roughly 10 percent to 25 percent of children who have tumors removed from their posterior cranial fossas will have the syndrome, but that it usually leaves within days or weeks. Aside from the family traveling to Florida a couple of times a year for evaluations, Corsa also deals with Kevin's therapists and has visited his school to give instruction on how to best help him. Kevin eventually moved back home to Auburn, where he undergoes physical therapy three times a week. Patrick Russell, a personal trainer at HealthPlus Fitness Center in Auburn, said Kevin's drive and motivation have led to walking with little to no assistance and moving his limbs significantly better than two years earlier. Some of the hardest work Kevin went through was in re-entering school, which was recommended by Corsa as essential to his therapy. Because of his condition and the time he missed while working in Florida, Kevin was placed back into second grade at Richland Elementary School in Auburn in order to catch up with his studies. [...] Wood said other students are very encouraging to him and congratulate him on when he is able to do things better than before, like at play during recess and doing physical activities. On April 18, Kevin slipped from the monkey bars at school and broke his arm. For a moment, it seemed that the boy who had been making the most significant progress since his diagnosis had suffered a setback.

(AP) — When Heather Robinson, a single mom, was severely injured in a car crash in November 2010, her parents took care of her 13-month-old son, Christian. While the Robinsons' situation was partly fueled by need, more and more grandparents are getting involved in their grandchildren's lives. [...] today's grandparents provide more care, money and advice to grandchildren than they ever have, according to a 2012 AARP survey of 1,904 grandparents. Becky Gillan, AARP senior vice president of research and strategic analysis, said in some cases, grandparents are assuming the role of primary care givers. Jean Koppen, director and research fellow with AARP, said research also showed that Grandpa is more involved than he ever was in playtime with the grandkids. Grandparents are making grandchildren more of a priority and sharing responsibilities with parents. More than one in 10 grandparents surveyed said they provide day care services while parents are working. When Foreman's stepson fell on hard times, Foreman took him in -- along with his stepson's 6-year-old son Michael Hagarman, his stepson's fiancee and her two children. Because Foreman, who works as a contractor with the government, travels a lot for work, Foreman told his stepson that he could stay at his place for as long as he needed. Brennan, who lives two blocks away, has an arts-and-crafts table, Legos, drawers of trucks and cars, and a drawing board. Billet even has a small table in the sunroom for Brennan to eat lunch with friends, when they visit.

Pennsylvania wants to use a newly devised Pennsylvania School Performance Profile as the basis for the scoring system that would be used to assess public schools. Under the previous evaluation system, adequate progress was met if students hit state-set targets for proficiency levels on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests in reading and math and for graduation, attendance and test participation. The first objective is a required 95 percent participation rate on tests, which would continue to be the PSSA exams for students in grades 3-8 and end-of-course Keystone exams for Algebra I, biology and literature, which this year for the first time are replacing the 11th-grade PSSAs. [...] is a graduation rate of 85 percent or higher at either four, five or six years from when a ninth-grade class starts, or a rate that has improved over the previous year. [...] a subgroup could consist of five special education, three English language learners and three economically disadvantaged students. Academic achievement -- including students' performance on PSSA and Keystone exams, grade 3 reading proficiency, scores on standards-based industry tests and SAT and ACT exams -- would account for 40 percent of the profile as would academic growth, which refers to the progress of students from year to year. A Reward/High Achievement school is one with a school performance profile score of 95 or more and meets graduation rates, attendance rates and test participation rates, or has a score of 90 or above and meets all four AMOs. Reward schools get a Keystone Award, can compete for certain grant money when it's available and may be asked to present best practices or work with the state Department of Education on the development of future strategies and policies.

Letters were sent to the parents of children who attend two nearby schools and flyers have been posted in the neighborhood, but the state Health Department says no known exposures have been reported. Health Secretary Retta Ward says the state wants to make sure no children were inadvertently exposed to rabies.

(AP) — Armed with compasses, good boots and extra batteries, Summit High School students trekked up Cache Creek earlier this month to study cougar habitat with Craighead Beringia South. Two classes of math and science students have been working with the wildlife research institute for the past few months, going out in the field to refresh batteries and memory cards in several motion-activated cameras hidden and positioned to pick up wildlife activity. "The overall purpose is to introduce these kids to research and how it's conducted," said Marilyn Cuthill, Craighead Beringia South's education director. After a quick refresher on how to use a compass ("Put the red in the shed," Cuthill coached) and assigning someone to monitor the GPS, the students were off to find the cameras stashed along the hillside. The first trend Mick's class has found is that the farther the camera is from the trail, the more wildlife and the fewer humans and their dogs are captured. While the field trips are educational for the students, they also give them a way to explore the area.