Federal Holidays Veterans Day, Armistice Day, Thanksgiving Day, and cheap shopping days Black Friday and Cyber Monday are celebrated in November. Chicken Soup for the Soul Day, Absurdity Day and Sadie Hawkins Day are some of the more obscure observances Americans celebrate throughout November. Be serious on the reflective days, and join in on the fun with the weird and wacky holidays.

Columbus Day closings for schools and banks are similar to Canadian Thanksgiving Day, as neighboring countries celebrate holidays on the same day - the second Monday in October.

In the United States, Columbus Day, October 12, is an official federal holiday, therefore most government offices and buildings are closed, with exceptions. Here's a list of what's open and what's not.

It is widely understood that, ideally, schools and parents should work together to ensure that children can succeed as students and citizens. But what is the right balance? And how much do teachers want parents involved in the classroom? A new study from North Carolina State University identifies ways that schools and communities can work with parents to give children the greatest chance of success.

Public middle-grades schools placed under private management in 2002 as part of a state-run overhaul of the Philadelphia School District did not keep pace with the rest of the city's public schools, according to a study published in the American Journal of Education.

Ohio police says that a teacher named Amber Carter has cut the class for something that no parent wants his or her child's teachers do.

At least 50 people are dead, mostly children, and an unknown amount injured and trapped after a three-story school collapsed near the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince. So far, rescuers have rescued at least 75 people, who have been taken to a local hospital, some in serious condition. School was in session, which left dozens more trapped, and officials say the death toll is likely to climb. Five houses surrounding the school were also severely damaged or destroyed as a result of the collapse.

Students allegedly organize "Hit a Jew Day" and hit Jewish classmates in a suburban St. Louis middle school. They face punishment. "Hit a Jew Day" becomes the focus of the national and Jewish media.

In many countries, school vouchers have come to be a controversial policy which allows parents to pay for the education of their children at a school of their choice, rather than the public school to which they are assigned.

For the first time, children as young as 5 have been shown to understand issues regarding integration and separation. The research, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), confirms that the ethnic composition of primary schools has a direct impact on children's attitudes towards those in other ethnic groups and on their ability to get on with their peers.

According to the 2008 Quality Counts report - a national comparison of state education systems - Florida ranked among the top 15 in the country.

A survey of high-school children in Scotland has shown that pupils who experience positive and inclusive social environments in schools are less likely to take up smoking.