The Mormon Church is celebrating 40 years since black men were allowed into the priesthood, but this anniversary comes at a time of heightened racial sensitivity for many church members.

On Tuesday, the Mormon Church announced it would end a 100-year relationship with the Boy Scouts of America. Mormon boys were automatically signed up to be part of the Boy Scouts, and church members made up 20 percent of membership.

Monson had been at the helm of the 16 million-member Mormon church for nearly a decade. He'll be remembered for his quiet leadership and aversion to grand pronouncements.

A community in Salt Lake City is showing that the Mormon culture might also be fertile soil for Buddhist mindfulness. It's working for both observant Mormons and those who've left the faith.

Teachers across the country are choosing to leave the classroom for better pay as school administrators, where they can sometimes double their salaries.

Ask any special ed teacher and they will probably tell you that paperwork is the bane of their jobs. These three teachers at Renaissance Academy in Utah have figured out how to keep it under control.

Some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints choose to leave the faith but not the community. They're learning to tread new ground where belonging exists sometimes without belief.

In the sweltering summer heat of Washington, D.C., the National Zoo gets creative to keep its guests and animals happy. That means things like frozen treats made of cow blood for the big cats.

For those eyeing city life, the trick to paying reasonable rent might mean downsizing — really downsizing. Developers of micro apartments says they offer affordability and a sense of community.

They don't take off their shoes, they don't take out their laptops and their numbers are growing every day. Some 16,000 people per day are applying for the government's airport pre-screening program.

All over the United States, schools are scrambling to find qualified special education teachers. There just aren't enough of them to fill every open position.

That means schools must often settle for people who are under-certified and inexperienced. Special ed is tough, and those who aren't ready for the challenge ...

It's getting harder and harder to find quality special education teachers, which is why 49 out of 50 states report shortages.

Why? It's a tough sell.

Even if you're up for the low pay and noisy classrooms, special education adds another challenge: crushing paperwork.

This is something I understand ...

There is a letter that school districts really don't like sending home to parents of special education students. Each state has a different version, but they begin with something like this:

"Dear Parent, as of the date of this letter your child's teacher is not considered 'highly qualified.' " And ...

Who doesn't love a class clown? That perfectly timed joke about the ancient Greek poet looking nothing like Homer Simpson is fun for everyone. Unless you're the teacher ... trying to teach a lesson about the Odyssey.

As a teacher, the class clown is often your nemesis. I know this ...

This week we reported on the history of the school backpack, and it got a lot of you talking. If you missed the post, check it out here.

It turns out that most backpacks come with a story, and we wanted to hear some of those stories.

We asked ...

Our Tools of the Trade series is exploring some of the icons of schools and education.

My editor, Steve Drummond, isn't that old of a guy. He's from Michigan — Wayne Memorial High School, class of '79.

But when he starts talking about backpacks, he dips into a "back in ...

Imagine you're a principal, walking through the crowded halls of your school. You're on your way to 11th grade chemistry, to watch a science lab. They're expecting you in two minutes.

It already feels like a long day and it's not even lunchtime. You're nearly there, 30 seconds to spare, ...