pictures from inside the courtroom. court has resumed this morning. her parents are in the back row. her dad is there. her mother and brother took the stand both in tears yesterday. some of the most dramatic testimony we've seen. we'll be dipping in this throughout the morning for you. also this morning a death in the family to tell you about. nick charles. the face of sports for nearly two decades. he lost his battle with bladder cancer. by the time i'm done reading this paragraph another student will have dropped out of high school. it happens every 26 seconds. good morning, everyone i'm christine romans. coming up we'll talk about the tough job of keeping teens in the classroom. should kids be in school year round. if your child needs inspiration,

michael phelps drops by with his story. for some kids it's a dream come true no homework. a new wave in education, school districts and parents embracing an anti-homework movement because their kids are trapped in a meaningful cycle of busy work or too much pressure or learning for the sake of standards testing. high school english teacher is the 2010 teacher the year. the school board in new jersey will eliminate homework to ten minutes and ban assignments on weekend, vacations. the next minute our kids are over stressed. which is it? >> a little bit of both. i think the real crux of this conversation is what are we asking students to do when they are not in school. so often what we're asking students to do outside of school

are tasks that are isolated from teachers. what we really need to do that some teachers are doing they are flipping around what you normally would see during the cool day like a lecture and teachers are watching those online at night. in school they are working side-by-side next to teachers with that work that's so important. when we talk about homework we need to think what we're asking students to do. >> what kind of homework is it? busy work or something to help them how to learn or freeing up time in the classroom for important one on one. l.z. in the house with us. kids lose about two months of grade level equivalency in math computation skills over the summer months and we also know it leads to losses in reading although not quite as much as in math. wait a minute. we're talking about less

homework during the school work but we're in the maryland of the brain drain right now. what's the message here? >> the message is the education process hasn't figured out what's best for your kids. it's throwing thing up against the wall until something sticks. if we know our kids are losing valuable basic information during these long breaks why are we continuing to give them these long break. it's like we haven't figured out the disconnect between the two ideas. >> you make a good point about homework too. in some places we need to be doing more homework because kids have idle time without it. there's rote busy work that other countries do. where do you weigh in? >> i'm about homework, homework. i looked for him to have enough homework. i didn't like the idea he would come home and tell me he got his homework done on the bus. any homework you can get done in a 20-minute bus ride is not challenging enough.

it's a good idea to have that kind of educated structure at home that continues whatever they went through in the classroom. >> you got your kid in three academic camps. >> right now. >> sarah, you say camps can be effective. >> absolutely. >> should people look to fill the summer with debate camps and add to the pressure cooker. which is why some parents are pushing back from all the homework and big push for cad mix outside of the classroom. >> absolutely. it's about knowing our children and their individual needs. and some students are ready to do academic camps in the summer and that's fabulous. there are other students who need to be able to wonder in their backyard and be able to use the resources at their local public libraries and those kind of summer programs as well. we have to remember we want to continue to foster habits of mind. that's what's so important over the summer is that our kids do

not lose the motivation to read, to write, to think, and to wonder, to inquire. >> i want to show you top five high schools in america according to "newsweek". they almost have a perfect graduation rate. you say, sarah, these schools have a unified vision. look on the right-hand side the average s.a.t. score in america. the average is 1509. what do you mean a unified vision? >> one of the things i've learned this last year in traveling around the country and even internationally is that schools in classrooms and countries that are successful in education are places that have a unified vision. when i look at these schools in this top 100 list i see schools that have committed to doing one thing very well and in that they do everything really well. and that's just the opposite of what so many public schools feel, so many public schools feel the requirement to do so

many different things well that consequently they don't know where to put their focus. >> thank you so much for joining us. l.z. granderson so nice to see you today. every 26 seconds think of that, every 26 seconds a high school student drops out. it will take parents, teachers, students and business to slow down the clock next. [ female announcer ] now at red lobster a complete four course seafood feast for $15. start with soup then have salad and biscuits

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and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. producing products that save on fuel and emissions like ecopia tires... even making parts for solar panels that harness the sun's energy... working on social activities like clean up programs on beaches in many locations... and regional replanting activities that will help make a better world for all of us. ♪ one team. one planet bridgestone. not every student succeeds in a traditional school setting. youth build comes in. it's a federal program that takes high school dropouts and puts them back into the classroom. but now the program is at risk.

michael chertoff has this story. >> reporter: donovan bruce dropped out of two different high cools. today he's getting paid to learn home construction while studying to finish his high school education. where traditional high school failed the federally funded youth build program is succeeding for donovan. >> we just learned today donovan passed his ged. >> reporter: now plans to attend college in fall. >> up learn in a good environment and everybody is helping each other out. everybody gets a chance to succeed. >> reporter: youth build does keep kids off the streets and in school where they can prepare for a career. especially important in today's economy. but in the past two years, congress has cut the program's funding by more than a third. among those hardest hit is brooklyn's dreams youth build where donovan is among 35 students getting second or third chances. it's one of 121 youth build

programs around the nation that have lost federal funding administered through the u.s. labor department. >> the idea of cutting this program to even fewer young people than opening the doors to all of young people who are looking for a way back into a productive role is really bad policy. this program works. we have young people lining up outside the doors. they call at any time harvard of the hood because there's high demand. >> reporter: that demand results from a nurturing environment which eugene couldn't find when she quit high school last year. >> they are like a family. mother and aunts and cousins. >> somebody always to listen to them, respect them to show that they care and we believe in them. we want them to success seed. >> reporter: while politicians search for a way to help troubled kids continue their education, youth build advocates say the government already is funding one. the answer they argue is to expand, not contract youth build

to help dropouts turn their lives around. michael chertoff, cnn, brooklyn, new york. >> more than 1.2 million students tropd out of high school last year. it works to one every 26 seconds. it's a big complicated problem fixing it will take students, parents, teachers, politicians and business. ed radius, ceo of state farm, the insurance company. bob wise is president of alliance for excellence. >> you sponsor this program with scholarships, programs to keep kids in school. it's social responsibility but we need an educated workforce for you to hire and for you to sell insurance to. why does business have to be involved? >> why is this business involved? why are we involved in it? because we look at the youth of today as really our future for

tomorrow. the workforce, the consumer of tomorrow is critical to our long term success and we want to make sure that our kids today are having an exposure to a learning environment that will give them the critical analytical, communication skills that they will need to be employable in the future and enjoy a world of life long income opportunity. >> governor wise, it's so interesting. there's a recent study by charles schwab. teens expect their average starting salary at $73,000. if you dropout of school you won't get that. there's this disconnect of convincing kids they need an education, they need to stay in school and the realities of what they mean. >> total disconnect. what we've learned, we've learned this. the best economic stimulus package for both the student and country is a diploma.

one class of dropouts, if we cut it in half in this country will mean over $7.5 billion in additional income. those kids will spend more. create 54,000 additional jobs and pay almost three quarters of a billion in new state taxes, so once again -- >> they won't cost society. when you dropout, the statistics are terrible for what you will earn. crimes committed. ending up in prison. >> one class of dropouts will cost this country $330 billion in lost wages plus more. the best way to cut the deficit is to increase graduation rate and also why it's so important for students to understand and communities why everybody has a stake in more students graduating. >> you saw michael chertoff's piece, cutting budgets, cutting budgets. make sure the politicians recognize to do it smartly so you're not hurting yourselves or adding costs later on. >> if you cut deficits that

increase dropouts you dig the hole deeper. >> donovan, tell me, you went through this program 26 seconds and you thought about dropping out a couple of times but you stayed in. what did it nene you? >> at first, when i was preparing to dropout at the agricultural food and science academy i wasn't interested in school in traditional academics. when i was enrolled in high school for recording arts i became more focused in academics and in graduating until things got rough with my daughter and whatnot and child support. >> so you're 19 years old and you're a dad. >> yes, ma'am. >> many people considering a dropout you're a gone up and kid at the same time. >> yeah. what kept me in school it was random. i came to the school one day and one of the facility day, to the big brother, he was talking about 26 second campaign.

when he said every 26 seconds somebody drops out of school. >> that was going to be you. >> exactly. it smacked me in the face. i don't want to be a statistic. plus being a recording artist i want to set an example, i want to be someone that everybody looks up to. >> what about an example for your daughter as well. there's this dropout cycle that's very difficult to break. you are a role model. >> right. being a role model for my daughter i don't want her to fall into a statistic that can grow, river ten seconds. you know. i don't want it to -- >> let me ask each of you. what works? it is mentorship, money for college, higher expectations from the people around you? what worked to keep you in school. >> really self motivation. after you hear about the statistic and you see people trying to help it's up to the students. it's up to us as students to take an effort to go ahead and graduate high school and become, be you. >> governor wise, what works? is it a little bit of

everything? >> it's a little bit of everything. it's targeting. we know as early as sixth grade what students are on the dropout track. >> we know as early as sixth grade. >> you can tell from drop in grades, you can tell from increased truancy and disciplinary problems. >> what happens to those kids? >> they don't wake up and dropout. it's a process over many years. 8% of our high cools contribute half of all dropouts in the country. >> topout factories. >> we need to target students as early as possible. we need to target those schools that are producing the most topouts. >> from what you've seen from your affiliation, what works in this program? >> what's unique about the 26 seconds program is really, as dominique was saying, a variety of ways of connecting with today's youth via through twitter, facebook, other means of social networking or people attending, participating in

school discussions, getting communities involved in it. there's no one single factor. it's really getting our minds in a more holistic approach around reaching out to our young people and helping them understand the relevance of an education, the importance long term. and giving them a variety of ways of how do they get engaged and get exposed to that. >> gentlemen thank you so much for joining us. very nice to meet you. best of luck to you. it was a parent who pushed my next guest, his mother. she wanted him to learn how to be safe in the swimming pool. he brought her home 16 olympic medals. that's next. okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle --

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and inside that box is their financial life. people wake up and realize. "i better start doing something." we open up that box. we organize it. and we make decisions. we really are here to help you. they look back and think "wow. i never thought i could do this." but we've actually done it. [ male announcer ] visit ameriprise.com and put a confident retirement more within reach. we were all glued to our tvs in 2008 as we watched michael phelps win an impressive eight gold medals at the beijing olympics. since then, the olympian has stepped out of the spotlight and turned his focus to helping kids find that same passion for

swimming that he has through his foundation. here with me now is 16-time olympic medalist, michael phelps. welcome to the program. >> thank you. >> this is the "i am" program, i am strong, i am -- what does it mean. what are you trying to do with it? >> have kids learn things that they'll use throughout their whole entire life. you know, confidence, you know, i am healthy, i am strong. you know, promoting an active, healthy lifestyle for children. >> it was your mother who was really pushing you and your family. this was something you learned a lot of confidence, but you got this nurturing push from someone. >> she -- my mom wanted us just to be water safe. and we ended up falling in love with the sport and this is where it's brought us. >> a lot of people were telling you that you couldn't do it or a lot of kids were picking on you a little bit about, what, your ears? >> my ears, shave my legs, whatever, wearing a speedo. at the time, obviously, i was kind of, you know, upset, but -- >> but you must have had some

self-confidence to get over that. >> i think i got to the point where i just didn't care. i was happy and i love what i do. you know, i have goals i want to accomplish in the sport before i retire, and i didn't care what anybody else said. and you know, when people doubt me now, it just fires me up and gives me more motivation. >> can you tell me what those goals are? because you have so much medal around your neck, and i can't imagine you could even hold your neck up. what are those goals? >> everybody wants to know, and you'll find out in 15 months after the olympics, if i was successful or not. it's going to be hard, but i think it's something that's doable and something i want. >> what are you going to do to get there? >> we have 14 months of training really before the olympics comes, so the world championships this summer that i'm getting ready for in shanghai. and then on to olympic trials next june. >> i want to talk more about the foundation a little bit. in the meantime, you're trying to use your celebrity to try to do some good with kids, get kids

in the pool. a couple of interesting statistics. u.s. swimming foundation found that six out of ten african-american, hispanic, and latino children don't know how to swim. that's twice as many as their caucasian counterparts. your program making an effort to reach into ethnically diverse communities. why? >> we opened up last year with six clubs throughout the country and we just opened or are in the process of opening ten more to bring the program to those additional ten. and they -- they're all over the country, in different cities, reaching out to, like you said, different races here and there. so it's -- >> makes the sport more exciting. >> it does. >> if you talk about a pipeline of new athletes, it makes the sport that much more exciting. >> and the cool thing is, you know, when a kid is in the water, they're having fun. and you know, i think that's something that's pretty special, just being able to see a genuine smile on the kid's face. >> we're also seeing a lot of people using their celebrity, getting kids to move. encouraging kids to get out there and start moving.

that's part of this whole program too. >> it is. just being able to live a healthy and active lifestyle, i think is extremely important for not only kids, but i think everybody in the country. and all over the world. so that's a big part of my foundation. and it's been exciting. sort of, i guess, a dream come true. >> let me ask you over the next 14 months, are you ready for all the scrutiny? you did so well, a lot of people are going to be watching every move you make. >> i'm sure. and it's -- i was talking to a friend earlier, and it was funny, every time you'd lose a race, it's still on there -- it's not if you win anymore, it's if you lose. >> it changes the dynamic, so does that inspire you or does that, you know, aggravate you? >> you know, i have my goals that i want to accomplish and as long as i get there, it doesn't matter, you know, really what happens. if i can say i did everything that i could do to get there, then i feel like i've been successful. so, you know, i'm just focused on what i want to do and what i

have to do and that's about it. >> well, we'll be watching. michael phelps, really nice to meets you. all right, $90, the average price of a modern day slave. it's a shocking story one actress demi moore along with the freedom project is shedding a lot of light on.

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the conversation this morning has been about education. but before i say good-bye, i would like to highlight another issue. one that not only robs those afflicted of getting an education, it also robs them of their dignity and their freedom. i'm talking about human trafficking. cnn is using its global resources to expose the trade and exploitation of people around the world. it's called the cnn freedom project. this sunday at 8:00 p.m. eastern, join cnn's freedom project and actress demi moore for the world premiere of "nepal's stolen children." it's a remarkable story of thousands of young girls sold for sex and the amazing woman who rescues them. cnn's 2010 hero of the year. and