In the end, safety beat out nostalgia, head coach Curt Fischer said, and the districts agreed to combine students for at least next season.

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This is particularly important given that some students combine their learning with a full-time job, only coming into the school occasionally, explains Getz.

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Students who combine their innate ingenuity with the tools and skills provided by a STEM education will be in some of the best positions to achieve this and the many other important (and exciting) challenges facing the nation.

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The alternative exams' makers also said they will work with states to find ways to combine scores from the GED with their new exams so students who have passed some sections of the current GED won't be forced to start from scratch.

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After putting hundreds of students through her course, Whelan says she came up with some lessons that combine 20th century common sense with 21st century lives.

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