More education items that aren’t too cool for school:

A report assessing the Lawrence school district’s operations by the Kansas Learning Network (KLN) didn’t mince words: “Conduct a resource review, and strongly consider closing schools and using the savings to bolster the instructional program, particularly the loss of instructional coaches and central office support.”

Count Mark Bradford, vice president of the Lawrence school board, among those who back the recommendation.

“I believe in that 100 percent,” Bradford said the other day.

The KLN report took a comprehensive look at the district’s operations, and noted strengths and weaknesses. The report was required because the district has missed standards on some portions of assessment testing for two consecutive years.

Bradford foresees saving money by closing schools. He’s looking forward to receiving recommendations later this month from the Lawrence Elementary School Facility Vision Task Force, whose members already have reached consensus on studying some scenarios.

Among them: Closing one or two schools next year, from among a list of three: Cordley, Pinckney and Wakarusa Valley. Also being considered are plans to consolidate four schools into two: Kennedy and New York on the city’s east side, and Hillcrest and Sunset Hill in central Lawrence.

The goal, Bradford said: Find ways to save money on facilities so that scarce resources can be channeled back into needs that can boost student achievement.

“We need to increase expenditures in teachers’ professional development, and at some point even increase salaries to retain and attract new teachers,” Bradford said. “It’s a teacher-driven outcome. It’s not necessarily the facilities that they’re in and, to a certain extent, the number of kids that are in a classroom.”

The task force’s next meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. Feb. 14 at district headquarters, 110 McDonald Drive. The group’s recommendations are due to the Lawrence school board Feb. 28.

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Three seniors from Lawrence’s two public high schools are being invited by federal officials to compete for places in a prestigious educational program.

The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars and the U.S. Department of Education have invited the three students — Victoria Gilman and Rosemarie Murray, from Free State High School; and Yuan Xu, from Lawrence High School — to apply as candidates for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.

The program, established in 1964 by President Lyndon Johnson, recognizes some of the country’s most distinguished graduating seniors.

Gilman, Murray and Xu are entering at the first stage: About 3,000 students are invited to apply, based on their exceptional scores on the SAT and ACT; candidates then submit essays, self-assessments, secondary school reports and transcripts.

In April, 500 students will be picked as semifinalists.

In May, up to 121 Academic Scholars, honoring broad academic achievement, and up to 20 Arts Scholars, recognizing academic and artistic scholarship in the visual arts, performing arts or creative writing, will be selected. The Presidential Scholars Program is considered among the country’s highest honors for high school students.

Presidential Scholars are invited to Washington, D.C., in June to participate in National Recognition Weekend, which culminates with the presentation of the Presidential Scholars Medallion during a ceremony sponsored by the White House. Each Presidential Scholar may invite one influential teacher to attend these recognition events and to be honored.

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Also from Washington … The U.S. Department of Labor announced Thursday that it had launched a new online tool to help job seekers — especially students and young adults — connect with information about more than 900 occupations and related topics.

The site, called My Next Move, is considered “especially useful for students, young adults and other first-time workers as they explore potential careers based on their interests,” the department said.

“By leveraging technology in a user-friendly tool, My Next Move will help those seeking career guidance learn more about work opportunities in fields that are of interest to them and that are likely to have job openings today and well into the future,” said Hilda Solis, U.S. secretary of labor.

The new website allows users to search for jobs by occupation, by industry and using the “ONET Interest Profiler,” which matches an individual’s interests with suitable occupations by asking 60 questions.

Since 2001, the department’s Occupational Information Network, or ONET, has used a 180-question version of the profiler that could be printed out or downloaded to a personal computer.

The new, streamlined version is available online for the first time as part of My Next Move.

— The First Bell e-mailbox is always open: mfagan@ljworld.com.