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What was the local story in Kansas City that anchor Charles Gibson decided was worthy of national attention for ABC's A Closer Look? The city's school districts on either side of the state line have gone separate ways: Kansas is keeping the traditional three-tier structure, elementary, middle and high; Missouri keeps young teenagers in "ele-middle" schools all the way to grade eight, with a single homeroom teacher handling the entire curriculum rather than switching classes and teachers for each subject. "Middle schoolers, normally an obstreperous lot, calm down when they can be role models for the younger kids," was how Gibson explained the rationale of Superintendent Anthony Amato.
NBC also looked at teenagers, with Tom Costello's story on the possible unintended--and tragic--consequence of the FDA's new label on anti-depressant pills like Zoloft. It warns that some young patients can suffer from suicidal thoughts as a side-effect. After the label was added, the prescription of anti-depressants "dropped dramatically"--and the suicide rate increased. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in the 14 years before the label was added suicides declined by 28%, in the two years after, the rate among girls increased by 76%. Psychiatrist Adelaide Robb blamed the withdrawal of pharmaceutical treatment: "One of the bad outcomes from depression is death by suicide."
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