Education

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Stephan Mai, left, photographs Sarah, 5, on her first day of kindergarden at North Springfield Elementary School. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

Preschool assistants Jennette Eddy and Maha Elgadi greet Vincent Nguyen, 4, as he is dropped off for pre-school on the first day back to school at North Springfield Elementary School, Springfield, Va., Tuesday, September 4, 2012. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Sandra Mejia comforts her son Carlos Jiron, 5, on his first day of kindergarten at North Springfield Elementary School, Springfield, Va., Tuesday, September 4, 2012. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Children make their way to class on the first day back to school at North Springfield Elementary School, Springfield, Va., Tuesday, September 4, 2012. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Parents take photographs and wave to their children on the first day back to school at North Springfield Elementary School, Springfield, Va., Tuesday, September 4, 2012. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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P.E. teacher Sue Metz, second from left, gets students excited for their first day back to school at North Springfield Elementary School, Springfield, Va., Tuesday, September 4, 2012. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Stephan Mai, left, photographs her daughter Sarah, 5, on her first day of kindergarten at North Springfield Elementary School, Springfield, Va., Tuesday, September 4, 2012. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Patients Over Politics, a group of doctors, med students and patients from around the country, collect signatures in support of the Affordable Care Act during CarolinaFest in Charlotte, N.C. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Two men who would not give their names but described themselves as "Republican college students who are dissatisfied with their government" protest outside the Democratic National Convention. (Barbara Salisbury/ The Washington Times)

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Gaithersburg High School cheerleaders perform while in the Gaithersburg end-of-summer festivity. (Craig Bisacre/The Washington Times)

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Gaithersburg High School band performs during the Labor Day parade. (Craig Bisacre/The Washington Times)

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President Obama shakes hands with supporters after speaking at a campaign event at Scott High School Monday, Sept. 3, 2012, in Toledo, Ohio. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

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In this Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012 photo, Evan Jensen waits for customers at his mobile shower business, Better Showers, near Alexander, N.D. Jensen raised money for the facility, which caters largely to workers in North Dakota's oil patch, by trapping muskrats and hopes profits from the business will pay for his college tuition. (AP Photo/James MacPherson)

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Brad Wolgast, a University of Delaware psychologist, says he is seeing more students who have been prescribed sleeping pills. Mr. Wolgast says sleeping pills usually harm sleep patterns more often than they help. (Associated Press)

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Taewon Kim, an electrical-engineering systems graduate student, sleeps in the library on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich. Some schools are giving students what a growing body of research reveals could make a big difference in their academic endeavors; namely, earplugs, sleep shades and napping lessons, to help them get more sleep. (Associated Press)

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Michigan Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Academy members Noelle Hansford (left) and Andrea Case take a nap in the lobby of Bursley Hall on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., recently. About three-quarters of all college students have indicated having occasional sleep problems. (Associated Press)