The year was 1825. 18-year-old Jacob Anderson had left his small farm in Norway as part of the first organized mass migration from the Scandinavian country to the United States. Anderson, who changed his last name from Slogvik after arriving at his destination, never returned to that farm.

If at first you don't succeed ...

Report cards now aren't the same as the ones issued when Ellen Politz was in primary school 20 years ago. In those days, there were A's and B's, and she could sometimes do extra credit assignments to boost her grades.

They came from all walks of life, had different issues to face and personal demons to slay.

Laura Cortez is giving her son an extra year to catch up -- one more year in kindergarten to learn letters and numbers and how to write a sentence, and one more year to learn the rules of the classroom.