NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A classic summertime scene unfolded at a nonprofit's newest site. The girls' team was winning a lively indoor kickball game among young campers. Air conditioning blared. The hit song “Dance Monkey” played throughout the old school building's gym.

None of it was possible just two years ago at this New Orleans East location.

KINGSTON, N.Y. (AP) — On a residential block in upstate New York, college students dig and sift backyard dirt as part of an archaeological project that could provide insights into the lives of African Americans buried there centuries ago.

The group of teachers had a straightforward but daunting assignment before them: How could Cody-Kilgore, a small district nestled in the Nebraska Sandhills, buck the trend of rural decline and revitalize the school?

Teachers Stacey Adamson and Tracee Ford latched onto an unusual idea that started as a joke – one that grew more unusual as it progressed.