Metro Connection

Does the carrot work better than the stick when it comes to maintaining order in public schools? Some D.C. elementary schools are betting it will. They're implementing a model that rewards students for good behavior and supports them if they struggle. Alice Ollstein takes us inside a school that's upending its discipline model, one student at a time.

[Music: "Cheetah" by Orchester Clyde Canderbury from Tanz-Express, Vol. 2]

In our weekly trip around the region, we visit the Old Town neighborhood of Laurel, Maryland, and Gum Springs, Virginia.

[Music: "No, Girl" by John Davis from Title Tracks / "Back to School Again (no backing vocals)" by Zoom Karaoke from Zoom Karaoke - Grease 2]

Metro Connection arts contributor Susan Stamberg takes us inside a Smithsonian exhibit showing snapshots of intimate moments in the lives of famous artists.

You can see "Little Pictures, Big Lives: Snapshots Of American Artists" at the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art, through October 3rd.

[Music: "Pictures" by The Jazz Jury from Swingers]

What happens when Africa and the Caribbean collide in the capital of the United States? The answer is RAS, a District restaurant that fuses Ethiopian and Jamaican cuisine. Rebecca Sheir meets the staff of RAS, and learns about the long and rich relationship between two seemingly very different countries.

[Music: "Manew Tew Tew Yemilegn" by Brhanu Tezera]

U.S. Congressman Jim Moran represents a highly diverse district in northern Virginia. And now he's pushing for a national museum that would celebrate the American immigration experience. He's co-sponsor of legislation that would create a Museum of the American People on the National Mall. Rebecca Sheir meets up with Moran to hear more about the proposed museum, which he says would be built without federal taxpayer funds.

[Music: "America" by Joe Chindamo Trio from Plays the Paul...

Across the country, federal officials patrol airports and harbors for plants smuggled across our borders. Many of those plants end up right here in the District, at the U.S. Botanic Garden’s 85,000-square foot facility. Jessica Gould gives us a glimpse of these rare and endangered species, and the conservationists who care for them.

[Music: "Roots" by PapaShanty Saund System from Ashanty Granpa]