A proposal to end an alternative education program for 11th-graders in the Tamalpais Union High School District has caused an uproar among students, alumni, parents and teachers, who have organized online opposition that has drawn more than several thousand backers.

Created in the early 1990s, the Team Program serves 24 juniors each year in the Tamalpais Union High School District. It is based at Tamiscal High School, the alternative school in Larkspur, but the students spend much of their time on wilderness trips, internships and community service projects.

The program has become popular, drawing 80 to 100 applicants each year, according to the district.

With a longstanding teacher set to retire, district administrators will recommend that the school board close the program at its meeting on Feb 6. At issue is not the quality of the program, but the distribution of scarce resources to a small group of students, Superintendent Laurie Kimbrel said in an interview Tuesday.

"The question is not, is this a high quality program?" Kimbrel said. "It is. The question is, given that we're a public school (district), are we serving as many students as best that we can?"

Supporters say the program has been a godsend and, if anything, it should be expanded to serve more students. Within hours after news of the possible closure spread last Friday, they mobilized a campaign to save Team.

As of Tuesday, an online petition in support of the

"Because the model is successful, does that mean you should close it?" said Mary Newman of San Geronimo, whose daughter is in the program this year. "Why should you do away with something that is working?"

Newman said her daughter, Emma, has been transformed by the program, which has taken her on wilderness trips and placed her at the Bay Area Discovery Museum and the neurology clinic at the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center.

"She is taking it all on," Newman said. "It has changed her life. She is not the shy kid who entered as a junior or a freshman into the school scene."

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Proposed cancellation of Marin high school program causes uproar

Professor Emeritus John Mikuta, who taught gynecologic oncology in the Perelman School of Medicine, died last Friday of natural causes. He was 88.

Mikuta, a pioneer in the diagnosis and treatment of gynecological cancers, epitomized what it means to take advantage of every opportunity offered at the University.

He was a 1948 College and Medical School graduate as well as a practicing clinician and dedicated member of the alumni community.

After retiring, Mikuta was named the Franklin Payne emeritus professor of gynecologic oncology. He served as president of the emeritus faculty committee and was recognized by the Medical Schools Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology through the creation of the John J. Mikuta Award for Professionalism in Womens Health. His peers recognized him as the father of his field.

According to Stephen Rubin, who succeeded Mikuta as division chief of gynecologic oncology, Mikuta continued to treat patients for a decade after stepping down as chair in 1993.

Mikuta trained Rubin and nearly 20 other doctors as fellows.

He was a charismatic individual who was very inspiring to many of us, and who encouraged and supported a number of people over the years to go into obstetrics and gynecology, Rubin said.

Mikuta was also involved in many professional societies and was a founding member and eventually president of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists, established in 1970. In addition, Mikuta was an ardent member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

As an alumnus, Mikuta supported the Medical Class of 1948 Scholarship Fund as well as the John J. Mikuta Endowed Scholarship Fund.

Mikuta, who also served on the Medical Alumni Advisory Council and his graduating classs 60th reunion committee, received the Penn Medicine Alumni Service Award in 1994.

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Med School prof John Mikuta, 88, dies

COVINGTON, KENTUCKY (FOX19) -

A group of alumni are returning to their roots to keep a struggling program alive at Holmes High School.

A committee at the Covington school was considering whether or not to continue their International Baccalaureate program. IB offers college credits for high school students.

Instead of voting to get rid of the program, the principal gave that group of alumni the chance to save it Tuesday.

School officials say they were seeing fewer and fewer students enroll in the program with more competing college credit opportunities like AP courses available to students.

"I always have to look at the greater good I have to think about what's best for our students and our school overall," principal Dennis Maines explained. "Over the past few years the IB program has had some declining numbers and that's brought some concern to us from a resource perspective, a human resources perspective."

In addition to alumni, parents of alumni spoke at the meeting and others wrote in letters from around the country.

"The most important thing about being in this country is you can come from nothing and when given the right opportunities you can make something of yourself," Kayla Kinker said, addressing the committee.

Kinker, a 2007 Holmes graduate says she was living in a homeless shelter her senior year of high school.

"One child in Covington with nothing else going for them can turn their entire life around," she said.

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Alumni speak to save college credit program at local high school

For their outstanding service in a range of fields, an inspiring and distinguished group of staff, students and alumni from The University of Queensland community have been honoured in the 2013 Australia Day awards and honours list.

UQ alumni were in in the running for Australian of the Year in three of the four categories, while many other staff, students and alumni received Australia Day honours.

The University congratulates Ms Ita Buttrose on being named Australian of the Year 2013 and all awardees for their achievements.

Australian of the Year finalists from the UQ community:

National Finalist Australian of the Year Professor Adele Green AC

Professor Green has been at the frontline of melanoma research for 20 years. As head of cancer and population studies at Queensland Institute of Medical Research, her research establishing that daily sunscreen use can halve the risk of melanoma set the benchmark for prevention. At UQ, she gained a Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (1976) and Doctor of Philosophy 1984. More information is available here

National Finalist Senior Australian of the Year Laurie Lawrence

Starting with the smallest babies, Mr Lawrence's widely acclaimed program teaches children the skills to save themselves from drowning. Aiming to reduce child drowning rates to zero, he demonstrates the same conviction that saw him coach the Australian Olympic swimming team at Los Angeles in 1984, Seoul in 1988 and Barcelona in 1992. At UQ, he gained a Diploma of Physical Education (1963). More information available here

National Finalist Young Australian of the Year Julie McKay

In her five years leading UN Women Australia, more than $1 million has been raised for projects which directly affect the lives of women and girls in the developing world and hundreds of thousands of Australians have engaged with the organisation's work. At UQ, she gained a Bachelor of Arts (2004) and a Bachelor of Business Management (2004). More information available here.

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Australia Day honours abound for UQ community in 2013

24 January 2013 Last updated at 06:01 ET By Kate McGeown BBC News, Philippines

The little health clinic in the town of Tanauan, on the rural island of Leyte, is often so full of patients that some have to wait outside.

Ryan Almirez is one of only two doctors steadily working his way through the crowds.

Technically, he is still a trainee and due to qualify next year. But he's already seen as an essential member of the team.

The people of Tanauan are lucky to have Ryan.

Most of us come from poor families. We wouldn't have become health professionals if it were not for the school

Most Philippine doctors prefer to work in the cities, where they can supplement their government incomes by taking on private patients.

Still others - at least 11,000 since 2000 - have retrained as nurses and gone abroad, earning four or five times as much as they would as a doctor back at home.

But Ryan is not a typical medical student, and neither will he become a typical doctor.

He is enrolled in the University of the Philippines' School of Health Sciences, which is based down the road from Tanauan.

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Rural solution to health brain drain