Nick and Drew Lachey announce '98 Degrees' reunion performance

Nick and Drew Lachey have announced that their popular 1990s boy band 98 Degrees will be reuniting - for one night only.

The two will team up with former group members Justin Jeffre and Jeff Timmons for a one-time gig at the Summer Mixtape Festival in Hershey, Pennsylvania in August. Drew and Nick Lachey, brothers in the band, announced the news on Ryan Seacrest's KIIS FM morning radio show on Wednesday.

"We're very excited about the opportunity," Drew said. "We've been toying around with the idea for a couple years of, 'If we got back together, when would be the right scenario,' and this music festival right here just kind of seemed like the right time to get back together and do a show and kick the tires and see how it feel."

The 35-year-old singer's brother Nick also took to his Twitter account to announce the news of the performance.

"Big announcement with @RyanSeacrest today. Felt like 2001 all over again! Can't wait for August 18th in Hershey. Be there. #98degrees" he Tweeted.

The band formed in the late 1990s and split in 2002. The group is known for hits such as "I Do," "Because of You" and "Give Me Just One Night." The singers had four successful studio albums and have performed together at special events, such as on Nick & then-wide Jessica Simpson's 2004 "Family Christmas" TV special, after the split.

Nick, 38, also explained on the show why he had previously denied the rumors that the group would be reuniting for a tour.

"I didn't say we weren't going to do it, but there was some speculation about a full tour happening this summer and our fans have been kind of eager to see us get back together," he said. "I just wanted to make sure that they understood that a full tour wasn't happening this summer, but obviously very excited to announce that we're doing this big festival in Hershey in August. So, that will be our one and only appearance."

Nick and wife Vanessa are expecting their first child together. The television personality recently played a game with her Twitter followers where she exchanged photos of her followers' baby bumps for a photo of her own.

Minnillo posted a silhouette photo of her own pregnant figure. The 31-year-old is seen from the side sitting in shallow water in an ocean backdrop. She made it her new Twitter background picture (See photo).

For more information on the music festival where 98 Degrees plans to reunite, visit Summer Mixtape Festival's website.

(Copyright ©2012 OnTheRedCarpet.com. All Rights Reserved.)

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New York Schools Announce 228 High Schools in Need of Improvement

Of the 946 high schools within the New York schools, 228 have been identified as needing improvement under federal and state rules, according to an announcement made in mid-September by the New York schools.

All schools within the New York schools are held accountable for the academic achievement of students by race and ethnic groups, students with disabilities, students with limited English proficiency, and low-income students. They are graded at the end of each school year by the New York schools, according to their grading standards as well as federal rules.

Of the 228 high schools, 18 were newly identified this year. Twenty-nine high schools met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for two consecutive years in all areas previously identified as needing improvement and were removed from the list this year. Seventy-five made AYP last year and, if they make AYP this school year, they will be removed from the list next year. Though many of the New York schools on the list last year have raised their AYP scores, the number of high schools on the list only decreased statewide by eleven.

Title I funds are given to 107 of the identified 228 New York schools. They are considered Schools In Need of Improvement, under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The other 121 New York schools identified are called Schools Requiring Academic Progress (SRAP) and do not receive Title I funding. The Title I schools are required to take a variety of actions, while the other New York schools identified must implement state accountability measures. All 228 New York schools will receive technical assistance to help improve student performance.

Of the 946 secondary New York schools, 653 have grades nine through twelve, with 293 also having grades seven and eight in-house. Here are the total New York schools' standings for its high schools:

o 718 high schools within the New York schools are in good standing,

o 27 New York schools are in their first year of needing improvement,

o 20 are in their second year,

o 21 need corrective action,

o 26 New York schools are in the planning stage of restructuring,

o 13 are in restructuring,

o 32 require academic progress (SRAP), first year,

o 28 are in year two of requiring academic progress, and

o 14 are in year four or more of requiring academic progress.

Three New York schools within their third year of restructuring and one in year seven of SRAP face possible closing or phasing out, if they do not improve during this school year.

The New York schools require different actions for schools identified at the different levels of needing improvement. The worse the school's AYP score and the longer it has been on the New York schools list, the more that is required to be implemented at the school in order to improve student academic achievement. Actions range from parental school choice, to strengthening core academic subjects, to providing high quality professional development for teachers, to teacher mentoring programs, to implementing new curriculum, and so on. The New York schools could even bring in outside experts to assist New York schools principals in raising their AYP scores or restructure the entire school's internal organization.

Patricia Hawke is an expert researcher and writer on real estate topics such as economics, credit improvement tips, home selling advice and home buying preparations and education for relocating families. For more information please New York Schools