Senate Hearing From Thousands of Public Ed Supporters

By Cynthia McCabe After months of build-up, it’s finally here. The Senate is scheduled to vote today on education jobs funding and thousands of public education supporters nationwide are jamming U.S. Senate phone lines and email systems to demand that legislators save 135,000 educator jobs. Roughly $10 billion in funding for those jobs is included in H.R. [...]

NEA Says Ed Reform Must Include Languages

By Amanda Litvinov World languages and international education are crucial to the future success of America’s students — and that’s why NEA is part of a coalition working to increase our schools’ capacity to teach them. “Our students deserve an education that prepares them to be global citizens,” said NEA Executive Director John I. Wilson [...]

Ahead in Ed – August 1

President Dennis Van Roekel will appear on CNBC’s Wall Street Journal Report with Maria Bartiromo as a part of her “Summer on the Streets” series. on Sunday, August 1st,  at 7:30 pm (ET). Click here to find your local listing.

With New Standards, Test Scores Drop in NYC

Test scores in New York City dropped this year after tougher standards were imposed. The passing rate for math went from 86% last year to 61% this year and from 77% to 53% in english. Source: New York Times

Must Reads – New Report Criticizes Turnaround Policies

Communities for Excellent Public Schools released a new analysis of the Obama Administration’s school turnaround policies. The analysis “criticizes the administration for taking ‘top-down school improvement efforts’ that are part of No Child Left Behind and thinking that they will somehow be successful by ‘adding teeth.’ It says that they ignore a growing body of [...]

Ahead in Ed – August 1

Nominations are due for ASCD’s Outstanding Young Educator Award. The program recognizes creative leaders committed to a whole-child education approach, ensuring a positive impact on students’ lives. Winners receive a check for $10,000.

Race to the Top Round 2 Finalists

Eighteen states and the District of Columbia were named finalists to in the second round of the Race to the Top competition. There is $3.4 billion left for the program and 1o to 15 winners are expected to be announced in late August or early September. Source: Education Week

Slow SIG Process Leaves Lower-Performing Schools Scrambling

By Amy Buffenbarger U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan called for bold and aggressive reforms when he announced the final requirements for the $3.5 billion Title I School Improvement Grants (SIG) program last December. But as the school year approaches, many lower-performing schools still don’t know whether they will receive grants to fund their planned reforms. [...]

Must Reads – Civil Rights Groups Criticize Ed Agenda

Several leading civil rights groups want Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s to change his reform agenda, stating that “his emphases on expanding charter schools, closing low-performing schools, and using competitive rather than formula funding are detrimental to low-income and minority children.” Source: Education Week

Must Reads – Students Hiding Homelessness

There is a growing population of college students hiding their homelessness and hunger as they struggle with increasing financial pressures to cover tuition costs. Source: NPR

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