Daily News Roundup—February 8, 2010

EEP News

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National

The NY Times reports on the proposed student-loan reform bill, under immense opposition from private lending companies who have earned billion of undeserved dollars from the federal student loan program.

The NY Times profiles the Gates Foundation’s Early College High School Initiative and their dramatic success. A recent Jobs for the Future report found that in 2008, the early-college schools that had been open for more than four years had a high school graduation rate of 92% and 4 out of 10 graduates had earned at least a year of college credit.

Approaching a “funding cliff,” the NY Times reports on the federal stimulus dollars drying up, with state and local districts facing deep budget gaps.

As per the Washington Post Breaking News blog, when the first round winners of the Race to the Top competition are announced in April, the judges will also be revealed.

This Washington Post editorial applauds the Obama Administration on tackling the reauthorization of NCLB, while emphasizing the need for the administration to stay firm in holding school accountable for their students’ achievement.

NPR guest host Audie Cornish talks with Secretary Duncan about redesigning the standard-setting No Child Left Behind law and other Obama administration initiatives.

EdWeek writes about the Title I School Improvement grants intended to supercharge state and district efforts to overhaul their worst-performing schools.

EdWeek looks deeper into the Obama Administration’s emphasis on the Race to the Top competition for some clues as to how it intends to overhaul the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

From the States

California

Yolie Flores, Vice President of the LAUSD Board of Education, with an op-ed to the LA Daily News praising the LAUSD Board of Education for passing the Public School Choice Resolution which will create “the conditions to offer a quality education to all our students.”

Connecticut

This Hartford Courant editorial urges CT to “stop treating charter schools like the unequal stepchildren of the educational system.”

Maryland

The Baltimore Sun reports on several MD initiatives designed to push the MD General Assembly to alter the state’s charter school law.

Massachusetts

The Boston Globe reports that several local and national Latino organizations are urging Secretary Duncan to withhold potentially millions of dollars in aid until the city offers better services to English Language Learners.

Michigan

“I think that’d be a big step in the right direction,” words spoken by Education Secretary Arne Duncan on whether or not Robert Bobb’s (Emergency Financial Manager) control over the Detroit schools should be extended to encompass academics.

New Jersey

The Hudson Reporter reports on NJ education commission’s recent recommendations that call for freezing teacher pay if there isn’t sufficient funding, requiring teachers to work five instead of three years before being reviewed for tenure, and 10 new charter schools by the fall of 2010.

New York

Eva Moskowitz, founder of the Success Academy Charter Schools (and EEP Signatory), with an op-ed on the upcoming NYC teacher layoffs that will be based solely on seniority, unlike the Washington DC system in which principals choose whom to lay off based on merit.

The NY Times reports on Haven Academy, a charter elementary school in the Bronx, the city’s first school designed to serve children from broken families – many of whom are in foster care or under the supervision of the Administration for Children and Families (NYC’s child welfare agency).

The NY Daily News highlights a national program called A Better Chance (ABC) that has the goal of taking academically fit, economically challenged students and giving them access to exceptional educational opportunities. (Interesting fact: Senator Bill Perkins (Harlem), musician Tracy Chapman, and MA Gov. Deval Patrick are all alums. of ABC.)

Texas

Greg Meyers, newly elected president of the HISD Board of Education, uses Houston as an example to discuss how technology can improve public education.

Virginia

The Washington Post reports on the modest steps VA has taken to compete for RTTT funds. (See quotation from EEP partner, Charlie Barone of Democrats for Education Reform.)

Public Schedule of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

The Week Ahead: Sunday, Feb. 7-Saturday, Feb. 13

Information/Schedule Subject to Change

(All times local)

Monday, Feb. 8

Remarks followed by media availability to the annual Emerging Issues Forum of the Institute for Emerging Issues. 4 p.m. Raleigh Convention Center, 500 South Salisbury Street, Raleigh, N.C.

Tuesday, Feb. 9

Participates in the First Lady's event to unveil a nationwide campaign to combat childhood obesity, joined by other members of the President's cabinet, mayors, the medical community, and media, sports, entertainment, and business leaders. Late morning event; exact time and location to be announced.

Wednesday, Feb. 10

Testifies before the House Education and Labor Committee at a hearing on Building a Stronger Economy: Spurring Reform and Innovation in American Education. 10 a.m. Rayburn House Office Bldg., Rm. 2175.

Thursday, Feb. 11

Testifies before the House Budget Committee on the Education Department's fiscal year 2011 budget. 10 a.m. Cannon House Office Bldg., Rm. 210.

Conference call with reporters on school lunch, joined by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Call-in details to be announced.

Friday, Feb. 12

Remarks at the American Association of School Administrators national conference. 10 a.m. Phoenix Convention Center, 100 N. 3rd St., Phoenix, Ariz.

Saturday, Feb. 13

No public events scheduled.

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Categories: News Roundup