November 16, 2010
Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vils ack today urged passage of legislation to improve school meals before the conclusion of the 111th Congress. Duncan and Vilsack highlighted the opportunities for improving the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs through the child nutrition bill pending in the House and how kids throughout […]
November 16, 2010
“We can protect students and enact school finance reform, while holding the line on property taxes even in difficult economic times,” said State Superintendent Tony Evers in announcing the “Fair Funding for Our Future” plan to reform how Wisconsin funds its public schools. The “Fair Funding for Our Future” plan • fixes the school funding […]
November 16, 2010
More parents in Southwest Washington are taking advantage of a federal law that allows them to transfer their kids out of failing schools. The federal No Child Left Behind Act allows parents to bus their children from a "failing" school to another school at district expense. More than 160 elementary students in the Longview and […]
November 16, 2010
Georgia is joining a national movement toward less school testing after years of swamping students with multiple standardized exams, particularly in high school. The change comes as the state tries to make good on a promise from nearly a decade ago to do away with the Georgia High School Graduation Test, which students must pass […]
November 16, 2010
The joint legislative Fiscal Committee voted yesterday to distribute $41 million in federal funding between school districts and the state. School superintendents said while they are happy to accept the federal stimulus money coming to local school districts, the state’s education funding formula needs to be revamped. If the Executive Council gives its approval tomorrow, […]
November 16, 2010
Norma Mortimer moves about her high school classroom with confidence born of 41 years’ experience. Directions to students are clear; she knows when to push for an answer and when to let a question hang. The English teacher formerly taught music, composed and arranged marching band music, and performed at the Bristol Renaissance Faire. "It […]
November 16, 2010
Roxanne Brummell has thrived in what many consider the toughest new testing ground for teachers in the nation. The fifth-grade teacher in Washington, D.C., earned a "highly effective" rating under the district’s controversial system that rewards — and sometimes fires — teachers based in part on their students’ progress on standardized tests. In just seven […]
November 16, 2010
Former Gov. Jeb Bush shook up Florida’s education establishment and sparked major reforms during his eight years in office. Now, Gov.-elect Rick Scott is ready to take the baton and finish what Bush began. While Republicans are energized, critics are worried that Florida’s new governor is preparing to dismantle public education. "Everyone has deep, deep […]
November 15, 2010
Saucon Valley School District administrators want the school board to hire a new special education teacher in response to a net increase of 91 special education students over the past two years. The board is set to vote on the hire at its next meeting, Nov. 23. Money is available for the hire since the […]
November 15, 2010
Oregon wants to seek a waiver from the federal government toavoid cuts to special education in the 2011-12 schoolyear. Federal special-education law requiresstates to fund special education at the same level orhigher from year to year or face penalties. But Oregon’s 2010-11 special-education funding is down about $19 million comparedwith 2009-10. Oregon Department of Education […]