Federal Officials Recognize National Teacher Appreciation Week & National Charter Schools Week

Last week, May 7-11, 2012, was both National Teacher Appreciation Week and  National Charter Schools Week. In recognition, Congress and the Department of Education led the country in efforts to recognize both American teachers and the national charter school movement nationwide.   Continue Reading...

In honor of National Teacher Appreciation Week, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has been leading the charge to recognize the hard work of educators across the country. From social media campaigns to personal stories, the Department of Education has been instrumental in inspiring the country to celebrate teachers this week.   Continue Reading...

House Approves Student Loan Rate Cut Last Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation authored by Congresswoman Judy Biggert (R-IL) that would prevent a scheduled July 1st interest rate hike on certain federal student loans.  Under a 2007 statute, the interest rate on subsidized Stafford loans to undergraduate students was cut from 6.8% to 3.4%, but interest rates are scheduled to return to previous levels unless Congress acts.  Biggert's legislation, H.R. 4628, the Interest Rate Reduction Act, would extend lower rates for an additional year.  The bill was approved by a vote of 215 to 195, and it now heads to the Senate for consideration.   Continue Reading...

With education and labor issues being hotly debated across the country and the rise of "super" Political Action Committees (PACs), insiders have predicted that 2012 election spending will reach record levels. Beaten down after over two solid years of negative press, declining membership, and legislative and legal battles, the National Education Association is seeking to come back with a vengeance in 2012. The nation's largest union is currently being tracked as the 4th largest national super PAC contributor.   Continue Reading...

Funds for Early Learning Earmarked in Competitive Grant Program The Department of Education and Department of Health and Human Services

announced last week that $133 million from the 2012 Race to the Top program will be available so that additional states can make investments in comprehensive early learning education reform.   Continue Reading...

Yesterday, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan testified before the House Education and Workforce Committee in reference to the administration's Fiscal Year 2013 budget and policy priorities for the Department of Education. The hearing was a strong indicator of areas of compromise and disagreement between the administration and congressional leadership.   Continue Reading...

Secretary Duncan Advocates for Tech Advances At the South by Southwest Education (SXSWedu) conference in Austin, Texas, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told the crowd in a widely-attended speech that implementing new technologies and outfitting schools with new tech-friendly equipment will be the key to future success in our country.  "The future of American education undoubtedly includes a laptop on every desk and universal internet access in every home," Secretary Duncan said, "But a great teacher at the front of the classroom will still make the biggest difference in the lives of our students."   Continue Reading...

Everyone knows that our education system is inherently linked to our success as a nation. If our students are not prepared for the jobs of tomorrow, the United States will be incapable of competing in a global economy. A new report issued by the Council of Foreign Relations task force, states this and much more, asserting that not only is our economy at risk, but that the nation's security could be threatened if our schools don't improve.   Continue Reading...

Department of Education Unveils RESPECT Initiative Included in the Obama administration's 2013 proposed budget is a new $5 billion competitive program to challenge states and school districts to work with various stakeholders in an effort to comprehensively reform the field of teaching. Entitled RESPECT, the proposal seeks to touch on every aspect of teaching from training and tenure to compensation and career opportunities.

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President Obama Releases 2013 Budget

Yesterday at a community college in northern Virginia, President Obama unveiled his new budget for fiscal year 2013. The $3.8 trillion budget earmarks $69.8 billion in mere discretionary spending for the U.S. Department of Education in the next fiscal year, an increase of $1.7 billion, or 2.5 percent, over the current budget year.

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2012 marked the 10 year anniversary of the heavily debated and sometimes controversial No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law, the nation's flagship federal K-12 legislation. What began as a bi-partisan effort to track schools and measure accountability, has grown into a headache for many states who are struggling to comply with various regulations.   Continue Reading...

Education in State of the Union Address Last week, President Obama spent significant time during the State of the Union address discussing his administration's vision for American education. "Teachers matter," said President Obama in beginning his education remarks. "Instead of bashing them, or defending the status quo let's offer schools a deal. Give them the resources to keep good teachers on the job, and reward the best ones. In return, grant schools flexibility: To teach with creativity and passion; to stop teaching to the test; and to replace teachers who just aren't helping kids learn."

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NCLB Turns 10  After years of controversy, headaches in states and districts, and heated rhetoric from politicians on all sides, No Child Left Behind, the cornerstone piece of federal education legislation turned 10-years-old this week. What began as one of the nation's largest and most publicized pieces of bi-partisan legislation championed by then President George W. Bush and unlikely liberal ally, the late Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) has produced mixed results and long delays in reform for American students and teachers.   Continue Reading...

According to a new study by the Center on Education Policy, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C., estimates by the Obama administration regarding failure rates under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) have been grossly overstated. The research group, which often sides with the reforms touted by Department of Education and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, claim that 48 percent of the nation's 100,000 public schools will be labeled failures under current federal education law. This figure is far below the 82 percent Secretary Duncan had been mentioning for months while advocating for the department's NCLB waiver plan and congressional action.   Continue Reading...

With the debate over No Child Left Behind taking a partisan turn, Director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute Frederick Hess and Stanford Education Professor Linda Darling-Hammond penned an op-ed this week in The New York Times.   Continue Reading...

When speaking to groups of dedicated educators, often teachers admit feeling disconnected to Washington, D.C. and domestic policy at the federal level. When your day is structured at the local level, the rhetoric of a politician can often go unnoticed, especially on issues seemingly unrelated to education. Interestingly, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan bridged this gap this week with remarks made in Nevada about our education system and its role in the U.S. economy.   Continue Reading...

With the overhaul of No Child Left Behind taking longer than expected, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and the Obama administration introduced an NCLB waiver plan back in September that would allow states to apply for regulatory relief in exchange for key reforms. In the months following, while 11 states applied for the waivers, over half of the proposals did not outline specific teacher evaluation components.   Continue Reading...

The Congressional Supercommittee & the Education Impact With the November 23 deadline looming and the failure of the congressional "supercommittee" to reach a meaningful debt-reduction agreement, automatic spending cuts are now expected for agencies across the federal government. What impact this failure will have on federal education budgets remains to be seen as states will now potentially be forced to deal with dire financial realities.   Continue Reading...

The battle between teacher union push-back and the call to make public school teacher evaluations available to the public has been a topic of debate for over a year in California. Union officials claim the information should not be available to outsiders, while proponents argue that it is a critical part of creating a culture of transparency and accountability in the public schools. As the debate continues, a new bipartisan poll by the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles Times reveals that the public not only favors releasing the information to the public, but districts should also factor in student test scores in the creation of teacher evaluations.   Continue Reading...

AAE Releases National Membership Survey

Last week, AAE released its annual member survey about key education issues. Polling member teachers from all fifty states, survey results show progressive stances toward education and labor reform, particularly with regard to school choice, technology, attracting new teachers to the workforce, and collective bargaining.

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