Secretary Duncan Issues Thoughts on Teacher Appreciation Day In an opinion piece issued today, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan commended National Teacher Appreciation Day and further called for renewed support of Educators beyond just small gifts and cards.     Continue Reading...

"If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might as well have viewed it as an act of war," wrote T.H. Bell in the 1983 report, "A Nation At Risk." Now thirty years after this groundbreaking report, the Fordham Institute's video, "A Nation at Risk: Thirty Years Later" discusses progress in education and what lies ahead.   Continue Reading...

President Obama Releases 2014 Fiscal Year BudgetYesterday, President Obama released the 2014 Fiscal Year Budget. These guidelines contain several implications for education, as outlined below.   Continue Reading...

Congress Takes Action on Special Education FundingIn light of the recession, several states have attempted to cut their spending on special education programs. However, Congress has curtailed this practice by cutting federal funding for states that spend less than they spent last year on special education initiatives.   Continue Reading...

Yesterday, AAE staff had the pleasure of attending a forum on President Obama's universal pre-school plan. The discussion was lead by Sara Mead, associate partner at Education Partners and former director of the Early Education Initiative at the New American Foundation, and Grover J "Russ" Whitehurst, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy and the Brookings Institution and former director of the Institute for Education Sciences.   Continue Reading...

We didn't hear much about improving education throughout the presidential race, which made last week's lavish attention on education reform especially fascinating. The President argued, "To grow our middle class, our citizens must have access to the education and training that today's jobs require." We couldn't agree more.   Continue Reading...

After President Obama's State of the Union Address, many questions have been raised about the practicality of a federally funded pre-kindergarten plan. While some maintain that the initiative will give young children a leg-up and prepare them for success in school, others have questioned the cost and results of such a potentially large program.   Continue Reading...

Yesterday, AAE staff was in attendance for the Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee hearing about the improvements technological innovations are making for K-12 education.   Continue Reading...

Yesterday evening, President Obama addressed several education initiatives in his State of the Union speech, including an expansion of preschool programs and a plan to redesign high schools for the 21st century.   Continue Reading...

As reported on the AAE blog, despite record-breaking growth among non-union teacher organizations, local AAE recruiters and state chapters have experienced tremendous hurdles in establishing equal treatment among competing associations. Whether it is the inability to attend a new teacher orientation or access to school mailboxes, non-union associations are constantly passed over in favor of the interests of powerful teacher union interests. Despite this climate, there is renewed hope for teachers seeking options in Kansas, as House Bill 2221 was recently introduced to promote an equal playing field for all teacher associations.   Continue Reading...

In honor of the 2013 Presidential Inauguration, AAE staff attended the U.S. Department of Education Open House last week. The event was hosted by Department of Education staff and was conducted in an effort to engage the education community and showcase various goals for President Obama's second term.   Continue Reading...

Longer School Year: Helpful or Harmful?Recently, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Tennessee transitioned to a three-year pilot program that adds 300 hours to the school year. The program will affect nearly 20,000 students in 40 schools. The news comes on the heels of bipartisan recommendations from federal lawmakers and reform advocates who are calling for increased instruction time.   Continue Reading...

Recently, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Tennessee transitioned to a three-year pilot program that adds 300 hours to the school year. The program will affect nearly 20,000 students in 40 schools. The news comes on the heels of bipartisan recommendations from both lawmakers and reform advocates who are calling for increased instruction time.   Continue Reading...

The 'Fiscal Cliff' Deal and Education SpendingFollowing an eventful holiday season, yesterday President Obama signed legislation designed to avoid the "fiscal cliff" and prevent automatic spending cuts across all government agencies. The measure was passed just in time to delay the cuts until March. Federal education programs will be spared from deep cuts, but only temporarily.   Continue Reading...

Following an eventful holiday season, yesterday President Obama signed legislation designed to avoid the "fiscal cliff" and prevent automatic spending cuts across all government agencies. The measure was passed just in time to delay the cuts until March. Federal education programs will be spared from deep cuts, but only temporarily.   Continue Reading...

This week, the U.S. Department of Education released a new state-by-state graduation rate report. The data details four-year high school graduation rates in 2010-11 – the first year for which all states used a common, rigorous measure.   Continue Reading...

The votes are in and the people have spoken. President Obama's re-election means four more years of unprecedented federal education spending and education reform-minded competitive grants. As the dust settles on the 2012 election, experts are predicting a continuation of an active Department of Education and changes to some controversial state education laws.   Continue Reading...

Education has been a consistent theme in the 2012 presidential campaign. Although each candidate offers a different solution to improving America's education system, both President Obama and Governor Romney acknowledge that education reform is a critical part of their political platform. Regardless of the outcome next week, it is clear that the 2012 election will have a lasting impact on federal spending and K-12 education for years to come.   Continue Reading...

The Thomas B. Fordham Institute and Education Reform Now recently completed a study about the strength of teacher unions nationwide. The study ranked all 50 states according to the influence of their state-level unions and concludes that there is indeed a declining status of teacher unions across the country.

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Welcome to the Association of American Educators' online biweekly publication, Reform Matters. This education reform-focused publication features both original AAE content and a compilation of the latest news from the growing education reform community.   Continue Reading...