Current News

The Montana Office of Public Instruction has received a $50,000 gift from the nonprofit Student Assistance Foundation, and 10 high schools will receive $5,000 awards. The winning schools must showcase their ability to have seniors complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, discuss college-going attitudes and related issues with families, or design activities to bolster graduation rates and college preparedness.

At a recent teacher and staff breakfast, New Hampshire Education Commissioner Dr. Virginia Barry praised SAU 13 -- which includes schools in Freedom, Madison, and Tamworth -- for its efforts to implement the Common Core standards. "You're one of the districts moving forward. You are really trying to commit to what it really means to be college and career ready," Barry said, adding that the standards will focus on learning progressions instead of grade-level progressions.

A memorandum of understanding between Columbia Public Schools (CPS) and the University of Missouri's Office of the Vice Provost for International Programs/Confucius Institute will enable seventh graders at several schools in the district to participate in a Chinese language program beginning in the fall of 2013.

On Sept. 11, Maine Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen rolled out Literacy for ME, an initiative that aims to raise literacy levels statewide. He said that rather than depend only on public schools, communities must create plans to boost literacy rates from birth to adulthood, and he called on early-childhood education providers, public schools, adult education programs, higher education institutions, charitable foundations, and other organizations to collaborate to identify and close gaps.

Louisiana Superintendent of Education John White met with the Nonpublic School Commission on Sept. 11 to discuss a "conceptual framework" for new rules for nonpublic schools seeking funding and to offer vouchers. White said a number of review and approval processes are under revision with the goal of "minimizing work not dedicated to student achievement."

On Sept. 10, the California Department of Education released a 90-page report from the Task Force on Educator Excellence, established by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson earlier this year, that offers recommendations that could change education policy at the school district and state levels. Torlakson says it is the most comprehensive report on the teaching profession in over 10 years.

About 893 school districts or groups of districts have filed applications for $400 million in U.S. Department of Education grants in the Race to the Top competition to spur local improvements. Nearly 200 large districts are eligible for top awards of between $30 million and $40 million, while 433 small districts plan to compete for $10 million to $20 million in awards.

On Sept. 7, the U.S. Department of Education recognized 269 schools across the country as 2012 National Blue Ribbon Schools.

In this commentary, National Center on Education and the Economy President Marc Tucker responds to an Aug. 15 column in the Washington Post by Marion Brady that he feels is "way off the mark" in regards to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).

At the Aug. 28 meeting of the Lyon County (Nev.) School District's Board of Trustees, Claudia Fadness, the district's director of curriculum and accountability, discussed steps the district plans to take in the near future to train teachers in the Common Core State Standards. Grant money has been used to hire instructional coaches to support implementation of the instructional units at each school.