Fernandez Works to Establish Education FoundationAt a March 4 meeting of the Rotary Club of Northern Guam, Guam Department of Education Superintendent Jon Fernandez discussed his plans to establish an education foundation that would offset a shortage in local government funding by allowing businesses and individuals to make donations to the school system. more High-Achieving Public Schools Win $1 Million Worth of AwardsThe Hawaii State Department of Education recently handed out a total of $1 million in Strive HI awards to 32 schools, which each received between $12,500 to $100,000. The awards -- which come from the state's Race to the Top federal grant -- recognize schools that have demonstrated significant academic progress for two consecutive years. more New Tests for Massachusetts Students on the HorizonMassachusetts is one of 22 states preparing to roll out the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) test, an online test aligned with the Common Core State Standards that will replace standardized tests in English language arts and math in the 2014-15 school year. more Businesses and Schools Encouraged to PartnerAt a recent luncheon sponsored by the Mooresville – South Iredell Developer’s Council, North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson talked about the importance of businesses and schools working together "on behalf of economic development." more NDDPI Offers Learning Center GrantsNorth Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler announced that her department would begin accepting applications for a three-year grant to expand or establish community learning centers. more Cerf Goes Public About Student Test Scores and Teacher EvaluationsNew Jersey Education Commissioner Chris Cerf recently presented proposed regulations for the state's new teacher evaluation system to the State Board of Education. The proposal indicates that for teachers in grades and subjects evaluated by state tests, 35 percent of their rating in the first year would be tied to student progress on the tests, while 50 percent would be tied to supervisors' evaluations of teacher practice and 15 percent to undefined achievement measures. more West Virginia Unveils New Online Educational ToolIn|Site, an online resource for teachers, students, and administrators, has been launched by the West Virginia Department of Education. The site enables academic and career technical teachers to find instructional resources for classroom use, paves the way for the implementation of cross-curricular projects, and offers learning resources for students. more How to Prepare for Common Core Testing—and Why Current Teacher Evaluation Systems Won't HelpAt the American Association of School Administrators' National Conference on Education on Feb. 22, Linda Darling-Hammond, the Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education at Stanford University, talked about the need for high-quality professional development to prepare teachers and students for the next-generation assessments aligned with the Common Core State Standards that are being developed by the Partnership for the Assessment of College and Career Readiness and the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. more The Right Curriculum for Kindergarten: PlayAccording to Harlem Village Academies Founder and Chief Executive Deborah Kenny, upper-income schools were found to focus on active play and crafts in kindergarten, while lower-income schools engaged in regimented academics, reward-and-punishment behavior systems, and top-down instruction. more | 
