The U.S. Department of Education has named 20 school districts and nonprofits as winners of the third round of the Investing in Innovation (i3) grant competition. A total of $150 million was awarded, with eight "validation" awards up to $15 million and 12 "development" awards up to $3 million.
Chris Minnich has been named Executive Director of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The decision follows a nationwide search by CCSSO Board of Directors to find a successor for Gene Wilhoit, after he announced his plans to retire in June.
Following the final task force meeting, Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman said the recommendations will provide Gov. Bill Haslam with options for a school voucher program. "There are some areas where there is a pretty broad range of views on how to do it," he said. The group agreed that a voucher program should be limited to low-income students, and that private schools should be screened for eligibility and held accountable if they participate in the program.
Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers recently proposed a $615 million increase -- an increase of 2.4 percent in 2013 and a 5.5 percent increase for 2014 -- for public schools over the next two years by redirecting money from the popular school levy tax credit program. Nearly $47 million would be used to meet specific needs of schools, including raising graduation rates and increasing funds for a high percentage of non-English speaking students.
Guam Education Superintendent Jon Fernandez announced that his department was awarded a $20.6 million grant by the U.S. Department of Education from the Title V, Part A Consolidated Grants program. The island plans to use the money to improve student achievement through local reform efforts that support statewide education reforms; implement promising educational reform programs and school improvement programs based on scientific research; provide a continuing source of innovative and educational improvement; implement programs meeting the educational needs of all students, including at-risk youth; and implement education programs to improve school, student, and teacher performance.
Northern Marianas Islands Education Commissioner Rita A. Sablan, Ed.D, would like to see one system govern the education programs on Rota, Saipan, and Tinian. Currently, the CNMI Public School System handles the preschool-12th grade educational program, while the post-secondary program is administered by the Northern Marianas College (NMC). "We need to reform the structure of education in the CNMI so it becomes more efficient and more effective and that it will meet the needs of the Commonwealth. Make it a structure that would be preschool all the way to the 16th program," she says.
The New Hampshire State Board of Education (SBE) voted unanimously on Nov. 21 to endorse the NH Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) Network position statement. The paper presented to the SBE says the IHE Network "stands ready to work with the Department of Education, the legislature, and the professional educational organizations throughout our state to build a modern workforce of educators, leaders, and scholars strongly committed to the highest aspirations of our profession and our communities."
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has issued a "Dear Colleague" letter to chief state school officers reinforcing that the requirement of calculating high school completions still applies even under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waivers. Graduation-rate accountability must be a significant part of accountability systems, and they must be calculated in the same way as outlined in 2008 regulations.
The U.S. Department of Education has awarded another round of early-childhood education grants as part of the Race to the Top program, following an initial distribution of $500 million to nine states. This time around, $133 million in grants will be given to five states: Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, Oregon, and Wisconsin.
The U.S. Department of Education announced on Dec. 11 that 16 winners -- including three charter school organizations -- will share $400 million in the Race To the Top district competition. Miami-Dade is the largest urban district on the list, having also recently won the prestigious Broad Prize this year.
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