Afternoon Announcements: December 6, 2011

The weather outside may be frightful, but the delightful staff here at The Alliance for Excellent Education hopes to keep you warm and informed with the latest in education news.

A long-lasting initiative of educational reform has been to reduce classroom size but CNN addresses the importance and relevance of the debate as classroom sizes continue to swell. According to the New York Times, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg joins the discussion by suggesting the focus on classroom size is unnecessary and silly compared to the numerous other obstacles education reform faces.

Schools nationwide have more incentive to recycle as the federal government plans to recognize those with strong environmental curriculums and learning environments. According to the Washington Post, the government will begin rewarding schools with the Green Ribbon Award in April. Applications can be submitted beginning at that end of the December.

According to the New York Times, limits to affirmative action in admissions to colleges and universities set in place by the Supreme Court from the Bush era have been tossed out by the Obama administration. The President instead urged colleges and universities to get creative in improving racial diversity at their campuses. Alliance President and former Governor of West Virginia, Bob Wise offered his thoughts on the change.

As the 2012 presidential campaign officially gets underway with the Iowa Caucus next month, high on the list of priorities for Iowa Republicans appears to be the closure of the Department of Education based on the a survey by The Des Moines Register brought to you by Education Week.

The words of guest speaker Dr. Cornel West may be just what the young students of Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing Arts and Frederick Douglass Academy II needed to hear. In a visit planned for over a year, the influential activist delivered a powerful address to the two Harlem schools that risk closure due to poor performance. Dr. West told the New York Times he would do anything he could to help save the school from shutting its doors.

We leave you with some positive news for the day. The city of Detroit has been the face of economic hardship over the last several years as factories closed and the automotive industry bankrupted. The city is finally showing signs of recovery even through its educational system. Education Week informs us that after three years and two financial overseers, the Detroit Public Schools achieved its first budget surplus in four years and used it to help reduce a $327 million budget deficit.