Afternoon Announcements: March 1, 2013

Happy Friday and happy March! Fun fact: somehow through the power of science there were actually 11 days crammed into this week, so if you think it felt longer than usual, you weren't alone and you weren't wrong!

These announcements are the only thing standing between you and your weekend, so let's make them great.

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Afternoon announcements: October 22, 2012

Wendy Kopp writes a convincing opinion piece on why education should be a topic in tonight's foreign policy presidential debate. She tells the story of Malala Yousafza, the 14 year old Pakistani girl attacked by the Taliban in her pursuit of education. Time  

Fairfax County’s population of homeless students is on the rise. They’re expected to rise above 2,500 by the end of this school year, school official’s have said. If that happens, it will mark a new record. Fairfax County is one of most affluent districts in the US. Reports say that the increase is likely due to the effects of the economic recession. Washington Post

US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently gave remarks at the TIME higher education summit. You can read the full transcript at the Department of Education website. Education Department

Remember last week, we highlighted an opinion piece in The Atlantic on Advanced Placement? The author claims it’s a scam. Today, Jay Matthews, self-proclaimed as obsessed with AP, offers a rebuttal in the Washington Post. “He [John Tierney] seems unaware that AP classes and exams are designed by college professors to mimic their introductory courses, and that more than 5,000 college faculty have checked AP syllabi or graded AP exams to ensure it. Almost all colleges give credit or access to higher courses for good scores on AP exams.” Washington Post

A former Marine and current STEM teacher passionately sounds off on the current state of the teaching profession, saying, “I am a teacher. Let me teach.” Diane Ravitch’s blog

A 17-year old high school senior writes intelligently on the need for more project-based learning in the classroom. “Can creativity be taught?” She asks. “Absolutely. The real question is: ‘How do we teach it?’” MindShift

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Afternoon announcements: October 19, 2012

We’ve heard a lot about what Obama & Romney’s surrogates have to say on education, and we’ve heard short blips from the candidates themselves, but what do they really think on education policy? Today we finally get to find out. Obama in Time. Romney in Time.

FDOTUS, First Daughters of the US, were recently evacuated from school after the school received a suspicious phone call. Sidwell Friends evacuated all students for a short time to investigate. Students and teachers returned to class after law enforcement ensured there was no threat. US News & World Report

Keeping with Obama & Romney, their statements on everything from jobs to the economy to, yes, education, have been fact checked. See what they got right, and wrong. USA Today

Communities for Teaching Excellence, an education policy group in Las Angeles, recently closed its doors after the Gates Foundation stopped its funding. The group supported education reform, including ‘an overhaul of teacher evaluations.’ LA Times
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Afternoon announcements: October 18, 2012

What if Halloween were every day? An Omaha third-grader dresses up as a different historical woman every day and has for over a year. Stella Ehrhart looks into her book of the 100 most influential women in history and chooses a new woman to embody. Her costumes aren’t distracting, and she creates them herself out of what’s in her closet. Some of her creativity is genetics – both of her parents are in the theater industry. Omaha World-Herald

Florida officials are standing by a controversial decision to set different learning goals by race and ethnicity. The measure is an effort to reduce the achievement gap between whites and non-white students and increase reading and math levels. New York Times

Higher education debt has become a big speaking point for President Obama on the campaign trail. He will have more to address and attempt to fix today, with the release of a report that finds that the average student loan debt has increased to $26,500. That’s up from $25,350 the previous year. New York Times

The US Department of Education granted Idaho a No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver, making it the 35th state to receive one. Politics K-12

Finally, some positivity on the education front! Huffington Post writer, (name), argues that the future of education is strong, despite recent polls that indicate Americans’ lack of faith in the system. He references a Napa, California high school that incorporates technology in everything it does as a prime example of schools that are moving forward and increasing learning. Huffington Post

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Afternoon announcements: October 17, 2012

Picture this: it’s last night, and the TV is tuned to the live presidential debate, and yet I’m following it on twitter on my phone. Does anyone else do that? I would miss a line, distracted reading the newest memes coming out of the debate and then go back and catch up on what was actually said. Welcome to the 21st century, alright! And with that, here’s your #ednews roundup.

Obama brought up education… while answering a question on gun violence. He referenced Common Core State Standards, though not by name, saying they are “starting to succeed.” Huffington Post

The first question of the debate pertained to education as well: “How can you assure that I’ll be able to support myself after I graduate?” Short of faking your death Tom Sawyer style to escape your loans, I assume the questioner meant. Romney & Obama linked the education back to the economy, stressing that a stronger economy will lead to more jobs. Education Week

Moving away from the debate, fifth-graders in Pennsylvania are being taught above their grade level. The Pittsburgh Concord K-5 school is teaching both 5th and 6th grade math to their students to prepare for the changes that will come with Common Core implementation. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Earlier this week, we shared a feature on Jeb Bush with you from New York Magazine. It seems Mr. Bush wasn’t too happy about some of what was said. He writes a letter back to NY Mag disputing some of their claims. New York Magazine Read Entire Post

Afternoon announcements: October 16, 2012

The only thing better than an engaging infographic is a well-written feature. Today, we have two must-read features for you. 

Education reform in France means no homework. I bet there are a number of American kids who would get on board with that! The Huffington Post has the story.

Tonight, Obama & Romney duel again, with words that is. Preceding this second presidential debate, campaign surrogates debated education policy last night at Columbia University’s Teachers College. The Huffington Post reports that while the two candidates have similar views on education, the real difference comes in their view of what role the federal government should play. Politics K-12 focuses on the Romney side’s assertion that if he wins, there may be no more No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waivers.

There are few things more compelling than trained assassins, amirite? Read Entire Post

Afternoon announcements: October 12, 2012

Is anyone else as completely adoring of Modern Family as I am? For any other fans out there, you might enjoy this story! You know the kid that plays the not-too-terribly-bright Luke Dunphy? In real life, he’s a 13 year old Mensa member who is graduating from high school! Say what?! Here’s the story from the Huffington Post.

And now back to your regularly scheduled #ednews roundup! TGIF!

Y’all. Brace yourselves. There’s an infographic. The Washington Post shows data on public education enrollment, student achievement and other related information, released by the US Census Bureau.

What I got out of last night’s Vice Presidential debate: Biden’s laughter & a lot of foreign policy talk. There was a bit of education policy thrown in there, as well, but it wouldn’t have been hard to miss. Politics K-12 looks at how Biden attacked Ryan for his budget plan that includes potentially big education cuts. Biden claimed it would kick 200,000 children out of the Head Start earl childhood education program. Read Entire Post

Afternoon announcements: October 11, 2012

If you haven’t nerded out over it already like I have this morning, today is 10/11/12. It has zero significance, methinks, other than being fun to write. So I’m writing it everywhere possible. Anywho, on to the news…

Well, it’s that time of the presidential election cycle again when we’re about to start hearing “flip-flop” more often than we can handle. Today, the Huffington Post points out that in the short time since the first debate, during which he said he wanted to put more teachers in school, he is now criticizing Obama for proposing money to hire teachers. As they report, Romney “cast a proposal to hire more teachers as a waste of taxpayer money.”

The New York Times looks at the two questions asked multiple times yesterday by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. in the arguments on an affirmative action case heard before the Supreme Court yesterday. “He wanted to know how much diversity was enough,” the Times writes. “And he wanted to know when colleges would be able to achieve an acceptable level of diversity without using racial preferences.” A decision isn’t expected until spring. Read Entire Post

Afternoon Announcements: April 26, 2012

Happy Thursday, you’re almost at the weekend. Don’t fret, it’s coming. For now, get caught up with the latest education news headlines.

High school drops continue to be the focus here at the Alliance for Excellent Education and is drawing increasing attention from various media outlets. From PBS, learn how Shelbyville Indiana fixed its dropout problem with “Dropout Nation:’ Turnaround. Six years later, Shelbyville's graduation rate jumped to 90 percent, but how did they turn things around?

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Afternoon Announcements: April 19, 2012

Good Afternoon! Here are your latest headlines in education:

According to Education Week, most of the dozen states that have already gotten wiggle room from the No Child Left Behind Act don't have very good plans in place when it comes to a key piece of the U.S. Department of Education's requirements for turning around low-performing schools: extending learning time. This assessment comes from a new report by the Center for American Progress.

From the Washington Post, Washington D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson has introduced a new five-year plan that calls for higher-achieving public schools with longer days and better graduation rates, but she warned that paying for improvements will require closing some campuses.

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