Everyone's Getting Straight A's: Obama's Budget Proposal

The Alliance's newsletter, Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress, is available online. You can read excerpts from the newest volume below, and you can read the full articles here. If you would like to receive the bi-weekly newsletter in your inbox, email jamos@all4ed.org.

Released April 10, President Obama’s education budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 proposes new grant competitions focused on high school redesign and college completion and includes a $75 billion plan to provide access to high-quality preschool programs. Overall, the budget would provide $48.39 billion in discretionary funding—excluding Pell Grants—for the U.S. Department of Education, an increase of $2.8 billion over last year. Obama Releases FY 2014 Budget Proposal

Appearing before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), Education, and Related Agencies on April 17, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan heard support for the president’s preschool proposal from committee members of both parties, but he also faced pointed questions regarding President Obama’s decision to target new spending on competitive programs rather than formula programs, such as Title I and special education. Duncan Talks Education Budget

  Located about forty-five miles north of Philadelphia, PA, Quakertown Community School District (QCSD) has seen tremendous improvement in student achievement and engagement from implementation of a blended learning approach that combines online learning with traditional classroom instruction, finds a new interactive video profile conducted by the Alliance for Excellent Education and Public Impact. “Quakertown Community School District: A Systematic Approach to Blended Learning That Focuses on District Leadership, Staffing, and Cost-effectiveness,” is the first in a series of interactive video profiles highlighting innovative school districts that utilize digital learning to improve teaching and learn. Quakertown Community School District Blazes a Trail for Blended Learning

 On April 17, West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin (D) joined with Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia, to announce that West Virginia would be the first state to implement “Project 24” as part of a statewide education initiative. West Virginia Adopts Project 24

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Afternoon Announcements: Two-Year Blended Learning Certificate Program Offered in New York

At the White House science fair earlier this week, President Obama reiterated that science education must be a “priority.” He promoted science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education (STEM) at the event. USA Today

The University of Florida will offer online bachelor’s degree programs starting next year. It’s the first time a university has embraced full-time online education in the state. “This bill transforms education in Florida,” said House Speaker Will Weatherford. Reuters

West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin announced a partnership with the Alliance for Excellent Education to begin a statewide review of classroom technology and digital learning capabilities last week.  One editorial writer calls it a “great opportunity.” The Register-Herald

The New York City Department of Education announced a new two-year program in which teachers can receive a certificate in blended learning. “We are looking for teachers who believe that in order to adequately prepare students for today’s colleges and careers, we need to rethink the factory-model of education and leverage 21st century tools and strategies,” the press release says. Hechinger Report Read Entire Post

Quakertown Community School District Blazes a Trail for Blended Learning Programs

Quakertown Community School District (QCSD) in Bucks County, Pennsylvania has seen an increase in student achievement, test scores, advanced placement course enrollment, and engagement among students since implementing a blended learning program in 2008. The program combines online learning with traditional classroom instruction, and fosters a flexible environment in which students learning needs are met on an individual level. The Alliance for Excellent Education, along with Public Impact, talked with students, school and district leaders, and analyzed achievement results and compiled their findings in an innovative, interactive video profile. The report, "Quakertown Community School District: A Systematic Approach to Blended Learning That Focuses on District Leadership, Staffing, and Cost-effectiveness,” is the first in a series of interactive video profiles highlighting school districts that utilize digital learning to improve teaching and learning.

"Quakertown is a role model and leader among school districts for its innovative use of digital learning to improve student engagement and achievement. They have blazed a trail for other school districts to transform learning with the smart use of technology,” said Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia. Read Entire Post

Afternoon Announcements: Arne Duncan Stands by Common Core, Asks Businesses To Do the Same

Arne Duncan urged business leaders to support the Common Core at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event on April 16th. In talking about the business community going silent after standards were lowered with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, he said, “I don’t understand why the business community is so passive when these kinds of things happen.” Education Week

Competitive grant programs have received the lion’s share of the federal government’s K-12 budget under President Obama, in large part because Senate Democrats have continued to finance it. But what about formula grants that every school district receives for Title 1 and special education? They have been flat-funded in Senate appropriations bills. Politics K-12

An Alabama bill that could repeal the adoption of the Common Core State Standards made headway this week. State Republicans are behind the bill that got voted out of committee. Alabama.com

Philadelphia School District plans to launch an online school this summer called the Philadelphia Virtual Academy. They would adopt a blended learning approach where students learn both online and in-person from teachers. The Notebook Read Entire Post

Are You Shortsighted in Planning Digital Learning Initiatives?

This Project 24 series blog post was written by Gail Pletnick, Superintendent of Dysart Unified School District in Arizona. Gail is a member of the Project 24 Team of Experts. 

Over the past few years, most school districts, including the Dysart Unified School District, have faced funding challenges as well as challenging changes to academic mandates.   Some districts have used that as a reason to turn away from implementing digital learning initiatives -- the cost for equipment and training was too much.  What our Dysart community learned, however, is that these challenging times often provide an opportunity to become more focused and innovative. 

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Afternoon announcements: Opening windows for learners and educators worldwide

Alliance president Bob Wise responded to a prize-winning TEDtalks speech on building a high school in the 'cloud' today on Huffington Post. Speaker Sugata Mitra's "Hole in the Wall" experiment showed that poor students are as capable of deeper learning competencies like creative thinking and problem-solving as their affluent peers. Huffington Post

In Utah, blended learning might be the new name of the educational game. The state Senate Education Committeehas approved SB79, which would provide $275,000 for grants for blended learning programs - ones that would combine year-round teaching with online learning. The Salt Lake Tribune 

Senators want to know how sequestration will practically impact federal education spending, and they're asking education secretary Arne Duncan for the answers. Senaors Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) sent a letter to Sec. Duncan questioning the expected impact of the cuts. Politics K-12 

In this great feature article, a reproter explores education in rural Alaskan villages, where students are expected to help out with the family and survival, and often don't have the luxury of thinking about college. The Atlantic 

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Afternoon announcements: Equity important in education, federal commission finds

The Equity and Excellence Commission, an expert panel created by Congress in 2010, released a report on Tuesday noting the importance of closing the achievement gap between low-income and middle- and upper-class students. To do this, the report recommends changing the way public schools are financed, improving teacher quality, and investing in early-childhood education. Washington Post and Politics K-12

An increasing number of jobs – even unlikely ones – require a college degree. As this article says, “The college degree is becoming the new high school diploma.” New York Times

Blended learning is helping adopter schools create more personalized learning experiences for their students. This must-read feature looks at one student and her path towards success in a school that incorporates traditional teaching with digital tools. Education Sector

If you haven’t read the much talked about “Warnings From the Trenches” letter, written by a retired high school government teacher to college professors, you should. The piece discusses the students of the No Child Left Behind generation who have been inundated with standardized tests and what it will mean for them in college. Inside Higher Ed Read Entire Post

Rebecca McLelland-Crawley: Creating an authentic learning experience through digital technology

The following guest blog post comes from Rebecca McLelland-Crawley of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. She is the K-12 Science Supervisor at West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District.

Ms.McLelland-Crawley is one in a group of experts who will be blogging for High School Soup every Thursday as part of the Alliance for Excellent Education's Project 24 series. Learn more about Project 24 and how your school district can get involved and connected with the resources needed to plan for progress in a digital transformation here.

Consider my request.

Close your eyes and follow a hypothetical middle school or high school student for her entire school day. How many minutes is she sitting down? How often is she in a group discussing a misconception versus simply hearing her responses are incorrect? Was she allowed to connect to the Internet to research why her response was incorrect? How many times was she told that she can be a digital detective, a blogger, or a software engineer?

I envision a different kind of classroom with very different pedagogical ideas. I dream of a classroom where children are empowered to succeed leveraging technology in a way that maximizes the learning experience for all stakeholders in the community. Read Entire Post

Transforming learning: Will you accept the challenge?

The following post comes from Michael Golden, CEO of Next Generation Learning at Educurious (www.educurious.org).

Now is the time for all of us to take on a bold challenge. We need to transform the experiences and outcomes of school. Let’s channel our knowledge of how and why people learn to change today’s classrooms.

We need a better way to help students succeed in high school and college. Above all, we must ensure our nation’s youth do not miss out on rewarding careers because they lack the skills and exposure necessary to find personally compelling careers. When we build upon the prior interests and identities of students, and provide them with the opportunity to engage in personally relevant projects, motivation and learning follow.

Students need a better connection between what they learn in school and real life. They can and should do meaningful, interesting, authentic work where there isn’t an easy answer or just one solution. When we give them complex, rigorous challenges where they are driven by a powerful “need to know,” students learn how to collaborate, share responsibility and learn from the work of their peers. As they join forces to solve real problems, they “learn how to learn” and “learn to do” anytime, anywhere, in any subject they choose. We must create circumstances and environments where they can acquire the lifelong skills, knowledge, and habits to pursue their dreams. Read Entire Post

Afternoon announcements: New Jersey teachers union sues charter school over blended learning

Merit Prep is a charter school in New Jersey with the mission of improving the academic achievement of low-income minority students. It utilizes technology, combined with traditional classroom teaching, or blended learning. A teachers union in the state is suing to shut the school down. Hechinger Report

A new Texas state law that goes into effect this year mandates a financial literacy program for high school students, that will teach them how to apply for and pay for higher education. One of the program’s goals is to ensure every high school senior completes the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Star-Telegram

Admissions decisions just got tougher for M.B.A. candidates. Some programs are bringing in career-services staff to analyze prospective candidates in terms of their job potential and set expectations for what the school can offer. Wall Street Journal

A new face will lead the House Education subcommittee on K-12 policy in Congress this term. Representative Todd Rokita, a republican from Indiana, will take on the powerful position in education policy. Politics K-12
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