Afternoon announcements: Magic as education tool

This “Pep Talk” video from “Kid President” has gotten over 1,000,000 views – talk about going viral! Have you seen it? It’s a must watch. “We’ve got work to do – we can cry about it, or we can dance about it.” YouTube

Magic isn’t just for entertainment anymore – it’s for education. Kevin Spencer, a magician, is bringing magic to students – particularly those in physical rehabilitation. News Herald

After taking recommendations on changes to the application process for the Investing in Innovation program (see the Alliance’s recommendations here ), the Department of Education has announced a formal step that will make research and evidence weightier factors in awarding the grants. Education Week

A New York City parent claims New York Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to close 26 low-performing-schools discriminates against minority and special education students. The U.S. Department of Education plans to investigate.  Wall Street Journal Read Entire Post

Community partnerships key to successful digital learning transitions

Huntsville, Alabama is one of an increasing number of cities that has embraced a transition to digital learning in one or more of their school districts. Some of these transitions across the nation appear seamless and show effortless improvement in academic achievement. Others are bumpier. What makes a successful transition?

Michael Robbins, a Huntsville native and blogger for the Department of Education, believes the foundation of a successful transition to digital learning is community and family partnerships. In a new blog post for Homeroom, he outlines the four key areas of collaboration between community organizations, including faith-based organizations, and school districts: expanding access and digital literacy; bridging between schools, families, and communities; service and volunteering in education; and creating new avenues for anytime-anywhere learning.

“Community partnerships are key to realizing a digital learning revolution that is more than trading textbooks for tablets,” Robbins says in his blog post. “This is an inflection point in education – a critical opportunity to transform how schools, parents, and community-based organizations collaborate to ignite student curiosity and engagement in learning.”

Read more about each key area of collaboration and his full blog post on Homeroom. Read Entire Post

Alliance recommendations to the Department of Education's Investing in Innovation Fund

The Department of Education recently provided an opportunity to comment on their proposed changes to application requirements for the Investing in Innovation Fund (i3). Funding from this grant is provided to school districts, and nonprofit organization partners, with a record of improving student achievement in order to expand the implementation of, and investment in, innovative practices demonstrated to have an impact on improving student achievement or growth, closing achievement gaps, increasing high school graduation rates, or increasing college enrollment and completion rates.

Last week, the Alliance submitted comments in support of many of these proposed changes and provided additional recommendations to target funding to practices that most effectively increase the number of students who graduate from high school college and career ready. Here are the Alliance's recommendations: Read Entire Post

Morning Announcements April 18, 2012

Happy (and hopefully not hectic) Wednesday! It’s the middle of the week, so in between thanking your lucky stars that it’s not Monday or Tuesday and praying for Friday, get caught up on the latest in education news.

Presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney is coming under fire for expressing his intent to largely slash the Department of Education. The two-time Harvard professional degree recipient told a room full of campaign donors that he'd slim down the U.S. Department of Education if he were elected president, according to Education Week.

That battle for public schools continues in Chicago; between teacher unions, schools days, and funding, every day is a different fight. With changes to the length of next year's school day, a continuing budget deficit and ongoing teacher contract talks that pose the potential for a strike,  Chicago Public Schools principals are Read Entire Post

Alliance Raises Awareness of Homeless Children and Youth Act

“To really understand what it’s like to be homeless, take a bath twice a week in a sink, says Naomi* in the video below.“Carry your clothes or everything that you own in a Kroger’s bag.”

Can you imagine having to bathe yourself with just a sink and your hands? Having to sleep on hard floors, in cramped motels, or not at all? Being kicked out of a hotel room because the money is gone and the bills are overdue? This is the life of thousands of children across the country. They are homeless. But not according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Read Entire Post

Afternoon Announcments: December 15, 2011

Good Afternoon, it's almost the weekend so hurry through your evening. But don't rush through the latest in education news.

It looks like someone in the Department of Education needs to reassess their calculation skills. According to the New York Times, a new study by the Center for Educational Policy found that the Secretary of Education largely overstated the percent of schools nationwide that are failing under the No Child Left Behind act. While Secretary Arne Duncan initially reported 82 percent of schools are failing, it turns out that in reality, it is slightly above half of that- 48 percent.

Read Entire Post

Afternoon Annoucements: December 2, 2011

Happy Friday!  If you haven’t headed to happy hour already, kick back and enjoy as we ease you into the weekend with today’s education news.

The editorial board at the Washington Post applauds Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s call to tackle the spiraling cost of college education by actually addressing the cost side of the equation as opposed to government solely focusing efforts on increasing federal aid and reducing interest costs on loans. Although acknowledging Secretary Duncan’s initiatives will not be a complete resolution to the enormous problem, the Washington Post calls it a “welcome dose of straight talk.”

 

Read Entire Post

Afternoon Announcements: October 27, 2011

A National Council on Teacher Quality report released Wednesday identifies Maryland as a leader in teacher evaluations, writes the Baltimore Sun.

The common core state standards in English/language arts and mathematics are generally aligned to the leading state, international, and university standards at the high-school-exit level, but a new report says they are more rigorous in some content areas, writes Education Week.

The Chicago Tribune offers four tech tips for parents to embrace digital education.

The MinnPost reports that in a recent visit to Patrick Henry High, Sen Al Franken mixed “math, mirth, and education-bill backing.”

Read Entire Post

President Announces Waivers For No Child Left Behind, Time For Congress To Get Back In The Boxing Ring

President Barack Obama announced today sweeping changes in his administration’s plan for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, commonly known as Child Left Behind. He unveiled that the Department of Education will begin to issue waivers to states from NCLB if they follow general guidelines.

In his latest video, Alliance President Bob Wise — former governor of West Virginia — compares Obama’s latest move to a punch in a boxing ring. Obama said he is allowing waivers because Congress has refused to act.

Wise said waivers are a step forward but the only real solution is for Congress to pass full legislation necessary for education reform.

“The Executive Branch has chosen to move forward with waivers because Congress hasn’t acted,” Wise said. “So here's the challenge — Congress, climb back in the ring, duke it out. Pass the legislation that truly leads to education reform and takes away the need for waivers. When you do that, you score a knock out for our kids. There's still time'

 

Read Entire Post

Stats That Stick: September 21, 2011

Teachers Detroit plans to cut over the next four years: 40 percent
Detorit Public Schools expects to shed nearly 40 percent of its teachers in the next four years to help close a $327 million deficit, yet projects a loss of just 6,000 students under a state-approved fiscal blueprint, according to the Detroit News. The district would cut more than 1,500 teachers by fall 2015. Read Entire Post