Afternoon Announcements: Why Don't More Students Finish College?

Virginia’s largest full-time statewide virtual school is likely to close, affecting more than 350 students in the next school year. The decision comes as the Carroll County School Board plans to end its partnership with the contractor that operates the virtual school. Washington Post

A Georgetown sociology class on hip-hop got a surprise when Jay-Z called in from Europe. The class was studying the artist’s life and work and his role in black culture. “He’se a friend of mine, so teaching this class on him was an exercise in both the critical engagement with a towering icon and an attempt to understand the nature of his craft and his appeal in the world,” class professor Michael Eric Dyson said. Washingtonian

Some students in Indiana, Oklahoma, and Minnesota have extra time to study for end of year high-stakes tests because of computer glitches that occurred the first, and regularly scheduled, time they were administered. The students have been kicked offline when they attempt to take the assessments. New York Times

Too many students who enter college do not complete their program. A new infographic looks at the statistics. Civitas Learning Read Entire Post

Afternoon announcements: Minnesota superintendent champions ELL reforms

Digital Learning Day is a mere two days away. In anticipation, here are three websites that high school teachers should try in 2013. High School Notes

The U.S. Department of Education recently issued a progress report on the Race to the Top competition. The majority of winners seem to be struggling to implement teacher – and principal- evaluation systems, and building and upgrading digital infrastructure. Politics K-12

Higher education has long been an incentive for joining active military duty, but what is that experience like? New York Times

Opponents of the Common Core State Standards, now adopted in 46 states, are targeting their lobbying and media campaigns in Colorado, Idaho, and Indiana. All three states have adopted the standards. Education Week

A Minnesota Superintendent is focusing her efforts on reforming programs for English Language Learners. A Chilean native, the matter is close to her heart. Education Week

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Alliance Policy Staff: Deeper Learning in the Heartland

Getting out of Washington, DC and into some schools is the best and likely one of the most important parts of a policy nerd’s job. I spent a day earlier this week doing just that in Minnesota. I visited three different high schools that part of the Minnesota-based EdVisions Schools network (www.edvisionsschools.org).

By way of history, EdVisions was started about 20 years ago by a small group of Minnesotans who were interested in developing a new type of education. As former educators from traditional education programs, the EdVisions team specifically looked at the things within a traditional education system that prevented students from being productive and engaged leaders in their own learning process.

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Afternoon Announcements: November 10, 2011

The U.S. Department of Education is making headlines today.

In a recent Huffington Post op-ed, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan comments on a new teacher pay study, saying it asks the wrong questions, ignores facts, insults teachers, and demeans the profession.

Education Week reports that in the second round of the Investing in Innovation (i3) grant competition, the U.S. Department of Education has identified 23 finalists.

In a republican debate on CNBC last night, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said that when he gets into office, he would get rid of three federal agencies, though he could only name two: “Commerce, Education, and the—what’s the third one there?” and then Perry trailed off—this according to  Education Week and the Washington Post.

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Common Standards Update

Nearly eighty percent of states including the District of Columbia have now adopted the common core state standards. This month Kansas (October 12) and New Mexico (October 19) were the latest states to announce they were officially on board. In September, Minnesota announced they would be adopting the English Language-Arts standards but not the math standards. So far, they are the only state to adopt the standards this way.

To see where your state stands, check out the Alliance’s common standards map by clicking on the image to the left or our state-by-state common standards cards. These profiles capture data relevant to the need for improved standards and assessments in the United States and the potential benefits of educating all students to meet the common college- and career-ready core standards.

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Morning Announcements: October 14, 2010

In the New York Times, Nicholas Kristof writes an excellent column on what the Arab country of Oman can teach us about the power of education. Politics Daily asks, Did the White House Abandon Michelle Rhee, Education's Superwoman? And the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post editorial boards discuss Rhee’s resignation and the appointment of Kaya Henderson as interim chancellor of DC public schools.

The Los Angeles Times reports that an effort to lessen layoffs at three middle schools has became a vehicle to propel fundamental changes, such as requiring layoffs at the same rate campus by campus. It also sidestepped teachers union resistance.

In New York, overcowding in some of Queens' large, generalized high schools appears to be up this fall - and the culprit could be the borough's high number of struggling schools, according to the New York Daily News.

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Stats That Stick: October 13, 2010

The unemployment rate for high school dropouts aged twenty-five or older soared by 10 percent in September, meanwhile, the unemployment rate for college graduates actually dropped. -U.S. Department of Labor. Read more about these numbers in Jason Amos’ latest blog post. 

Minnesota has become the 38th state to adopt the common standards, but only in English/language arts, not in math. –Education Week

More than $9 billion was spent by state and federal governments to support students at four-year colleges and universities who left school before their sophomore year during a five-year period. -American Institutes for Research. To find out more, check out this blog post.

Although the recession technically ended in 2009, district budgets are not expected to regain their pre-recession (2008) funding levels until late in the decade. –The Center for Public Education

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Morning Announcements: October 8, 2010

The Minnesota Post reports that underperforming MPS schools try longer days but experts say success will depend on how the extra time is spent.

The Las Vegas Sun reports on the life of homeless students in Clark County School District.

In the Wall Street Journal chairman and CEO of News Corporation Rupert Murdoch explains how American Idol has tougher standards than the American school system.

The Washington Post editorial board reflects on the Education Jobs Fund writing, “So urgent was the supposed need for Congress to forestall a catastrophic loss of teacher jobs that the House was called back from its summer recess and money looted from the food stamp program. That money is now flowing to the states, but since, for many, the crisis was less dramatic than had been described, local school districts are now looking for creative ways to use the money. Let's hope that they are smarter than those who engineered this boondoggle and that they do not waste taxpayer dollars on programs that can't be sustained or policies that don't work.”

 

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Morning Announcements: August 4, 2010

Indiana education officials officially adopted common standards on Tuesday, bringing the tally to a total of 35 states.

The Minnesota Post takes a look at a study finding that disparities in Internet access are leaving some students far behind their peers in learning opportunities.

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