Raising the Bar on the Academic Pole Vault: Gov. Bob Wise's Second Olympic Report from London

Although the scores on international tests don't reflect it yet, the US academic team has been implementing rigorous training methods and adopting new policies in hopes of gaining higher achievement.

In his second video report from London, Alliance President Bob Wise talks about three promising policy reforms: common core state standards; Race to the Top; and digital learning.

To watch Governor Wise’s video report from London, click on the image to the left or visit http://youtu.be/GqDh1SBxe94.

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Afternoon Announcements: July 5, 2012

Hi and happy Mond- err, Thursday. It just feels like Monday here at the Alliance. How about where you are? We hope that you enjoyed the fireworks and festivities wherever you were yesterday. Today we’ve got a couple of announcements for you, and we’ll have some belated Stats That Stick a little later!

Let’s get right down to it.

Education Week reports that a part of Georgia’s Race to the Top grant has been put on high-risk status by the U.S. Department of Education. $33 million of the state’s $400 million grants is in jeopardy because the Department think that Georgia has “strayed too far from the vision it originally outlined in its winning application,” specifically in the area of their plan dealing with teacher evaluation.

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Morning Announcements: June 11, 2012

Good morning and welcome to your Monday edition of Morning Announcements here at High School Soup! Shake out the weekend cobwebs and let’s get down to this morning’s developments.

We told you recently that the U.S. Department of Education had released a draft of its rules for a proposed Race to the Top competition at the district level. Education Week  reports that “the department has received hundreds of comments, from the big organizations representing governors, state schools chiefs, and state and local school board members to well-known think tanks, like the Center for American Progress, and random interested folks who just go by their first names, Madonna-style.”

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Afternoon Announcements: June 4, 2012

Hello and happy Monday! Neck-deep in TPS reports and playing catch-up? Let’s see if we can lighten that load for you by providing you with a short list of stories from this weekend and today that deserve your attention.

First, The Washington Post offers up this feature on “flipped” classrooms where students do their reading (or watch teacher-prepared lessons) at home and do their “homework” in class. This type of classroom set-up has found success with some students who do better having a teacher and classmates around to assist with applications of lesson concepts. Overall, if you haven’t heard of flipped classrooms yet (and we hope you have), then this article is a good primer.

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Stats That Stick: May 23, 2012

Oh those Sticky Stats! Here are some education statistics that made headlines in the past week that you (hopefully) won’t be able to get out of your head.

Maximum amount of funds a district could receive from the Department of Education’s newly-announced school district level Race to the Top program: $25 million.

This week, the Department of Education announced that school districts will be able to submit proposals for education innovations to improve their schools. This round of Race to the Top, which as a competitive program is now in its third year, will focus on individualized instruction and also require applying school districts to agree to evaluate school board members and superintendents. This round of Race to the Top is expected to have about $400 million up for grabs for 15-20 winning districts.

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Afternoon Announcements: May 22, 2012

Happy Tuesday! Did you know that on this day in 1990, Microsoft released Windows 3.0? This was the first version of Windows that included Solitaire. Just a little trivia for you to think about as you navigate the work day!

Yesterday’s big news was the Department of Education’s announcement of a school district-level Race to the Top contest. This round of RTTT will focus on individualized instruction as well as on evaluating district superintendents and school board members. Two takes on this development, first from Education Week and then the New York Times.

Bad news for school budgets in the Golden State. As the Sacramento Bee reports, California State Superintendent Tom Torlakson said yesterday that school districts covering 2.6 million of the state’s 6 million K-12 students are in “financial jeopardy.”

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Morning Announcements April 16, 2012

Hello! The majority of the country is enjoy usually warm temperatures so while you’re “working” on the beach or enjoying a “sick-day” at the amusement park, take a quick and productive break to catch up on education news.

The struggle for teachers throughout the country continues as many cities are on the offense when it comes to reform, targeting key issues important to teachers. In Cleveland, Mayor Frank Jackson is determined to improve failing schools, and according to the Associated Press he’s willing to take on teacher unions to do so. The mayor's proposals, the subject of lengthy negotiations that led to a compromise agreement last week, would limit the right of teachers to block reassignments based on seniority, a cherished prerogative of the longest-serving teachers.

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On the Daily Show, Duncan Talks Teachers, NCLB, Race to the Top

Last night, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart for a wide-ranging interview that focused on everything from No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, common standards and the next generation of assessments to elevating the teaching profession and New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin, who, like Duncan, played basketball at Harvard University.

Duncan also spent a significant portion of the interview discussing the importance of a quality education to the nation's economy.

I think our biggest challenge is that we've become too complacent. We're sixteen in the world in college graduates. A generation ago we were first. It isn't that we've dropped. We've flat-lined and fifteen other countries have passed us by.

We have to educate our way to a better economy. There are 2 million jobs out there today in our country that we can't fill because we don't have the educated workforce to fill those jobs. And so we have to be willing to change the status quo.

We have a million young people dropping out of school every single year. There are no jobs-none-they're guaranteed poverty and social failure. We have to challenge the status quo. We have to take some risks and we have to do some things in a different way, but we have to have a high bar, we have to have high expectations.

 

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Afternoon Announcements: January 11, 2012

It’s the middle of the week so you can wave goodbye to Monday and Tuesday  and finish up Wednesday strong and in the know with the latest in education news.

Teacher Beat reports that the U.S. Department of Education has selected the panelists who will write new regulations for the reporting requirements for teacher preparation programs. The is a step in the education reform process that will readdress teacher preparation and evaluations.

Earlier the Alliance mentioned the tension brewing between teacher unions and school districts that may put schools in jeopardy of losing federal funding. According to the New York Times, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a blistering statement, saying "the forces that protect this bureaucracy have stymied reform at every turn." The governor urged both sides to come to an agreement.

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Afternoon Announcements: January 10, 2012

The Alliance wishes you a productive (and quick) Tuesday. As you speed through the afternoon take in the latest in education news.

The state of New York has yet to comply with the goals it set when applying for financial assistance through the federal Race to the Top program. According to the New York Times, the state is one of three on the federal government’s watch list and therefore may be in jeopardy of losing federal aid.

The Los Angeles Times reports that federal reforms to address quality and accountability concerns are forcing more than 130 Head Start agencies to compete for funding. The report analyzes potential risks for the agencies.

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