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Coming Clean on No Child Left Behind by Gerald Bracey, Huffington Post | June 25, 2008
So now we know. All of us "paranoids" were right all along. From the beginning, some of us saw vouchers and privatization lurking behind No Child Left Behind. We were shouted down. But now we know. read more »Money to Learn by Terrance Heath, OurFuture.org | June 19, 2008
It's the kind of thing that's easily written off as a photo opportunity: a presidential candidate sitting down with a worried student and a financial aid administrator, working out a plan to help the student pay for her education. But, not if the candidate is one who understands the importance of education, and the difficulty of paying for it. read more »Conservatives Can't Vouch for Vouchers, But They Will Mislead by Isaiah J. Poole, OurFuture.org | June 17, 2008
The propaganda machine supporting school vouchers, headquartered in the office of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, is determined not to let the facts get in the way of conservative ideological spin. read more »The Unappetizing Politics of School Lunches by Eliza Krigman, The Nation | June 10, 2008
Today, a meal consisting of chicken nuggets, tater tots, and canned fruit cocktail in heavy syrup meets all USDA nutrition requirements. With limited funds from the federal government, schools have no choice but to use commercial brands or pre-cooked commodities from the USDA. read more »Lenders Are Avoiding Giving Loans to Low-Income Students by Ben Miller, The Nation | June 10, 2008
The federal student loan market is far from a free market enterprise. Lenders are given governmental subsidies to make the loan and stand to lose no more than 3 percent of the loan. So what are lenders doing with this governmentally subsidized money? Not putting it toward the neediest students who are most likely to require financial assistance in going to college, and also the most likely to drop out if faced with too many hurdles. read more »Making Sense of the Rising Cost of College by Alex Carter, OurFuture.org | May 29, 2008
As college students celebrate graduation this May, their joy is combined with the harsh reality they face post-graduation--many of these students will graduate with unmanageable levels of loan debt that they can not afford basic necessities. Conservatives will tell you they are dedicated to expanding educational opportunities and in the same breath let the banking and student loan industry know, “I have all of you in my two trusted hands.” read more »No Child Left Behind Leaving 70% Of Our Children Behind by Steve Young, Huffington Post | May 7, 2008
You can have as many educators' symposiums and "dropout summits" as you like. But no matter how hard you work it, continuing the same approach and expecting a different result, is not a description of success. It's the definition of insanity. read more »Doing the Troops Wrong by Bob Herbert, The New York Times | May 7, 2008
Who wouldn't support an effort to pay for college for G.I.'s who have willingly suited up and put their lives on the line, who in many cases have served multiple tours in combat zones and in some cases have been wounded? Well, you might be surprised at who is opposing this effort. Or you might not. read more »Liberating the Schoolhouse by Wellford Wilms, truthdig.com | May 2, 2008
The dominant belief is that top-down control is the only way to hold principals and teachers accountable for measurable results. The less prevalent belief is that bottom-up collaboration between teachers and administrators is a source of innovation that builds commitment to and support for successful reforms. The conflict has become especially important in the face of the federal No Child Left Behind initiative, which requires administrators to produce high test scores or risk their jobs. read more »A Diploma in Debt by Shonu Gandhi, tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com | April 17, 2008
Significant policy changes — the systematic inclusion and a substantive financial literacy curriculum in every state's public high school education requirements — are needed in order to give young people a real chance at building solid financial futures. read more »
The Latest
California: Protect Our Schools from Devastating Layoffs, action.aclu.org | August 8, 2010
The story itself is bad enough but it is also set against the backdrop of Californian civilisation being beaten back into some form of rootless serfdom as the institutions of good governance unravel and fail. more »
Will The GOP Senators Whose States Face Thousands Of Teacher Layoffs Vote Against Teacher Funding? , wonkroom.thinkprogress.org | August 3, 2010
Today, the Senate will be taking a procedural vote on a bill providing $26 billion in aid to state and local governments, $10 billion of which is dedicated to preventing teacher layoffs. This particular batch of funding has been included in, and then cut from, multiple bills, as each time conservatives have objected. more »
Senate Vote on Medicaid, Education Funds Delayed, thehill.com | August 3, 2010
The Senate tabled a jobs measure Monday because Democrats underestimated the package’s cost. Democrats had scheduled a vote to end debate on their proposal to send $10 billion in funding to states and local governments to prevent public teacher layoffs. The package contains another $16.1 billion to help states with Medicaid obligations.
Education Funds Out of Senate War Bill, Politico | July 23, 2010
The Senate sent back to the House Thursday night a stripped-down $59 billion war funding bill, after striking all of the added education assistance which Democrats had wanted to avert threatened teacher layoffs in the fall. more »
Krugman: we're paying the price of dumbing down America., The New York Times | October 11, 2009
American Graduates Finding Jobs in China, The New York Times | August 11, 2009
Shanghai and Beijing are becoming new lands of opportunity for recent American college graduates who face unemployment nearing double digits at home. Even those with limited or no knowledge of Chinese are heeding the call. They are lured by China’s surging economy, the lower cost of living and a chance to bypass some of the dues-paying that is common to first jobs in the United States. more »
Teachers Could Earn More Under Obama Plan, USA Today | July 24, 2009
States that want a piece of the Obama administration's $4.35 billion Race to the Top Fund for schools must hew to internationally benchmarked academic standards and let schools pay teachers and principals more if they work in hard-to-staff schools — or if student scores improve on basic skills tests. more »
Student Loan Measure Clears House Panel, The Washington Post | July 22, 2009
A bill that cleared a House committee would largely remove private lenders from the federal student loan industry, generating an estimated $87 billion savings over 10 years to fund more government grants and loans. more »
Black-White Student Achievement Gap Persists, MSNBC News | July 15, 2009
Despite unprecedented efforts to improve minority achievement in the past decade, the gap between black and white students remains frustratingly wide, according to an Education Department report. There is good news in the report: Reading and math scores are improving for black students across the country. more »
Obama Plans $12 Billion Boost To Community Colleges, USA Today | July 14, 2009
President Obama is expected to announce a $12 billion proposal today that will put the nation's community colleges front and center in his economic recovery plan. Among his goals: to modernize community college facilities, to increase the quality of online courses and to ensure that more students complete their programs. more »
