Education // Current

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6 days ago

100 Excellent Online Resources For Christian Homeschoolers

Because the schoolroom has changed so much recently, so too have the methods. More and more parents are choosing to educate their... more

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9 days ago

Obama to Seek Sweeping Change in ‘No Child Left Behind’ Law

February 1, 2010
Obama to Seek Sweeping Change in ‘No Child’ Law
By SAM DILLON

The Obama administration is proposing a sweeping overhaul of President Bush’s signature education law, No Child Left Behind, and will call for broad changes in how schools are judged to be succeeding or failing, as well as for the elimination of the law’s 2014 deadline for bringing every American child to academic proficiency.

Educators who have been briefed by administration officials said the proposals for changes in the main law governing the federal role in public schools would eliminate or rework many of the provisions that teachers’ unions, associations of principals, school boards and other groups have found most objectionable.

Yet the administration is not planning to abandon the law’s commitments to closing the achievement gap between minority and white students and to encouraging teacher quality.

Significantly, said those who have been briefed, the White House wants to change federal financing formulas so that a portion of the money is awarded based on academic progress, rather than by formulas that apportion money to districts according to their numbers of students, especially poor students. The well-worn formulas for distributing tens of billions of dollars in federal aid have, for decades, been a mainstay of the annual budgeting process in the nation’s 14,000 school districts.

Peter Cunningham, a Department of Education spokesman, acknowledged that the administration was planning to ask Congress for broad changes to the education law, but declined to describe the changes specifically.

He said that although the administration had developed various proposals, it would solicit input from Congressional leaders of both parties in coming weeks to create legislative language that can attract bipartisan support. Some details of the president’s proposals are expected to be made public on Monday, when the president outlines his $3.8 trillion budget for the 2011 fiscal year.

The changes would have to be approved by Congress, which has been at a stalemate for years over how to change the policy.

Currently the education law requires the nation’s 98,000 public schools to make “adequate yearly progress” as measured by student test scores. Schools that miss their targets in reading and math must offer students the opportunity to transfer to other schools and free after-school tutoring. Schools that repeatedly miss targets face harsher sanctions, which can include staff dismissals and closings. All students are required to be proficient by 2014.

Educators have complained loudly in the eight years since the law was signed that it was branding tens of thousands of schools as failing but not forcing them to change.

The secretary of education, Arne Duncan, foreshadowed the elimination of the 2014 deadline in a September speech, referring to it as a “utopian goal,” and administration officials have since made clear that they want the deadline eliminated. In recent meetings with representatives of education groups, Department of Education officials have said they also want to eliminate the school ratings system built on making “adequate yearly progress” on student test scores.

Continued...February 1, 2010 Obama to Seek Sweeping Change in ‘No Child’ Law By SAM DILLON The Obama administration is... more

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9 days ago

Top 10 Majors That are Going Extinct

The high expectations among the students and parents in the US, is leading to many institutions finding themselves in a position... more

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9 days ago

50 Amazing Videos Every Educator Should Watch

You can check out a few of these videos any time you have a few minutes in between all that you do so that you can learn about... more

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13 days ago

25 Biographies Every Business Student Should Read

Read on to learn about 25 biographies you should read that share insight to leaders in business throughout history into modern... more

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13 days ago

50 Brain Facts Every Educator Should Know

If you work with children, here are some facts that you might find helpful, from how the brain affects learning to facts about... more

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16 days ago

10 Most Famous and Successful People Who Were Homeschooled

Some pretty important people in business, entertainment, science, politics, and literature were homeschooled at some point in... more

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21 days ago

North Carolina Smart Start Receives More than $6.2 M in Federal Stimulus Funds for Home-Visiting and Child Care Programs

RALEIGH- Smart Start partnerships in Durham, Onslow, and Sampson Counties received a total of $6.2 million in federal stimulus funding to help expand Early Head Start across North Carolina. The partnerships, which lead and convene early education efforts in their communities, will use the funds to provide home-visiting services and help more children access high-quality child care.

Decades of research show that the earliest years of childhood are critical to brain development and lay the foundation for all future learning. In addition, children who have positive, nurturing relationships with their parents and caregivers have better health and social skills. Early Head Start is a federally-funded program with services for low-income families that enhance children's physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development; help pregnant women access prenatal and postpartum care; and support parents in fulfilling their parental roles.

These goals are often served through access to high-quality child care and home-visiting programs in which trainers go into the home and show parents, a child’s first and primary teachers, developmentally-appropriate activities for their children. Home-visiting programs may also offer comprehensive medical, nutritional and social services.

Durham’s Partnership for Children received $3.3 million to create Early Head Start programs in Durham for the first time. The county has 15,600 children birth to three years of age, of which almost a quarter, live in poverty. Durham’s Partnership for Children will serve 120 children with a focus on supporting homeless and special-needs children.

The Onslow County Partnership for Children received nearly $1.5 million to implement Early Head Start in Onslow County for the first time. The Partnership will begin a home-visiting program for 72 low-income pregnant women and children with specific emphasis on serving the Hispanic community and children with disabilities.

The Sampson County Partnership for Children received more than $1.4 million to provide intensive family support services for 80 at-risk young children and their families.

“The federal government’s investment means a brighter future for North Carolina children, who will be better prepared to succeed in school and become productive members of society as adults,” said Stephanie Fanjul, President of the North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc., the organization that leads Smart Start. “Years of experience and collaboration with early education programs in the state make Smart Start the ideal vehicle to maximize this stimulus money and best serve local families.”

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Smart Start is North Carolina’s early childhood leadership network dedicated to assuring that every child reaches his or her potential and is prepared for success in a global community. FRALEIGH- Smart Start partnerships in Durham, Onslow, and Sampson Counties received a total of $6.2 million in federal stimulus... more