AM News: USDE Finally Unveils $400M "District" Race

U.S. School Districts Can Enter ‘Race to Top’ Competition NYT: School districts will be able to compete for federal grants this year in the national “Race to the Top” competition, the Department of Education announced Tuesday. ALSO Rules on Way for District Race to Top Contest Politics K12, Race To The Top Adds School Districts To U.S. Education Competition HuffPost, Obama Offers School Districts $400 Million to Tailor Classrooms Bloomberg

National conference in Ohio focuses on teachers AP via Boston.com: Educators including the U.S. secretary of education, teacher union leaders and school administrators will focus this week on ways to transform the teaching profession with such targets as better recruiting, preparation and career development, and evaluations based on effectiveness.

Scholarship Funds, Meant for Needy, Benefit Private Schools NYT: A growing number of states are passing laws that allow taxpayer-supported scholarship funds, but they have been twisted to benefit private schools at the expense of the neediest children. 

Kline Asks GAO to Examine Race to Top States' Progress on Teachers Politics K12: Kline, R-Minn., the chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee is asking the Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative arm, to look into state's progress in putting in place the teacher and principal portions of their Race to Top applications. 

MORE NEWS ITEMS INSIDE

Ex-Rutgers Student Sentenced In Webcam Spying Case NPR: A judge on Monday sentenced former Rutgers student Dharun Ravi with 30 days in jail for using a webcam to spy on his roommate. Tyler Clementi committed suicide days after Ravi saw him kissing another man.

Helping High School Youth Learn by Doing PBS: Since 1994, YouthBuild has trained 110,000 high school dropouts around the country to put up houses for their community and think critically in the classroom while earning their GEDs or diplomas. As part of the American Graduate series, Paul Solman reports on a program designed to keep kids learning inside and outside of class.

Survey: Pa. schools in dire financial straits Philadelphia Inquirer: A survey to be made public Tuesday shows many districts headed toward insolvency. Pensions were blamed.

Comments

[Sarah]

While it’s good that ideas will ultimately come out of Race to the Top, I’m not completely content with the uncomfortable truth that this is what it takes for school districts to seriously approach the government with innovative projects.

[Sarah]

And it’s good to see something come out of the Rutgers webcam case. Looking at it solely as an invasion of privacy, it’s a fair sentence.