In recent years, the federal Department of Education (ED), and state and local educational agencies (SEAs and LEAs, respectively) have been increasing the emphasis on the need to engage parents and families of students in their children's education. Initiatives have sprung up across the fifty states and Washington, D.C. to help officials at the…

With the current and expected impacts of climate change on the agricultural industry, it is important to provide information to farmers to allow them to adapt and reduce their risk of loss. Extension agents are an important resource and serve as intermediaries between scientists and farmers to provide this information. There is little research,…

Can an academic institution be truly free if it relies on government funding? Federal dollars mean federal mandates, and those mandates grow increasingly draconian. More and more, they stifle debate on open questions, demand denial of verifiable scientific truths, eliminate due process for students accused of misdeeds by other students, or insist…

Educational equity for undocumented immigrants has become a widely discussed issue in both the political and public realm of Tennessee, in large part as a result of the individual determination and collective resistance of undocumented youth living in the state. This article focuses on the ways in which undocumented immigrant youth in Tennessee…

There is growing unease about suspension and expulsion of children at the preschool level. Preschoolers are expelled at three times the rate of K-12 students (Gilliam, 2005). Boys--particularly African-American boys--comprise a disproportionate number of these cases, a fact that has caused concern among parents, policymakers, and advocates alike.…

This hearing serves as a first in a set of hearings focusing on early learning. In his opening statement, Senator Tom Harkin, Chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, strongly encouraged members of this committee on both sides of the aisle to hold roundtables and have discussions on early learning in their local…

On an Election Day filled with dozens of state races and ballot measures with big implications for the nation's public schools, state teachers' unions and charter school champions had plenty to cheer in the aftermath, even as tax measures that would help pay for schools suffered setbacks in some places. Union efforts were instrumental in…

For all the national and even international debate about the state of American education, public schooling in the U.S. is still a local matter--and the school district remains its hub. As administrators know, there's nothing abstract about the process of getting millions of students into their seats, assuring they receive the instruction they're…

The close connections between industry and academe, in which students simultaneously train and study, are gaining ground in the United States. Inspired by Germany's model, states are encouraging community colleges and manufacturers to work together on training programs. This offers a possible solution to a problem that continues to vex the United…

The recent wave of new legislation affecting public school teachers has its roots, in part, in the budget shortfalls that have challenged states for the past several years. The first signs of fiscal troubles for many states became evident in 2008, and most instituted midyear budget reductions in 2009. In response, the U.S. Congress passed the…

States are pushing ahead with efforts to make sweeping changes to education policy through the Race to the Top program, despite some of them having seen individual schools and districts back out of the process because of concerns over the time and money required to make those plans a reality. The Obama administration has envisioned Race to the…

This article features the 2009 Association for Career and Technical Education's (ACTE) Annual Convention and Career Tech Expo which was held in Nashville in November. Despite somber economic times, the Annual Convention drew thousands of attendees, more than 200 exhibitors, offered engaging sessions and speakers, and the new chief of the Office of…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Obama Sets Timeline for NCLB Revamp: President Calls on Congress to Send Him an Education Reform Bill "Before…

When Ph.D. science and health researchers are seeking financial support for their health science studies, more often than not they apply to the federal government's National Institutes of Health (NIH) for an RO1 research grant, which boosts a project's standing in the research community as well as the career of the applicant. Even before the NIH…

The Middle School Concept brings together good teaching practices with the unique needs of pre-adolescent students. Since the passing of the NCLB, more and more attention has been generated on the results of high stakes testing. The question of what happens to the middle school concept when it confronts the demands of this new age of testing is…