"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) Education Appropriations Bill Signed into Law: U.S. Department of Education to Receive $1 Billion Increase in…

This publication welcomes potential students and their parents to the American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC's) Fall 2008 college fairs to learn about U.S. community colleges and study opportunities in the United States. U.S. location of participating colleges at Asia 2008 Fairs (map), overview of programs/majors offered at each college…

"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) "The Nation's Report Card": Too Many High School Seniors Unprepared for College-Level Math and Reading; (2)…

Graduation rates are a fundamental indicator of whether or not the nation's public school system is doing what it is intended to do: enroll, engage, and educate youth to be productive members of society. Since almost 90 percent of the fastest-growing and highest-paying jobs require some postsecondary education, having a high school diploma and the…

From 1990 to 2006, the number of Hispanic students in U.S. public schools nearly doubled, accounting for 60% of the total growth in public school enrollment. Approximately 10 million Hispanic students are enrolled in the public K-12 system, comprising nearly one-fifth of public school students in the United States. This issue of "The Progress…

An estimated 370,000 schoolchildren were displaced last year by Hurricane Katrina, the worst natural disaster ever to strike the United States. One year after, hundreds of thousands of these displaced students remain scattered in schools across the nation. In Houston, which has the largest concentration of evacuees, two schools continue helping…

Politicians, academics, and business and community members all seem to be raising concerns that America is not as globally competitive as it once was. This is due, in part, to the fact that public schools in America are not producing high school graduates with the math, science, and technical skills to succeed in higher education or be employed in…