It sounds great in theory: Raise standards—and students will rise to the occasion. But is that always the case? That question currently is under debate in Fairfax County, Va., where some parents are challenging the plans of county school officials to phase out many honors courses. School officials say the move makes sense. They want [...]
School Board News
School Board News Today, an online publication of NSBA, provides timely and relevant stories and analysis from NSBA and other news outlets to school board members, administrators, and all others interested in K-12 education.
NSBA’s Legal Clips
is the source for
recent developments
in school law
View research and
analysis from NSBA’s
Center for Public
Education on The EDifier
American School Board Journal
looks at school board members’
advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill.
New RTTT grants address state prekindergarten programs
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has announced a $500 million Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge competition that urges states to improve, expand, and better coordinate prekindergarten programs. In a joint announcement on May 25 with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Duncan said strong pre-k programs will have social, educational, economic, and even [...]
Schools, the cornerstone of a community
If you’re planning on coming to music and arts night at my daughter’s elementary school, better get there early — way early – because it’ll be standing room only. And that’s five or 10 minutes before the show even starts. “Parent involvement run amok!” I like to call it, and, of course, I’m being facetious, [...]
NSBA, AASA urge federal officials to eliminate unneeded regulations
NSBA is urging U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to give schools relief from a heavy load of federal regulations as a new study finds the nation’s schools are again facing major reductions in staff. NSBA joined with leaders from the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) on May 24 to announce a petition calling [...]
Tornado demolishes Magna award-winning school district
The Joplin, Mo., school district, one of the top winners in this year’s Magna Awards, saw most of its schools leveled or seriously damaged by a deadly tornado this past weekend.
Joplin schools won the 2011 Magna Grand Prize in the 5,000 to 20,000 student enrollment category for its “Bright Futures” program. The high-poverty school district in Southwest Missouri had launched a comprehensive program to engage community members and map out a strategic plan, which resulted in a much lower drop-out rate and significant donations of time and money from community members and local businesses. The Magna Awards are sponsored by American School Board Journal and Sodexo School Services.
Life in Real Time
Last month, everywhere I looked during NSBA’s Annual Conference, officials from Missouri’s Joplin Public Schools were talking about Bright Futures. The district won this year’s Magna Award grand prize for the program, which works to build partnerships among schools, community members, businesses, and agencies to serve students in need. Today, the immediate future is not [...]
Education headlines: Obama pushes Congress to pass new ESEA law
In his weekly radio address, President Obama nudged Congress to overhaul the No Child Left Behind law by the end of the year and give states and local schools more flexibility in a student’s education, Bloomberg News writes. However, The Hill reports that Rep. John Kline, chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, said [...]
USDA seeks to limit potatoes presence in school meals
Once a staple of Americans’ meat-and-potato diets, the lowly spud may soon be banned from school cafeterias. But not without a fight. A recently proposed rule by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that would eliminate white potatoes from federally subsidized school breakfasts and limit their serving at lunch has set off another round of protests [...]
Week in Review
As an impasse seems imminent in the race to raise our nation’s debt ceiling, let’s take a moment to ponder our own individual threshold for debt. Don’t know? Haven’t really thought about it? Well you’d be in plenty of company, as financial literacy is a skill most Americans haven’t quite mastered, though in many states [...]
Week in blogs: Common core standards face skeptics
(Don’t have time to read through the hundreds of education-related blogs? NSBA Senior Editor Lawrence Hardy brings you the “must-reads” in his weekly round-up, “The Week in Blogs,” now appearing on School Board News Today. Laugh out loud and learn something new each Friday.) Living in the Washington, D.C., area can make you feel like [...]
