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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Department of Education

Department of Education stories: 15 news summaries
ANALYSIS

Right's New Quarry: Gay
Ed. Appointee

Fox et al. say Kevin Jennings didn't act on 1980s statutory rape

Oct 2, 09 9:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - One of President Obama’s appointees to the Department of Education has become the latest target for conservatives emboldened by the departures of green-jobs adviser Van Jones and others. Assistant deputy secretary Kevin Jennings is accused of neglecting to report a statutory rape case when he was a teacher in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Department of Education • Fox News • Michelle Malkin • Sean Hannity • right wingers • political appointee • liberal media • Van Jones • Kevin Jennings • left wing

 Obama Wants More School, 
 Less Summer Break 

Wants to give US kids boost globally, idea 'not popular' with Sasha, Malia

Sep 28, 09 2:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - Well, Barack Obama’s approval rating just plummeted in the K-12 demographic. The president is calling for longer school days and a shorter summer break, arguing that it’s a necessary step to catch up with kids from around the world. The president admits they’re “not wildly popular... More »

MORE ABOUT:
education • Barack Obama • Department of Education • Obama administration • Arne Duncan • summer vacation

Analysis

School Speech Uproar Shows Country Divided

In addressing kids, Bush 41 didn't have problems like Obama's

Sep 4, 09 12:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - When George HW Bush gave a televised address to a public school in 1991 and urged schools around the country to show it in class, no one much cared. When President Obama announced plans to do the same, he drew outrage and comparisons to Chairman Mao. That’s America in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
education • Barack Obama • high school • Department of Education • partisanship • George HW Bush • polarized • Obama administration

OPINION

 Online Colleges: 
 Ready for 
 Some Respect 

Department of Ed. study shows e-learning is effective

Sep 1, 09 3:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - The educational establishment has been slow to accept online colleges as serious teaching institutions—programs like the University of Phoenix are commonly dismissed as “diploma mills.” But a new study by the Department of Education shows that, in many cases, students perform better with e-learning than in a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
education • Barack Obama • Department of Education • college • online courses

(Newser) - Arne Duncan isn’t quite the miracle worker Barack Obama made him out to be, according to a new study from a Chicago civic group. When Obama introduced his nominee for education secretary, he boasted that Duncan had boosted elementary school test results “From 38% of students meeting the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
education • Barack Obama • Chicago • Department of Education • Chicago School • No Child Left Behind • Arne Duncan

Obama Razes 'No Child Schoolhouse'

Bush-era name ditched as administration seeks to overhaul education law

Jun 23, 09 4:05 AM CDT
(Newser) - A model of a little red schoolhouse used to promote the launch of the federal policy "No Child Left Behind" is no more, the Washington Post reports. In a highly symbolic move, the structure at the entrance of the Department of Education and policy logos of the Bush administration... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • education • Department of Education • No Child Left Behind • Obama administration • Arne Duncan

 Obama Kicks Off 
 Radical College 
 Aid Revamp 

The administration's goals are both ambitious and controversial

May 4, 09 12:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama’s education proposals have taken a backseat to the economy and health care, but the changes he proposes in student lending are about to ignite a fierce lobbying battle, the Washington Post reports. Obama’s plan to move all federal funds for student lending to the Department of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
education • Barack Obama • Department of Education • higher education • scholarship • Pell grants • college loans

OPINION

Duncan to Schools: Uncle Sam Is Watching

Education sec says they'd better spend bailout money wisely

Apr 22, 09 12:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - States should be careful when spending their stimulus education windfall, because Uncle Sam will be watching, the US education secretary writes in the Wall Street Journal. “We will require an honest assessment of key issues like teacher quality, student performance, college readiness, and the number of charter... More »

MORE ABOUT:
education • Department of Education • school systems • charter school • Arne Duncan

 $150B Stimulus to Double 
 Education Budget 

$150B spending expected to permanently expand government's role in education

Jan 28, 09 6:15 AM CST
(Newser) - The stimulus plan before Congress today more than doubles the Department of Education's budget, reports the New York Times. An unprecedented extra $150 billion in federal aid would provide funds for nearly every aspect of education, from school construction to college grants. Opponents and backers alike agree that the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
education • student loans • Department of Education • school • Pell grants • economic stimulus package • Obama administration • Arne Duncan

 32M Lack Basic Reading Skills 

Study says Illiteracy crisis getting worse

Jan 9, 09 8:18 AM CST
(Newser) - One in seven American adults in the US—about 32 million people—have such low literacy skills that they cannot read a newspaper story or a prescription bottle, a new federal study says. "They really cannot read paragraphs (or) sentences that are connected," says an Education Department researcher.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • immigration • California • New York • Department of Education • literacy • Mississippi • Nevada • learning disabilities • National Assessment of Adult Literacy • ProLiteracy

Caroline Ducked $$$ Disclosure in Schools Job

City exempt Kennedy, but isn't exactly sure why

Jan 4, 09 11:18 AM CST
(Newser) - Unlike other New York City employees—including billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg—Caroline Kennedy skirted the practice of disclosing her finances when working for the city, the New York Times reports. To reduce conflicts of interest, city regulations require high-level staff to file disclosures, and that would include Kennedy, who ran... More »

MORE ABOUT:
New York City • Department of Education • Michael Bloomberg • Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg • financial disclosure • Joel Klein

Obama on Ed Pick: Gifted Leader (and Great Jump Shot)

Also promises reform and stuff

Dec 16, 08 1:29 PM CST
(Newser) - Barack Obama introduced Arne Duncan as his secretary of education pick today, lauding the Chicago educator's accomplishments in reforming the country's third-largest school district, and noting that he's also a longtime basketball buddy who has a better jump shot than the president-elect. “I didn't pick Arne because he's a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • basketball • Department of Education • President Obama • Arne Duncan

(Newser) - What if the family dog ate alphabet soup by mistake? Susan Meddaugh answered her 7-year-old son’s question by writing a book, Martha Speaks, which has now become a PBS show about the talking dog. PBS hopes it will teach challenging vocab—"diminish," "concoct," and "... More »

MORE ABOUT:
television • Department of Education • cartoon • PBS • vocabulary • children's show • Martha Speaks

States Hide Big High School Dropout Rates

They send 1 set of numbers to DC, keep another set at home

Mar 20, 08 10:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - Many states report rosy high school graduation rates to Washington but publicize much lower figures at home, the New York Times reports. The higher rates often fail to account for the nation's growing legion of dropouts, but states are leery to give the feds bad numbers in part because of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
education • high school • Department of Education • US states • public schools • high school dropouts • graduation rates

Bush Officials Killed Proposal For Student Loan Reform

Education Department under Bush is cozy with the loan industry, critics say

May 1, 07 11:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - Bush officials killed a proposal to clamp down on sleazy practices in the student loan industry in 2001, the Washington Post reports. The proposals, drafted under Clinton and circulated to the Bush team, was aimed at curbing the kind of abuses now being investigated, in which loan companies pay universities... More »

MORE ABOUT:
student loans • Department of Education • money • college • university • reform • student

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