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All of us do not have equal talent, but all of us should have an equal opportunity to develop our talent.— John F. Kennedy
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Denver Mayoral Candidate Survey
Elementary and Secondary Education Act Reauthorization Brief
This
is the first in a series of issue briefs that we hope policymakers, advocates,
parents, educators, and the general public will find useful as Congress and the
president embark on reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act (ESEA) of 1965, currently known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
ESEA
is the law that governs the vast majority of federal K-12 education programs.
Total funding for ESEA programs is $25 billion for FY 2010, plus an additional
$19 billion in supplemental funding under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
New Poll Shows Harlem Wants Better Education Options For Children
Released June 24, 2008
NEW YORK - Most neighborhood residents of Harlem--70%--crave better school options for their children, and 59% believe that neighborhood children are not currently getting the education that they need and deserve, according to a new poll conducted by Washington-based Democratic pollster Ron Lester. (Find the complete report here: Flooding The Zone.pdf)
This survey was conducted for Education Reform Now and included 400 residents in Harlem's 15th Congressional district who said they were "likely" to vote in the November 2008 general election. It was conducted during the period of February 25-26, 2008 and the margin of error is plus or minus 4.5% at a 95% confidence interval. A voter file was used for the sample and respondents were selected randomly on an equal probability basis. Blacks represented 55% percent of the sample, whites 27%, Latinos 14% and "other" ethnicities 4%. (Find details of the poll here: Harlem Poll Questionnaire.doc)
The poll indicates that residents of Harlem are united in their belief that New York City schoolchildren are not getting the education they deserve. Nearly three-quarters of the poll respondents described the New York City public school system as "fair" or "poor." Similarly, 74% of respondents believe that public education in their neighborhood needs to be improved by "a lot."
D.C. Residents Support Mayor's Sweeping K-12 Education Reforms, New Poll Shows
Released June 2008
One year into their controversial effort to turn around one of the nation's most troubled public school systems, District of Columbia Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and his Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee are receiving high marks from local voters, a new poll shows. (Find details of the poll here: DC Poll Questionnaire-Final.pdf)
A convincing two-thirds of district residents indicated they approved of Mayor Fenty's work to improve public education since officially taking responsibility for the district's 65,000-student public school system in June 2007, according to the poll commissioned by the New York-based nonprofit Education Reform Now.
Mayor Fenty's strong performance on education is bolstering his overall high approval ratings. In the poll, 79% of respondents indicated they had a "favorable" or "very favorable" impression of the mayor overall.
Upon gaining statutory responsibility for DCPS last June, Fenty moved quickly to hire Michelle Rhee as chancellor. Despite being a relatively unknown commodity in the city - and despite her controversial push to rid the school system of ineffective employees - a majority of respondents (55%) said they approved of the job Rhee was doing as chancellor.
Partners In Closing The Achievement Gap: How Charter Schools Can Support High-Quality Universal Pre-K
Released March 21, 2008
Sara Mead, director of the Early Education Inititiative at the New America Foundation, has released the policy briefing memo Partners In Closing The Achievement Gap: How Charter Schools Can Support Quality Universal Pre-K. (You can download a PDF copy here.)
Mead believes that the early education movement and the charter school movement have the potential to become important partners in improving education for America's children.
Mead's specific policy recommendations include: