Federal Initiatives

Department of Education Regulations From the Bush Administration

Proposed Regulations to Strengthen NCLB
Secretary Spellings announced proposed regulations to strengthen NCLB by focusing on improved accountability and transparency, uniform and disaggregated graduation rates, and improved parental notification. (Apr 22, 2008)
On the Web: http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2008/04/04222008.html 

Uniform Graduation Rate, Disaggregation of Data
Secretary Spellings announced the ED will move to a uniform graduation rate and require disaggregation of data. She made the announcement at an America's Promise Alliance Dropout Prevention Campaign press conference. (Apr 1, 2008)
On the Web: http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2008/04/04012008.html 

Legislative Initiatives

Middle Grades and High School Initiatives From the 111th Congress
• Secondary School Innovation Act (formerly GRADUATES Act)
• National Service Bill

Middle Grades and High School Initiatives From the 110^th Congress
• Math Now
• Striving Readers Act of 2007
• Success in the Middle Act
• Achievement Through Technology and Innovation (ATTAIN) Act of 2007
• Improving the Leadership and Effectiveness of Administrators for Districts (I LEAD) Act of 2007
• No Child Left Behind Reauthorization
• Preparing Teachers for Digital Age Learners ACT of 2008 – H.R. 5848

International Education Initiatives From the 110^th Congress
• America COMPETES Act
• Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Act
• Teaching Geography is Fundamental
• National Foreign Language Coordination Act
• International Education Leadership Act of 2008

State Initiatives

Supporting Literacy Across the Sunshine State
Despite recent progress in reading achievement among children in primary grades, many children are not moving beyond basic decoding skills to fluency and comprehension as they go on to higher grades. To address this problem, many policymakers suggest that reading coaches — master teachers who offer ongoing on-site instructional support for teachers — can improve teachers' practice and students' literacy skills. RAND researchers evaluated the middle school reading coach program in Florida to answer these questions: How is the program being implemented by the state, districts, schools, and individual coaches? What is the impact of coaching on teachers' practice and students' achievement in reading and mathematics? What features of reading coach models and practices are associated with better outcomes?
On the Web: http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG762/

Alabama’s Reading Initiative Project for Adolescent Literacy (ARI-PAL)
Virginia’s Algebra Readiness Initiative (ARI)
On April 11, 2008, American Youth Policy Forum held “Improving the Transition from Middle Grades to High Schools: Promising State Initiatives in Literacy and Mathematics.” This forum, part of the series on “Improving the Transition from Middle Grades to High Schools,” details the work of Alabama’s Reading Initiative Project for Adolescent Literacy (ARI-PAL) and Virginia’s Algebra Readiness Initiative (ARI). Both initiatives are geared towards improving fundamental academic skills so that students successfully transition from the middle grades to high school.
On the Web: http://www.aypf.org/forumbriefs/2008/fb04112008.htm 

Georgia Graduation Coach Initiative
The High School Graduation Coach initiative, championed by Governor Sonny Perdue during the 2006 legislative session, allows each of Georgia’s high schools to employ a coach. This is the first program of its kind to be implemented statewide. The coach’s primary responsibility is to identify at-risk students and help them succeed in school by keeping them on track academically before they consider dropping out. The coaches identify, recruit and engage parents and concerned adults, organizations and government agencies to serve in a variety of ancillary roles. The Georgia Department of Education and Communities In Schools provides training, support, and technical assistance.
On the Web: http://gadoe.org/tss_school_improve.aspx?PageReq=TSSGraduationCoach

Washington State Initiative

Few Taking State Up on Free College
Scholarships open to low-income middle-schoolers

More than 56,000 Washington middle-schoolers qualify for a new scholarship that would give them a free ride at a state college -- but only a fraction of them have signed up, officials said Wednesday.

College Bound Scholarships are open to any middle-school student in a low-income home or foster care. In exchange for pledges to maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average through high school and stay out of trouble with the law, the state will pay for up to four years of tuition and books at any accredited public or private college, community college or vocational/technical program in Washington.

There are caveats: Students must apply while in the seventh or eighth grade (ninth-graders can apply, but only during the 2008-09 school year). The scholarship doesn't guarantee acceptance to a particular college, and the student's eligibility hinges on his or her family's financial status at the time of graduation.

But it's a great opportunity and not enough families are taking advantage, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said during a student assembly at Denny Middle School Wednesday. He urged the audience of sixth-graders to sign up when they become seventh-graders.

If they do, he said, "you will have the door to college and the future open to you when you graduate."

Only about 4,000 of 56,000 eligible students statewide have applied, according to the state's Higher Education Coordinating Board. About 900 of the estimated 2,400 eligible Seattle Public Schools students have enrolled.

State and local officials are hoping to boost those figures over the next year by encouraging students to apply and touting the program's benefits, such as help with choosing coursework in middle and high school to prepare for college.

In Seattle, Denny Middle has more than 180 students signed up -- the most of any of the district's schools -- and Principal Jeff Clark is enthusiastically recruiting more.

"This scholarship is the most exciting thing I've ever heard of," he said.

He's hoping Denny sixth-graders at Wednesday's assembly will start middle school knowing that adults have high standards for them, and that they can set the stage now for success in high school and beyond. "We're helping kids to see themselves as college-bound scholars," he said.

The scholarship grew out of one of the key recommendations in the 2006 Washington Learns report, a blueprint for improving education in the state. The report recommended making college more accessible to low-income students, who are less likely to pursue post-secondary education.

The College Bound Scholarship was established last year; the 2007 state Legislature set aside $7.4 million to pay for the program's first two years. That money is considered the first installment, with more to come in future legislative sessions.

Members of the Class of 2012 -- this year's freshmen -- will be the first to receive the scholarships. To apply, a student must complete an application by June 30 of his eighth-grade year. Home-schooled or private school students also are eligible.

The message seemed to be sinking in. Tiffany Jones, who runs KnowHow2GO Washington, a college-awareness campaign, quizzed the Denny sixth-graders about their future plans.

"Who here wants to go to college?" she asked.

Nearly every hand in the audience shot up.

ARE YOU ELIGIBLE? The College Bound Scholarship is open to foster children and middle-school students from low-income homes. To qualify, they also must:

· Be a Washington resident

· Graduate from a Washington high school (or home school)

· Earn at least a 2.0 cumulative grade point average through high school

· Stay crime free -- no felonies

· Apply for federal student aid

For more information, call 1-888-535-0747 or visit hecb.wa.gov/collegebound or knowhow2go.org