Monday, November 30, 2009

Legislative Update

The Cowen Institute is pleased to share with you the latest in K-12 public education policy at the local, state, and federal levels. Please contact us with any questions or for additional information. Don't forget to join our Facebook page and to follow us on Twitter.

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The Cowen Institute Releases Initial Reports on Public School Governance

The Cowen Institute has released the first three reports in a series of papers on public school governance called Creating a Governing Framework for Public Education in New Orleans. The overall goal of the study is to lay out options for the roles and responsibilities for all governing entities in public education in order to support a system of high-performing public schools. With a mayoral race, a legislative session, and federal Race to the Top applications coming up, this information is critical and timely – not only for New Orleans but also for public school districts across the country. Under state law, the Recovery School District must make a recommendation in 2010 as to whether some or all of the schools it took over after Katrina should return to local control. The citizens of New Orleans must now begin to consider the long-term structure that ensures that every child has access to a high-performing public school. The purpose of this series is to inform that dialogue. There will be a fourth report released in the coming weeks, in partnership with the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR), that will outline specific models for a governing framework for public schools in New Orleans. The results of a public opinion poll recently commissioned by the Cowen Institute will also be released soon. The poll surveyed New Orleanians for their opinions on critical topics about public education, including potential school governance options. Click here to learn more about this research series and to download the reports . For questions regarding this series, please contact Michael Schwam-Baird, Assistant Director of Research, at mschwamb@tulane.edu or 504-274-3676.
 

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Recovery School District to Move Ahead With $163 Million in School Repairs

On Friday, November 20, the Louisiana State Legislature’s Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget agreed to let the Recovery School District (RSD) move ahead with $163 million in repairs to hurricane-damaged schools in New Orleans. All of the construction money comes from the federal government – 90 percent from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the remaining 10 percent from Community Development Block Grants. It is a portion of the $700 million currently allocated for Phase I of the School Facilities Master Plan. The money will be used to repair, maintain, and, in some cases, demolish public schools that sustained damage from Hurricane Katrina.

Click here to read the Times Picayune article.
 

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Afterschool Partnership Hosts Mayoral Forum

On Wednesday, November 18, the Afterschool Partnership hosted a forum with candidates for New Orleans Mayor. The forum focused on issues related to young people, including education, recreation programs, and crime prevention. Participants included Rob Couhig, John Georges, Troy Henry, Leslie Jacobs, Ed Murray, James Perry, and Nadine Ramsey. All of the participants discussed their perspectives on improving the lives of children. All supported boosting funding for the city's recreation department.

The forum was part of the Afterschool Partnership’s “10 for 2010” campaign, a public education program that “urges candidates and citizens to prioritize youth during the 2010 elections and pledge to build a municipal infrastructure that effectively supports our children and youth.” To read the Times Picayune recap of the forum, click here.

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FEMA Nears Agreement Regarding Payment to the RSD

FEMA administrator Craig Fugate said on November 18 that his agency is getting close to an agreement with state officials on a lump-sum payment to the Recovery School District for damage caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Paul Rainwater, executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, said that he and other state officials and officials of the Recovery School District met with Tony Russell, the head of the FEMA Transitional Recovery Office in New Orleans, on Nov. 24, to try to reach a final agreement on a sound methodology for a lump-sum payment of about $2 billion for the Recovery School District. About 130 schools were lost or damaged in the storms, and the district is expected to have 85 schools when rebuilding is complete.
 

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U.S. Department of Education to Hold Race to the Top Technical Assistance Planning Workshops

The U.S. Department of Education will host two Technical Assistance Planning Workshops for Race to the Top applicants to review technical and logistical aspects of the grant competition. At the workshops, staff will go through criteria, requirements, and priorities and answer questions about the program. The first workshop will be in Denver on December 3 (register by November 30). The second workshop will be in the Baltimore-Washington area on December 10 (register by December 4), and there will be a conference call number provided as well. Both workshops will cover the same content. Transcripts of both the workshops will be posted online.

For more information about the workshops, please click here.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Education has released Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for the Race to the Top Fund, as well as two PowerPoint presentations: one, an overview, the other, a guide to understanding the application itself. This information is available by clicking here.
 

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President Obama Launches “Educate to Innovate” Campaign

On November 23, President Obama launched a new campaign, “Educate to Innovate,” designed to improve the participation and performance of America’s students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The campaign will enlist companies, foundations, and nonprofits to spend money, time, and volunteer effort to encourage students, especially in middle and high school, to study and consider careers in the STEM fields. Among the initiatives announced by the President are:

• Five public-private partnerships that have committed to helping unleash the power of media, interactive games, hands-on learning, and community volunteers to reach millions of students over the next four years.
• A commitment by leaders such as Sally Ride (the first female astronaut), Craig Barrett (former chairman, Intel), Ursula Burns (CEO, Xerox), Glenn Britt (CEO, Time Warner Cable), and Antonio Perez (CEO, Eastman Kodak), to increase the impact of private sector and philanthropic support for STEM education.
• An annual science fair at the White House, showcasing the student winners of national competitions in areas such as science, technology, and robotics.

For more information, please click here.

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