Below are links to news stories of interest from newspapers that came up during a search today. These links were active at the time of this e-mail, but should you want to save a story, printing it or cutting and pasting the entire article and saving it to your computer is recommended.
15 states, DC named ‘Race to the Top’ finalists
By Associated Press
The U.S. Department of Education has named 16 finalists in the first round of its “Race to the Top” competition, which will deliver $4.35 billion in school reform grants.
Selected Thursday from a pool of 41 applicants are: Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee. The winners will be chosen in April.
The grants are designed to reward and spur states to lift student achievement by developing strong standards, getting high-quality teachers in the classroom, and turning around low-performing schools.
The money is part of President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus law.
A second round of applications will be accepted in June.
State News 
Schools take edge off ISAT week
Danville Commercial-News – Illinois Standards Achievement Tests, but you wouldn’t know it walking the halls of Danville District 118 elementary and middle schools. At the halfway point of testing Wednesday, teachers and administrators say they’ve done their best to keep the pressure off students. “I think it’s even worse now because (students) know how it affects everything,”
U46 ‘integrity’ e-mail irks some teachers
Elgin Courier News – ELGIN — A School District U46 e-mail sent out to urge care against cheating on state tests this week has instead sparked resentment among some teachers. In Monday’s e-mail, which was intended for elementary school principals’ eyes only, Superintendent Jose Torres asked them to have teachers administer standardized tests with
School district, teachers reach accord
Mundelein Review – Mundelein Elementary School District 75 and the Mundelein Elementary Education Association have reached an agreement for a new two-year contract beginning July 1. “The board is pleased that we have been able to settle the teacher contract and come to an agreement
Districts 211 & 214 push through despite state education cuts
Arlington Heights Daily Herald – State education funding cuts that are likely won’t affect Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 and Northwest Suburban High School District 214 as drastically as some other districts
Freeport School District Prepares for State Cuts
Rockford WIFR (CBS) 23 – The state of Illinois may cut school funding by at least 10% next year. One local school district is preparing to deal with the drop in revenue.
$5.5 MILLION SHORTFALL POSSIBLE: State spills red ink on District 65
Evanston Review – . The state of Illinois is facing a $13 billion deficit. “We may only receive three of four categorical aid payments, which would cost us $1 million,” said Brown, speaking to the school board Tuesday. Categorical payments are tied to specific programs, such as special education. When those revenue cuts are factored into projections that already showed an $800,000 shortfall,
Springfield School District plans to cut 80+ teaching jobs
Decatur WAND (NBC) 17 – The Springfield School District plans to cut more than 80 teaching jobs. On Tuesday night, the Springfield school board approved the release of 85 employees, who are under one year contracts, at the end of this school year. These contracts leave the district with some wiggle room to see if they can afford
As many as 160 D300 teachers face budget ax
Elgin Courier News – Community Unit School District 300 confirmed Wednesday it plans to lay off more than 100 teachers in the coming school year. And Kolleen Hanetho, president the district’s teachers union, put that number “in the ballpark of 160 people.”
More cuts needed in Dist. 89, but no specifics yet
Maywood Herald – teachers being let go last year along with a strained relationship with the district. “We don’t have a relationship with the school board or the administration,” Lisa Urso, president of Maywood Education Association said. She said if they had a better relationship things could possibly change, but it doesn’t look good. “The way I look at things right now, no,” she said
Wright teachers: School treating us wrong
Lincolnshire Review – “We know that input from each of us is highly valued and will be used to shape our schools’ action plans,” wrote Amy Belford, president of the Lincolnshire-Prairie View Teachers Association and a fourth-grade instructor, in an e-mail. “We strive to continually improve and have found that candid communication is an effective tool in helping us move forward.”
Board Votes To Close Witt School
Hillsboro Journal News – Witt School will be closed down at the end of the school year, members of the Hillsboro School Board decided at a special meeting Tuesday, March 2, at the unit office. The board also voted to begin “reduction in force” proceedings to reduce pre-K and Title programs to whatever level is funded by grants. Those two measures passed unanimously.
Vouchers are not the answer Chicago Tribune – Letter to Editor – The Tribune’s editorial supporting Sen. Meeks’ voucher plan missed the mark. There is no question that for the children who receive the voucher, it would be of great benefit.
U. of I. junior wins $30,000 prize for prosthetic arm The University of Illinois says a junior there has won a $30,000 prize for developing an affordable prosthetic arm for people in developing countries.
Ringeisen might retain salary after retiring University of Illinois Springfield Chancellor Richard Ringeisen would make $273,500 annually as an adviser to the U of I president after his retirement this fall and through 2011, under a proposal to be considered next week by the university board.
Ikenberry: U of I tuition on rise University of Illlinois tuition rates will go up by 9.5-percent next fall under the best-case scenario, University of Illinois interim president Stanley Ikenberry told The State Journal-Register’s editorial board Wednesday.
Illinois university leaders argue against deeper cuts
Quad Cities Dispatch Argus Leader – warned lawmakers Wednesday that further cuts in this year’s higher education budget could mean layoffs, the loss of top professors and more tuition fee increases. Illinois has cut higher education funding already, they said, and the state isn’t even coming up with the money it has promised. They warned more cuts would do serious harm. “It would require draconian cuts in our staff,”
Political News
Two Springfield residents apply online for lt. gov. position As of Wednesday, two Springfield-area residents were among the more than 70 people who applied online to become the Democratic nominee for Illinois lieutenant governor.
Our Opinion: Let voters decide lt. governor issue
Springfield State Journal Register – submitting his or her choice to the State Board of Elections. The General Assembly should approve both, sending the constitutional amendment to the voters in November and the Raoul bill to Gov. Pat Quinn for his signature. NEITHER PARTY distinguished itself this year in picking the person who would be Illinois’ second banana. Democratic primary victor Scott Lee Cohen had to drop out
House votes to end scholarship perk
Chicago Daily Herald – Technically, these perks are not scholarships. There’s no money attached. Instead, the lawmakers tell the public universities that they cannot charge the winning students tuition. The schools either eat the costs or pass them along to other students. Each of the 177 state lawmakers can hand out eight 1-year tuition waivers, every year and good at any public university in Illinois.
ILLINOIS PRISONS: Standing room only Illinois Times – Pat Quinn announced in December a proposal to sell the Thomson prison to the federal government, he cited overcrowding in the federal prisons as a good …
Is Quinn turning his back on the black vote? Austin Weekly News – ? In truth, I liked the idea that the position should first be offered to Dan Hynes seeing that he and Quinn had a neck-in-neck photo finish to their race. …
When a candidate for governor tries to help out a puppy gas chamber Illinois Times – Rich Miller – “When are they going to hold hearings on Quinn’s budget?” Clarke thundered last week when told of the planned budget hearings. …
Our View: Demand a check on legislative leaders’ power
Peoria Journal Star – Last year, Democrats who control the Legislature muscled through a series of “reforms” for the state’s previously wide-open campaign finance rules, assuring folks that they were taking a significant step to clean up Illinois in the wake of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s arrest and impeachment. But like many others, we were dismayed – if not terribly surprised – that their package of restrictions
Republican Party’s 2010 fundraising strategy: fear Salon – Alex Koppelman – ? It hasn’t been terribly hard to divine the Republicans’ strategy for motivating their base this year — they’ve made it pretty clear, after all. It’s fear. Fear of President Obama, fear of change, fear of some giant socialist …
Reagan on the $50 bill? Who says the GOP doesn’t have any ideas: The party’s quest to name everything after the 40th president rolls on
If Rahmbo is going rogue, what will Obama do? Rahm Emanuel wins plaudits in the mainstream media, even as his boss plunges. But he isn’t talking, “on the record”
National News
Scholar’s School Reform U-Turn Shakes Up Debate Diane Ravitch, who was outspoken about the power of standardized testing, charter schools and free markets to improve schools and was in the Bush Department of Education, changes her mind
R.I. school leader calls for talks, not mass firing – Education
WMAQ-TV (MSNBC ) Chicago – The offer includes support for a longer school day and providing before- and after-school tutoring for students, she said.The Central Falls school board voted last week to fire 93 teachers and staff from the city’s high school after the end of the school year. No more than half the staff could be hired back under federal rules.
Protests, rallies mark “Day of Action” for education funding San Jose Mercury News – Teachers and students from schools of all levels are fanning across the state today as part of a “day of action” that started with discussions at UC Berkeley and spread across the country.
Health Reform: Can the Democrats Cross the Finish Line?
Can the Democrats pull off their latest plan for reform?
The Rise and Fall of a Female Captain Bligh
Captain Holly Graf was relieved of her command of a U.S. missile ship after an inquiry found she had created a hostile environment
Quake Response Doesn’t Live Up to Chile’s Self-Image
The country’s legacy of military dictatorship and its new pride in its economic development may have tripped up its response to the catastrophe
Citi and the Government: Still a Close Relationship
Citigroup is now deemed to have paid back its U.S. Government assistance, so it can pay top executives as it pleases. But some critics contend that the U.S. Government’s $26 billion investment in Citi stock means that the bank is still on the dole
Why Eating Tuna Is Deadly — to Tuna
The Atlantic bluefin tuna is considered a delicacy from Osaka to Omaha. It’s a staple in every sushi restaurant on the planet. But we are literally eating the bluefin tuna to death
Obama tells Congress to ‘finish its work’ on health-care reform
President Obama’s endorsement Wednesday of a risky legislative maneuver to complete health-care legislation sent Democratic leaders scrambling to settle policy disputes and assemble the votes necessary for passage in the coming weeks.
(By Shailagh Murray and Lori Montgomery, The Washington Post)
As political storm brews, Obama faces a test of calm
Question is whether his composure will help him on health-care effort
(By Eli Saslow, The Washington Post)
RNC fundraising document paints Democrats as evil
STEELE DISTANCES SELF
Some statements may hurt party, aides say
(By Perry Bacon Jr., The Washington Post)
FAA suspends two after child directs JFK flights
With father in tower, boy communicated with at least 5 planes
(By Ed O’Keefe, The Washington Post)
FDA cracking down on food-packaging claims, from coconut pies to olive oil
(By Lyndsey Layton, The Washington Post)
Criminal investigation opened in grade-changing scandal
The Montgomery County state’s attorney has opened a criminal investigation into a grade-changing scheme at Winston Churchill High School, officials said Wednesday, elevating the digital subterfuge into a major scandal at one of the region’s most prestigious public schools.
(By Michael Birnbaum, Dan Morse and Jenna Johnson, The Washington Post)
The Rove-ian eye
AS HE SAW IT: Ex-aide’s memoir forcefully defends the Bush legacy
(By Michael D. Shear, The Washington Post)
Word of the Day for Thursday, March 4, 2010
didactic \dy-DAK-tik; duh-\, adjective:
1. Fitted or intended to teach; conveying instruction; instructive; teaching some moral lesson; as, “didactic essays.”
2. Inclined to teach or moralize excessively; moralistic.