Flexibility on Tutoring Pleases Districts, Worries Industry (Education Week - October 10)

U.S. Department of Education is freeing up nearly $800 million under the No Child Left Behind Act that school districts must set aside for tutoring students. In this school year alone, about 600,000 students nationwide are using this free tutoring because they attend schools that have failed to hit the academic goals.

Jobs's Wife Backs Education Causes (Wall Street Journal - October 10)

Laurene Powell Jobs, the wife of Apple Inc.'s co-founder Steve Jobs, is not only a leader in education policy - she is also co-founder of the nonprofit College Track. This program helps low-income students get ready for college through intense academics and extra-curricular activities.

Digital Learning Claims Don't Always Match Results (New York Times - October 10)

Schools and districts are spending $2.2 billion a year on educational software, but manufacturers are saying the money may not add up to higher scores for students on standardized tests.

NEW YORK: Keeping a ‘Pity Party’ Short, and Pushing Hard to Improve (New York Times - October 10)

For 18 years, Maria Velez-Clarke has been the principal of the Children's Workshop School.  She discusses the success in arts education, collaborative learning and the accountability era.

NEW YORK: Group Urges More Money to Aid Poor in School (New York Times - October 9)

The group of education experts at the Teachers College at Columbia University plans to argue a strong case on Tuesday to spend more money on education. New York State usually spends an average of $18,126 per student annually, and the group is now saying that it should tack on an additional $4,750 annually for every low-income student.

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