AUGUSTA CHRONICLE
"Ga. Asks for Class-size Waivers for all Districts"
Georgia schools Superintendent Kathy Cox is asking the state board to allow all districts to increase the number of children in each classroom for one year because of budget woes. Cox said that providing class size waivers in many districts could save $200 million and help avoid layoffs. Under the plan, most class maximums would grow by two students, which would reduce the number of new teachers districts would have to hire.

BALTIMORE SUN
"As State Increased School Aid, Grades Went Up"
Five years after Maryland increased spending by $2 billion to provide greater academic equity, students have made remarkable gains in reading and math, according to a MGT of America report. The improvement was twice as great for middle school students as for those in elementary grades. The report confirms that money invested in teachers appears to pay off.

BOSTON GLOBE
"Bush Urges Law on Education Be Maintained"
President Bush urged President-elect Barack Obama and the Democratic-led Congress not to abandon No Child Left Behind, arguing that to do so would "weaken a chance for a child to succeed in America." The president marked the seventh anniversary of NCLB with remarks at an elementary school. Approved with strong bipartisan support in 2001, the law still has support from key Democrats, but it has grown deeply unpopular, and Obama has pledged to revamp it.

HOUSTON CHRONICLE
"UT Pushes Lawmakers To Modify ‘Top 10% Rule’"
The University of Texas at Austin has “lost control” of its admissions policy and wants to change the law that guarantees automatic entry to students who graduate in the top 10% of their high school class. The UT president said a record 81% of the Texas freshmen entering the university this fall gained admission through the rule. Unless the legislature changes the policy, he said, the state’s premier university soon would have no room to admit any Texas student who does not meet that standard.

HOUSTON CHRONICLE
"Rating System May Help Texas Schools Make Grade"
Fewer Texas schools are expected to earn failing marks under No Child Left Behind thanks to a more flexible rating system approved by Education Secretary Margaret Spellings. Texas is one of 15 states that have won permission to use a growth model when calculating adequate yearly progress. The model also is likely to become part of Texas' own accountability system after the upcoming legislative session. Colorado, Minnesota and Pennsylvania also received approval yesterday.

ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH
"D. Kent King, State Education Chief, Dies at Age 65"
D. Kent King, the state education commissioner who raised the bar for thousands of Missouri students, died at his home after a long battle with brain cancer. In his eight-year tenure as the state's highest ranking education official, King introduced new high school graduation requirements, pushed the use of data to measure achievement and presided over Missouri's response to No Child Left Behind.

WASHINGTON POST
"D.C. Reduces Number of Unqualified Teachers"
Nearly 800 D.C. public school instructors are teaching classes outside their licensed area of expertise, fewer than in previous years but still far more than in other school systems in the region, and a violation of No Child Left Behind. The law requires "highly qualified" educators in each classroom. District officials caution that the number is misleading and said it reveals more about inadequacies in the law than the quality of instruction.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
"Poll Finds Opposition to School District Mergers"
A new Indiana University poll found 66% of respondents oppose combining some small districts' central offices with others as advocated by Governor Mitch Daniels, even though they see some possible benefits from the move. Under the proposal, districts with less than 1,000 students would have to combine their central operations with another district unless they are already part of a countywide district. Respondents were asked to rate the importance of eight education policy issues.

EDUCATION WEEK (premium article access compliments of edweek.org)
"'21st-Century Skills' Focus Shifts W.Va. Teachers' Role"
As West Virginia increasingly emphasizes the teaching of content in application, teachers are no longer just purveyors of facts. They also are facilitators of activities that help students exercise what are often called 21st-century skills. Business leaders and policymakers say those higher-order, critical-thinking, communication, technological and analytical skills are the ones crucial for students to master as they enter an entrepreneurial and global workplace.

GREENVILLE NEWS
"Rex Seeks To Restore School Funding"
South Carolina Superintendent Jim Rex told lawmakers that he is recommending a freeze on state teacher pay, flexibility to give higher-paid state officials more furloughs and more options for districts to juggle funding or shorten school weeks to help cope with dwindling state revenues. Rex also wants legislators to return much of the money recently cut from education funding and allow the state to more aggressively intervene in bad schools.

LEXINGTON HERALD LEADER
"Interim State Schools Chief Is Appointed"
The Kentucky Board of Education named veteran educator Elaine Farris the interim education commissioner, pending a nationwide search for a new permanent commissioner. Board members also set parameters for the search, and said they will hire a recruiting firm to help replace Education Commissioner Jon Draud, who resigned last month. They also agreed that candidates will be screened by the entire school board, rejecting the idea of forming a special committee.

NORFOLK VIRGINIAN PILOT
"Virginia Board: Colleges Should Raise Financial Aid"
Virginia officials need to do a better job promoting financial aid programs for college students in need and also should reward state universities if they improve student retention and graduation, the council on higher education said. The two proposals are part of a package of recommendations from a council committee established to look at keeping higher education affordable.

RALEIGH NEWS AND OBSERVER
"Distance Education Enrollment up 20%"
Enrollment in distance education courses through the University of North Carolina system campuses shot up more than 20% in 2008. The jump points in part to the desperation of out-of-work people looking to shift careers and make themselves more marketable. More than 22,000 UNC system students stayed off campus entirely last year, taking courses either at satellite sites or over the Internet.

ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS
"Pawlenty, Lawmakers Suggest School Districts Team Up To Save on Purchases"
Governor Tim Pawlenty and a group of lawmakers want Minnesota districts and charter schools to team up to buy goods and services more cheaply. The proposal would require schools to pool their purchasing power for materials and supplies, technology equipment, food, transportation services and other goods. Districts would use vendors from a state-approved list. Many districts already have partnerships to share services. Governor Pawlenty currently serves as the ECS 2008-10 chair.

AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN
"Report: English-learning Students Struggling"
About one-third of Texas students who don't speak English as their first language are not making progress learning it, compared with about a quarter of such students nationwide, according to Education Week's Quality Counts 2009. Nationally, fewer English language learners were judged at least proficient in math and reading than the rest of the student population. The report also compares achievement gaps on state and national tests, teacher quality, graduation rates and other factors.

HARTFORD COURANT
"New Conn. School Desegregation Plan Released"
A new five-year plan to desegregate Hartford-area schools calls for Connecticut to spend $49 million in the first two years, including increasing payments to suburbs to entice them to accept more Hartford students. The plan outlines how officials will meet the goal of satisfying 80% of Hartford students who seek a spot in a racially diverse school by 2013-14. The proposal is the latest development in the Sheff vs. O'Neill legal case, which began with a lawsuit in 1989.

NEW ORLEANS TIMES PICAYUNE
"Novice Teachers Trained Under New Program Outperform Veterans in Some Subjects"
A new study suggests that novice Louisiana teachers trained through an alternative program called The New Teacher Project on average outperformed experienced teachers in helping their students progress in some subjects. Some educators point out, however, that value-added measurements of student growth can favor such programs, where participants tend to work with students who are far behind grade level and, consequently, more likely to show rapid change.

OREGONIAN
"Oregon Could Set Standards for Diet and Exercise at Day Cares"
A statewide obesity prevention task force has recommended that the upcoming legislature require Oregon agencies to study child care and develop minimum standards for physical activity, healthy foods and time in front of a screen. With about 53% of Oregon children younger than 5 in child care, making day care healthier could help to roll back childhood obesity rates and, over a generation, make a dent in adult rates.

ORLANDO SENTINEL
"Lawmakers Plan To Cut $491M in School Budgets"
The impact of the Florida legislature's budget-cutting special session will hit hardest in the classroom. Lawmakers are proposing a $491 million cut in school spending. It's the single biggest cut proposed during the session called to slash $2.3 billion from the state's budget. So far, lawmakers are proposing overall spending cuts of $900 million, mainly to health care and education, or nearly double the total proposed by Governor Charlie Crist.

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD
"Demand Outpaces Colleges' Budget"
Applications are up 20% across the Maine Community College System, an increase that system officials attribute to the recession-battered job market. Unfortunately, system officials said, they'll have to turn away some applicants because recent budget cuts won't allow them to hire additional instructors. The colleges recently had to make $2.9 million in budget cuts. In addition, the system has absorbed a 64% increase in enrollment since its transition from technical to community colleges in 2003.

BIRMINGHAM NEWS
"Alabama's Two-year Colleges Are Asking for Identification To Curb Admission to Illegal Immigrants"
It is unclear whether a new policy enacted by the Alabama State Board of Education has kept any illegal immigrants from enrolling at two-year colleges for the coming semester. Students enrolling to get a diploma, college credit or certain certifications must show identification that they are U.S. citizens. People signing up for adult education courses, including English as a second language, are not required to show ID.

BOSTON GLOBE
"Charter Schools Grade Highest"
A new study indicates that Boston charter schools significantly outperform the city's traditional schools. The study also raises new questions about the city's experimental pilot schools, which in many cases posted "ambiguous" or "disconcerting" results. Pilot schools are similar to charters but are run by the district. Researchers recommended that the state identify and analyze what's working best at charter schools and how to transfer those strategies to traditional schools.

DETROIT FREE PRESS
"Waivers Free High School Students To Study Online, Off-campus"
Eleven Michigan districts and one charter school now can allow students to take more courses, and in some cases all of their classes, online and off-campus. The moves could further cement the state's reputation as a leader in online education. Michigan already broke new ground in 2006 by becoming the first state to require students to take an online class or have an online educational experience in order to graduate.

NEW YORK TIMES
"Law on Flu Vaccinations May Be Tested"
New Jersey, the first state to require flu shots for young schoolchildren, set a December 31 deadline for parents to obtain flu vaccinations for their children. The law will be tested when thousands of children return to classrooms and playrooms after the holiday break. It was part of a new policy requiring four additional immunizations over the objections of some parents who worry about possible risks from vaccinations.

USA TODAY
"Home Schooling Grows"
The ranks of America's home-schooled children have continued a steady climb, and new research suggests broader reasons for the appeal. The number of home-schooled kids hit 1.5 million in 2007, up 36% since 2003, according a Department of Education report. The percentage of the school-age population that was home-schooled increased from 2.2% in 2003 to 2.9% in 2007. The survey gave parents seven reasons to pick as their motivation for home-schooling their children.

WILMINGTON NEWS JOURNAL
"Markell Hears Ideas About Schools"
Consolidate district administration and purchasing. Replace the Delaware State Testing Program with an assessment that tracks student progress. Offer more vocational programs to students. Those were some of the many ideas shared with Governor-elect Jack Markell at a town hall meeting. With the state facing an estimated $560 million budget shortfall next year, Markell is looking for savings particularly in education, which makes up about one-third of the overall state budget.

DENVER POST
"Adams 50 Skips Grades, Lets Kids Be Pacesetters"
A struggling Colorado district will try something revolutionary next year. Adams 50 will eliminate grade levels and group students based on what they know, allowing them to advance to the next level after they have proved proficiency. The Gates Foundation previously gave Alaska's Chugach district $5 million to replicate a similar model. ECS president, Roger Sampson, was the district's superintendent at the time and a strong advocate of the model.

DES MOINES REGISTER
"Proposal Would Eliminate Junk Food in Iowa Schools"
Soda, french fries and other junk food would disappear from schools under rules the Iowa Board of Education is considering in an attempt to help children become healthier. The proposed rules target vending machines and snack bars that have become a cash cow for schools. Students are not the only ones who find the proposed changes tough to swallow. Critics predict the plan will do little more than drive up school lunch prices.

NEW YORK TIMES
"SAT Changes Policy, Opening Rift With Colleges"
High school juniors taking the SAT will have the option of choosing which scores to send to colleges while hiding those they do not want admissions officials to see. The new policy is called Score Choice, and the College Board hopes it will reduce student stress around the SAT and college admissions. But some colleges have already said that they will not go along with Score Choice, and the policy is stirring heated debate among high school counselors and admissions officials.

SACRAMENTO BEE
"Schwarzenegger Seeks Education Cuts"
California schools could eliminate a week of instruction and increase class sizes under Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan for solving the state's budget crisis. The proposal also would allow districts to eliminate one of two science courses required for high school graduation. The proposal would provide no teacher salary increases, eliminate funding for overhauling low-performing schools and suspend participation in a program encouraging teachers to obtain national certification.

USA TODAY
"Obama Pledges Schools Upgrade in Stimulus Plan"
Educators say Barack Obama's sweeping school modernization program, if he spends enough, could jump-start student achievement. More kids than ever are crammed into aging, run-down schools that need an estimated $255 billion in repairs, renovations or construction. Some studies have made a link between classroom conditions and student performance.

WASHINGTON POST
"Rhee Plans Shake-Up of Teaching Staff, Training"
At the heart of Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee's vision for transforming D.C. schools is a dramatic overhaul of its teacher corps that would remove a "significant share" of instructors and launch an ambitious plan to foster professional growth for those who remain. Borrowing from best practices in surrounding districts, Rhee is building a system of school-based mentors and coaches to help instructors raise the quality of their work.