Education Policy Program: Recent and Upcoming Events

The Role of School Districts in Education Reform

Kirsten Gilbert — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:30:00 -0500

A New America Event
12/09/2009 - 12:15pm

Two distinct strands have emerged in U.S. education reform in recent years. One strand has focused on reforming education at the school district level, by aligning curriculum, instruction, and teacher professional development across schools and grades within a district; improving district-level management and governance; and enhancing districts' capacity to turn around low-performing schools and drive school improvement. A separate reform strand has focused on increasing autonomy for individual schools

CA EVENT: The Future of Early Education Systems in California (Pre K-3rd)

Elizabeth Wu — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
10/29/2009 - 11:30am

As California struggles to close persistent achievement gaps, it is increasingly apparent that these gaps exist at school entry and that efforts to improve the early education systems (PreK-3rd) are warranted. Please join us in the release of "On the Cusp in California: How PreK-3rd Strategies Could Improve Education in the Golden State," a policy paper from New America's Early Education Initiative that highlights key strategies for creating a more seamless system for early learning in California.

Playing Fair

Stephanie Gunter — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 17:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
06/08/2009 - 9:30am

On Monday, June 8, the New America Foundation's Federal Education Budget Project released "Equitable Resources in Low Income Schools: Teacher Equity and the Federal Title I Comparability Requirement" at an event on Capitol Hill. This event featured representatives from the White House, Representative George Miller's committee staff, and the National Education Association to discuss teacher equity and the comparability requirement in the law.

Putting the “Quality” into Quality Pre-K

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 07 May 2009 00:45:00 -0400

A New America Event
05/07/2009 - 9:30am

Early education is the subject of unprecedented bipartisan interest from both Capitol Hill and the Obama administration. Advocates herald the lifetime savings of effective pre-k interventions, which have been calculated between $7 and $10 for every dollar invested. But what does “quality” mean in terms of closing the achievement gap? And what are the implications for policy?

The Future of Federal Student Loans

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
03/31/2009 - 9:30am

On Tuesday, March 31, the New America Foundation's Education Policy Program hosted "The Future of Federal Student Loans." This event featured representatives from the Obama administration, the student loan community, and New America's Education Policy Program to discuss the pros and cons of the President's proposal to stop guaranteeing federal student loans and to instead make the loans directly.

Bridging the Gap

Stephanie Gunter — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:30:00 -0500

A New America Event
01/29/2009 - 1:00pm

It is a stark, indisputable fact that many of America's high school graduates are not ready for the rigors of college. While the nation's secondary schools bear much of the responsibility, colleges and universities have done a poor job of communicating the skills expected of incoming freshmen and an even worse job of providing effective remediation and extended support services to ensure that underprepared students eventually graduate. Only 30 percent of students who take remedial reading courses go on

Changing the Odds for Children at Risk

Communications — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:45:00 -0500

A New America Event
12/01/2008 - 12:15pm

Data show that children who are born in poverty to young, poorly educated parents have much lower chances of succeeding in school, college, and the workforce than their less-disadvantaged peers. They are also at greater risk for a host of negative outcomes, including poor academic performance, being held back a grade, dropping out of high school, being unemployed, and participating in criminal activity.

Where Should the Dems Be on Education?

Communications — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 06:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
09/19/2008 - 11:00am

The forthcoming reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) will require political parties to define their positions on public education. In a recent article in the American Prospect, analyst Kevin Carey of Education Sector argues that the Democratic Party has lost its edge on education issues, allowing Republicans to narrow their historical disadvantage in the field. On September 19th, Carey joined Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL) and education consultant Bella Rosenberg for a lively discussion on Capitol… more

An Ounce of Prevention

Communications — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
09/09/2008 - 1:30pm

After peaking in 2002, child well-being in the United States has been stagnant for five years. Meanwhile, recent data from the Child Well-Being Index shows some disturbing upward trends in child obesity and youth violence, as well as a persistent academic achievement gap. To date, public policy has not sufficiently mobilized to combat these issues before they start to affect the nation’s children. The New America Foundation brought together key policy makers and experts involved in improving child well-being to… more

Education Policy in the Next Administration

Communications — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:30:00 -0400

A New America Event
07/24/2008 - 10:30am

The pending reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act will provide the next president an opportunity to substantially reshape federal education policy. To provide a preview of what that change may look like, the New America Foundation invited ducation advisers to the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates to speak about their candidates’ education policy agendas. Lisa Graham Keegan is a former Arizona superintendent of education who advises Sen. John McCain. John Schnur is former education adviser to President Bill… more

Budgeting for the Future of Children

Communications — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:15:00 -0400

A New America Event
06/12/2008 - 11:15am

Funding is always a central issue in education policy debates, and education funding is often a bone of contention in federal budget and appropriations battles. Yet many of the people who are most affected by federal education budget decisions are unaware of how those decisions are made or where the money goes. On June 12 the New America Foundation launched the Federal Education Budget Project to lift the veil from the federal education budget process and provide policymakers, journalists, educators,… more

No Child Left Behind and Early Education: Prospects for 2008

Communications — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 12:15:00 -0500

A New America Event
11/29/2007 - 12:15pm

Congressional leaders recently announced that they will not finish reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act -- the major federal law authorizing elementary and secondary education programs -- this year, but will continue working on reauthorization in 2008. This gives Congress a chance to revisit an issue that was largely ignored in this year’s debate over NCLB reauthorization: early education for pre-school and early elementary aged youngsters.

Evidence shows that the foundations of children’s future academic success… more

Tested: School-level Perspectives on NCLB

Communications — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 05:15:00 -0400

A New America Event
10/25/2007 - 12:15pm

The No Child Left Behind Act, the major federal law supporting elementary and secondary education, is due for reauthorization by Congress. Teachers unions, business groups, civil rights leaders and researchers have all weighed in with recommendations to change the law’s provisions. But what do the people most impacted by NCLB -- educators working with kids on a day-to-day basis -- think about it?

Former Washington Post education writer Linda Perlstein spent a year with educators and students at… more

Education and the Federal Budget Showdown

Communications — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 04:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
10/04/2007 - 11:00am

The White House and Congress are engaged in a major budget debate that threatens a government shutdown and could markedly influence federal education funding. Congressional Democrats have proposed significant increases in education spending for Fiscal Year 2008, while the President has proposed to cut Education Department funding and threatened to veto relevant spending bills.

The panelists at this New America event discussed the current budget debate and its implications for federal education funding; lessons from past budget… more

Tough Liberal

Communications — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 02:58:00 -0400

A New America Event
09/20/2007 - 5:30pm

Richard D. Kahlenberg's latest book, Tough Liberal, is the first book-length treatment of the life of Albert Shanker, one of the most influential figures in American education in recent history. Shanker was the father of teacher unionism and a leading voice in nearly every major education and labor debate for nearly four decades.

Richard D. Kahlenberg is a Senior Fellow at The Century Foundation, where he writes about education, equal opportunity, and civil rights. Previously, Kahlenberg was a Fellow… more

The Next No Child Left Behind Act

Communications — Mon, 21 May 2007 05:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
05/21/2007 - 12:00pm

The upcoming reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) presents an opportunity for the federal government to expand access to high-quality, early education programs. At present, quality standards vary widely among federal, state, local, and private early care and education programs, and relatively few programs align their curricular and teacher standards with early elementary school grades. There is a role for the federal government to play in both expanding access and harmonizing decentralized early education programs horizontally across… more

Ten Big Ideas for a New America

Communications — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 02:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
01/31/2007 - 11:00am

The recent turnover in Congress, combined with a wide open presidential election cycle, creates a rare opportunity to bring new ideas into the political process. The spirit of this new era will be captured by those -- from either party or no party -- who embrace innovative yet pragmatic solutions to the foremost challenges facing our nation.

At this event, the New America Foundation released a major new report outlining Ten Big Ideas for a New America, and… more

Preparing U.S. Students for the Global Economy

Communications — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 19:42:00 -0500

A New America Event
01/08/2007 - 2:30pm

Monday, Jan. 8, marks the fifth anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the beginning of a comprehensive congressional examination of standards-based school reform. How has it succeeded? How has it not? Why? And how can it be improved?

While the most significant accomplishment of the standards-based school reform movement that began in the 1980s is improved national student achievement in mathematics, international comparisons of mathematics and science achievement continue to indicate sub-par American student performance. Reports… more

Ready to Teach? PK-3 and NCLB

Communications — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 06:54:00 -0400

A New America Event
10/19/2006 - 3:00pm

As Congress prepares for reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, policymakers will be forced to answer difficult questions about the relationship between teacher quality and student outcomes at all levels of education. What should teachers of young children know and what skills do they need? How can colleges of education improve the PK-3 workforce? How can the federal government improve the quality of PK-3 teachers through NCLB?

This event, hosted jointly by the New America Foundation and the… more

Student Loan Scandals

Communications — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 06:48:00 -0400

A New America Event
09/18/2006 - 12:15pm

Within the next two weeks, the U.S. Department of Education’s Inspector General is expected to release an audit of the Nelnet Corporation, a major student loan provider, recommending that it be ordered to repay hundreds millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidy payments to the U.S. Treasury and halt additional, future subsidy billings estimated to exceed $1.3 billion.

At issue are subsidy payments guaranteeing Nelnet and other student loan companies a 9.5 percent rate of return for student loans originally… more