ALMOST HEAVEN: West Virginia Becomes First State to Implement “Project 24” as Part of Statewide Education Initiative Article

On April 17, West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin (D) joined with Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia, to announce that West Virginia would be the first state to implement “Project 24” as part of a statewide education initiative.

DIGITAL LEARNING DAY 2013 SET FOR FEBRUARY 6: New DigitalLearningDay.org Website Provides Opportunities for Everyone to Be Involved, Demonstrates How Digital Learning Is Improving Education Article

On February 1, 2012, the Alliance for Excellent Education joined with thirty-nine states, 18,000 teachers, and nearly 2 million students for the first-ever national Digital Learning Day, an unprecedented campaign that celebrated teachers and highlighted successful instructional practice and effective use of technology in classrooms.

ANYTIME, ANYPLACE: New Alliance Report Says Expanded Learning Opportunities Can Provide a Comprehensive Approach to Preparing High School Students for College and a Career Article

Expanded learning opportunities for high school students through methods such as work-based experiences, innovative technology, and personalized lesson plans have the potential to help address projected skill and knowledge shortages in the nation’s workforce, according to a new policy brief from the Alliance for Excellent Education.

ESEA PRECURSOR?: Hunter Introduces Bill to Eliminiate Forty-Three Federal Education Programs Article

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION RELEASES FY 2011 FINAL SPENDING TOTALS Article

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) will receive $45.4 billion in discretionary federal funding for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 based on the spending plan that ED submitted to Congress last week.

METLIFE SURVEY OF THE AMERICAN TEACHER: Released in Two Parts, Annual Survey of Teachers, Students, Parents, and Business Executives Focuses on College and Career Readiness, Needs of Diverse Learners Article

STATE OF THE STATES: Governors Offer Various Proposals to Improve Student Achievement Article

The West Virginia Constitution currently gives Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin (D) the duty of acting as governor after Former Governor Joe Manchin (D) was elected to serve in the U.S. Senate.

STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESSES 2011: Governors Recognize the Importance of Investments in Education Article

Despite tough budget times, many governors have prioritized K–12 education in their state of the state addresses.

LOG ON: New Alliance Publications Examine How Online Learning Can Help in Overcoming Three Major Educational Challenges in Each State Article

New state profiles from the Alliance for Excellent Education examine how three educational challenges—global skill demands versus educational achievement, tight state budgets, and looming teacher shortages—play out in each state and detail to what degree a state is using online technology to help overcome them.

OPPORTUNITY AT THE TOP: New Report Finds that Concentrated Efforts to Retain and Expand the Reach of the Nation’s Top Teachers Could Vastly Improve Education Article

A new report from Public Impact, a national education policy and management consulting firm based in Chapel Hill, NC, finds that current reform efforts in the areas of teacher improvement are not enough to significantly improve the education for the majority of American children.