Afternoon Announcements: Delaware, Hawaii, North Carolina and Tennessee Leading Race to the Top

US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan gave a shout-out to four states who are leading in the Obama administration’s Race to the Top school-improvement program: Delaware, Hawaii, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Politics K-12

The annual Council of Chief State School Officers’ legislative conference featured a frank discussion between leaders from the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) over the Common Core State Standards. Teacher Beat

The University of Baltimore is offering a unique incentive to keep students on track to receive their diploma in four years: a free final semester. The Baltimore Sun

School suspensions have decreased in Rhode Island after the state passed a law prohibiting schools from using out-of-school suspensions as punishment for truancy. Education Week