Morning Announcements April 10, 2012

Good Morning, here are your latest headlines in education news.

Education reforms now going into effect in Indiana, and similar ones sweeping the nation, are targeting something many Americans consider to be strictly off-limits: their paychecks. As the Huffington Post reports, many questions and debates abound as districts across the country shift to merit pay for teachers.

The Huffington Post also documents how enrollment in United State’s preschool programs has continued to climb yet over the last 10 years, states have gutted funding for public pre-K programs. This is leading to what the National Institute for Early Education Research calls a “crisis in quality.”

While the National Institute for early Education Research highlights a crisis in early education funding versus enrollment, Education Week reports that the U.S. Department of Education announced  the five states that narrowly missed winning a slice of the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Fund will get a chance to compete for $133 million in new money.

The battle for schools is continuing to heat up in the City of Chicago. As the Chicago Tribune, reports for several months, the greatest resistance to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposed 71/2-hour school day came from parents in middle-class and upper-middle-class communities who say their kids don’t need the extra class time. But now, more opponents of the longer school day are joining forces to protest.