Morning Announcements April 27, 2012

Congratulations, it’s another Friday. You’ve made it through a tiring, hectic work week and are now free to relax and kick back or party hard, whichever you prefer. But not just yet. Until the work day officially ends, you’re stuck here. You might as well take in some education news in the meantime.

The Wall Street Journal reports that some local Head Start programs for the first time will have to compete for a share of $7.6 billion in federal funding under a plan aimed at weeding out low-performing preschool centers.

From the Huffington Post a new bill could require young children to pass a test before ever entering kindergarten. Thousands of Tennessee children would be required to pass a “maturity test” every year to enter kindergarten under a new bill passed by the state House of Representatives Wednesday.

Also according to the Huffington Post, a coalition of students protested outside Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office, calling on the city to implement new disciplinary policies that would reduce the arrest rate among African American students in Chicago Public Schools.