Education in the News Last Week

Investing in Innovation
On Tuesday the Department of Education released proposed regulations to govern the $650 million Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) authorized under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. i3 is a separate competition from the $6 billion education improvement fund known as Race to the Top, in that individual school districts or groups of districts can apply for the i3 grants, and entrepreneurial nonprofits can partner with these districts to submit applications. The New York Times reports, "In a speech last month, Mr. Duncan said programs that might qualify for innovation fund financing included Teach for America, the nonprofit organization that recruits elite college graduates for two years of teaching in hard-to-staff schools, and Green Dot, a nonprofit charter school organization with headquarters in California."

Violence in Chicago Schools
After images of the death of 16-year-old honor student Derrion Albert were widely broadcast last week, Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan flew to Chicago to meet with the students, parents, and administration of Christian Fenger Academy High School. "Activists say the escalating violence among Chicago's teens may have roots in an unlikely place — an ambitious plan to improve education that's also thrown rival gangs together in an often-volatile daily mix," writes Karen Hawkins of the Huffington Post. "Before the 2006 school year, an average of 10-15 public school students were fatally shot each year. That soared to 24 deadly shootings in the 2006-2007 school year, 23 deaths and 211 shootings in the 2007-2008 school year and 34 deaths and 290 shootings last school year."

Advice for Parents Volunteering at School
The Wall Street Journal asks, "For parents with limited time and energy, which roles deliver the biggest benefit for your kids? And how does the answer to that question change as a student grows up?" The answers just might surprise you.