Education Report February 12, 2010

1. Budget and Appropriations
-Congress found itself frozen out this week as the federal government closed for an unprecedented four out of five days. This did not stop the Senate from trying to come up with a jobs bill that would show the public they do know what the number one concern of the Nation might be, and that they can actually play well with others.
-On the Budget front, Education Secretary Arne Duncan was forced to cancel two appearances in the House of Representatives, during which he would have explained and defended the Administration's FY 2011 education spending plan.
-Washington was shocked and saddened to hear of the sudden death this week of Congressman John Murtha (D-PA), a senior Member of the House Appropriations Committee.
-This week was also marked by surprising announcements from Members of Congress who have decided enough is enough. In all 27 sitting Members of the House have decided to call it quits.

2. AYPF holds Forum on College and Career Preparation
-On Friday February 5, the American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) held a forum to highlight its recently released publication, Success at Every Step: How 23 Programs Support Youth on the Path to College and beyond, to showcase a variety of programs that support college-and -career-readiness, and to explore related federal and state policy options.
-The two co-authors of Success at Every Step, presented an overview of the publication and discussed the common programmatic and structural elements that contributed to the included programs' effectiveness.
-Greg Darnieder, Special Assistant to the Secretary on College Access, also provided an overview of the Department of Education's efforts to improve high school graduation rates and college access and completion rates.

For more information about this event, go to: http://www.aypf.org/forumbriefs/2010/fb020510.htm.

3. In Brief
-AEE hosts briefing on rural schools and future legislation
-Michelle Obama announces Obesity Campaign

Be sure to also check out sections #4 (New Publications) and #5 (In the News) for articles of interest.