Highlights

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan issued the final application for over $4 billion from the Race to the Top funds competitive grant program, where ED is asking states to build comprehensive and coherent plans built around the four areas of reform outlined in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan discussed the $24.8 billion in federal funds available annually to the nation's schools, and the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education (ESEA) Act on September 24th. Duncan said that the rewrite of 'No Child Left Behind' should start now; reauthorization can't wait.

Over the past years, MACC has been a partner with the state education agencies in the mid-Atlantic region in building their capacity to address a major national priority: improving k-12 student achievement, particularly among low-performing students. This report on building state capacity to support districts and schools provides highlights of MACC's first three years working with the mid-Atlantic states in this endeavor.

This new study by MACC and partner SREB identifies and evaluates state policies and practices implemented in the District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and provides recommendations that can help to--

• Raise statewide middle grades curriculum and assessment standards to align with challenging high school standards
• Communicate the importance of literacy, mathematics, science and social studies at the middle grades level
• Prepare teachers to teach challenging content in the middle grades. Enable middle grades students to receive extra help when they have difficulty mastering challenging academic core content
• Prepare school leaders to lead practices that improve students' transition into challenging high school courses
• provide the technical assistance that low-performing middle grades schools need to turn around
• Provide the necessary guidance and advisement opportunities that middle grades students and their parents need to plan for high school, postsecondary learning and a career

The SSoS Spotlight Series cosponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Comprehensive Center (MACC) and the Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center (ARCC) continued on April 15, 2009 with a webconference focused on Effective Teacher Quality Policy and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Funds. Minnesota Deputy Commissioner, Chas Anderson discussed how they have created a policy that provides opportunity and incentive for district change in the area of teacher quality and effectiveness, and the possibility of developing a Q Comp (Quality Compensation) policy in your state with ARRA funding.