Posts Tagged ‘school improvement’

ED Seeks Student Input on Improving Education

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

On February 1, the Department of Education launched the National Education Startup Challenge, asking students to develop innovative, real world solutions to improve education. Students from across the country are invited to submit a business plan and a video pitch for a for-profit or non-profit startup that includes an innovative strategy, product or service designed to address one of these four topics:

Students in grade 6 through postsecondary, as well as out-of-school youth, are eligible to participate. The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2012.

For more information visit the National Education Startup Challenge Web site.

 Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By admin in News
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Project Aims to Repair Schools and Create Jobs

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

The 21st Century School Fund and the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) proposed last week a project, Fix America’s Schools Today (FAST!), that would create jobs and repair some of the nation’s schools.

Both the Government Accountability Office and the American Society of Civil Engineers agree that school districts haven’t kept up with facility repairs and maintenance for many years. According to the report, ignoring problems with school buildings may result in many problems over time including energy inefficiencies, unsafe drinking water, water damage and moldy environments, poor air quality, inadequate fire alarms and fire safety, compromised building security and structural dangers. The organizations estimate that at least $270 billion in backlogged maintenance or facility problems have not been addressed.

This is where the FAST! project comes into play. The 21st Century Schools Fund and EPI believe that by addressing even one-tenth of the current backlog of school improvement and repair, school districts have the opportunity to create 500,000 jobs for construction workers at a time when over a million are unemployed. Plumbers, building technicians, and energy-related workers would also benefit.

Career Technical Education (CTE) students and workers in the Architecture and Construction Career Cluster would benefit from the increase in job openings, but how would a project like this be funded during these tough economic times?

The report proposes allowing districts to scale up or back on school improvements based on available resources, and suggests adding money for FAST! to existing funding formulas. For more details, view the FAST! report.

By admin in News, Research
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