Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Survey: School budget cuts even worse next year

School budget cuts will be noticeably more significant for 2010-11 than they were in the previous two years, superintendents say.
School budget cuts will be noticeably more significant for 2010-11 than they were in the previous two years, superintendents say.

Although the economy has begun to rebound, K-12 education leaders say they are still facing serious budget shortfalls for the coming school year that threaten their ability to implement new technologies, raise the quality of instruction in their classrooms, and close achievement gaps among students, a new survey reveals.

Released April 8, Cliff Hanger: How America’s Public Schools Continue to Feel the Impact of the Economic Downturn,” the latest in a series of national surveys from the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), identifies a number of key challenges that are compounding an already grave situation.

Continued budget strains at the state and local levels will be exacerbated next year when the federal stimulus funding ends, the survey suggests—a phenomenon referred to as the “funding cliff.”…Read More

1 2

Cracks in school innovation fund might present problems

Federal officials say schools may find difficulty providing evidence of successful programs when applying to the Investing in Innovation Fund.
Some say schools might have trouble providing evidence of successful programs when applying for i3 funding.

Just days before the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released applications for the $650 million Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund on March 8, education technology researchers and developers expressed some concerns about the i3 program’s procedures and requirements.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) set aside $650 million in the i3 fund for three levels of competitive grants that expand the implementation of, and investment in, innovative and evidence-based practices, programs, and strategies in schools.

ED officials say these solutions should significantly improve K-12 achievement and close achievement gaps, lower dropout rates, increase high school graduation rates, and improve teacher and school leader effectiveness.…Read More

1 2