oflovefaithhopedream

Just as I said . Republicans now controlling the House promised Thursday to slash domestic agencies' budgets by almost 20 percent for the coming year , the first salvo in what's sure to be a bruising battle over their drive to cut spending to where it was before President Barack Obama took office. "Washington's spending spree is over," declared Paul Ryan, the House Budget Committee chairman who announced the plan. The White House says the GOP effort could cause widespread furloughs of federal employees, force vulnerable people off subsidized housing, reduce services in national parks and mean less aid to schools and police and fire departments. Popular programs such as health research and federal aid to school districts appear likely to take a hit when lawmakers write the spending bill for the departments of Education, Labor and Health and Human Services. Tax cuts for the rich prioritized over all else. I note that former Labor Secretary and current Ber...

The Washington Post 's Nick Anderson reports that U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan was grilled by Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) yesterday about why he proposed eliminating the set aside for Teach for America in the Administration FY2011 federal budget. "We made some tough calls. And what we did is we simply eliminated all the earmarks. We increased the chance for competition," Duncan said. "Teach for America is an earmark?" Doggett asked. "It was a set-aside," Duncan clarified. The organization, he said, would have "every opportunity to compete and get, frankly, significantly more money." My question is: Why should TFA receive such a set aside while other high-quality education non-profits do not? What about KIPP , Urban Teacher Residency United , The New Teacher Project ? How about the nonprofit I work for, the New Teacher Center ? All of these nonprofits are national in scope. Is there something special about TFA that merits direc...

Eduflack offers up a first-rate post today on the winners and losers in the education portion of the President's FY2011 budget . Claus von Zastrow issues a wise caution regarding federal funding for professional development ( UPDATE: as well as a second thought ). The New York Times 's Sam Dillon and the National Journal's Eliza Krigman (hat tip: Eduwonk ) have the scoop on implications for Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization. The budget is just at the first step and Congress has yet to have its say. Likewise, I wouldn't bet on reauthorization this election year (yep, congressional elections are only nine months away!). 2011? 2012? Anyone? UPDATE: Here is what the Education Experts at the National Journal 's blog think.

When the history of American higher education in the 21st century is written, I suspect the end of the first decade will be known for two resounding themes: the growing importance of community colleges, and a move from college access to a focus on college success . The vocabulary of this important time centers on words like efficiency, productivity, and effectiveness. These are terms that, thanks in no small part to the work of foundations like Lumina and Gates, finally have traction among both administrators and consumers of higher ed. In a very real sense, this is nothing less than astounding progress for an institution built primarily to enroll students privileged enough to attend college-- and not necessarily to graduate them. For the latest--and greatest-- example of this sea change we can look to Indiana. Faced with ever-common declines in resources for higher education, leaders in that state are reportedly rethinking business as usual. Typically, budget cuts are distribute...