TUPELO, Miss. — It is a common rule in classrooms — no cell phones allowed, but now school officials are saying that could all be history soon.
Technology is becoming an ever-popular necessity in schools throughout the world, but while technology needs are increasing many school districts find that budgets are decreasing. So how can schools afford all the latest high-tech gear for classrooms? Enter: The cell phone.
WASHINGTON — Education funding has become a major topic in the presidential race, with both sides promising to preserve or even increase the resources dedicated to the cause, while budgeting to address the federal deficit. Despite this apparent consensus, most states are moving ahead with their own plans to find more stable funding streams and somehow lower the cost of attending college.
NEW YORK — McGraw-Hill Education has recently announced the sale of its company to Apollo Global Management for nearly $2.5 billion. As part of the sale, McGraw-Hill will receive $250 million in senior unsecured notes an annual interest rate of 8.5 percent.
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin revealed some controversial new education reform plans in mid-November, mere days after his party regained control of the state senate. With complete control of the legislature and governor’s office now in the hands of republicans, Walker has an opportunity to remake the state’s education funding system.
SALEM, Ore. — Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Ore., is expanding to provide advanced technology and more space for students at the growing campus.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California education budget is coming into balance for the first time in years, according to the state’s Legislative Analyst Office (LAO). The LAO is a nonpartisan fiscal and policy advisory agency that gives budget projections to the state legislature and analyzes the fiscal impact of various budget proposals, voter initiatives and policy trends.
DULUTH, Minn. — Hurricane Sandy damaged sixty-five schools in New York City alone, along with dozens more across the affected region. Catastrophe risk modeling firm EQECAT said total damage from the storm could be up to $50 billion, second only to Hurricane Katrina. But the millions of dollars of government money that will flow to contractors for rebuilding schools come with strings attached. The Davis-Bacon act requires contractors receiving government money to fill out forms proving they paid prevailing wages.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Megan Smith, vice president of new business development at Google, has announced the creation of a fund to advocate for girls education and empowerment. The funding effort is called the MalalaFund, in honor of Malala Yousafzai, a 15-year-old student and education activist in Pakistan who survived an assassination attempt by a Taliban gunman who shot her in the head and neck while she was riding home in a school bus in early October.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and state superintendent of public instruction Tom Torlakson, recently announced they are co-sponsoring a new Civic Learning Award for public high schools in the state. The award will recognize schools that develop successful models for engaging students in civic learning that can be replicated in other schools.
Schools are no longer educational establishments where teachers lecture and pupils sit still and listen in silence. Instead, they are increasingly turning into institutions that “move people” and that adhere to principles of holistic learning and living.
