Teach for America's federal funds threatened by grant competition proposal

Officials of Teach for America, the nonprofit program that trains recent college graduates for teaching jobs in many of the country's most-troubled public schools, are worried that a new Obama administration proposal could mean the loss of some of the $18-million in federal money it currently receives. The plan would end the practice of earmarking money specifically for Teach for America and would add the money to a bigger pot designated for teacher training and recruitment and distributed as part of a competitive grants process.

Full text article by Nick Anderson is available via The Washington Post, 2/11/10.

After 10 Years, Federal Money for Technology in Education

A national trust to funnel federal funds into programs to help schools, libraries, and museums tap into emerging digital technologies will be introduced Monday after nearly a decade in the making. The National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies grew out of a 2001 recommendation by Lawrence K. Grossman, a former network-news executive, and Newton N. Minow, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. It could begin distributing grants by fall.

Full text article by Elizabeth Jensen is available via The New York Times, 1/24/10.

Senator Invokes Waterboarding in Debate Over Political-Science Grants

Federal grants for political-science research are wasteful and unnecessary, and they fuel a deficit that will "waterboard" America's children, a Republican senator declared on Tuesday. The comment came as the Senate took up debate on an amendment offered by Sen. Tom A. Coburn, a Republican of Oklahoma, that would cut off money for the National Science Foundation's political-science program. The measure would amend HR 2847, the annual appropriations bill for the Departments of Commerce and Justice and the federal science agencies.
Full-text post by David Glenn is available via The Chronicle of Higher Education, 10/14/09.