Political

__**Political Events-1989-2009**__ 1989-President George Bush succeeds President Ronald Regan, end of Cold War 1990-Nelson Mandela is released from jail, fall of Berlin wall, Iraq invades Kuwait 1991-Gulf War begins U.S. presence in Iraq 1992-Bill Clinton is elected president, L.A. riots 1993-World Trade Center Bombing 1994-End of apartheid in South Africa 1994-North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) creates free trade zone of Canada, Mexico, U.S. 1995-Oklahoma City bombing, World Trade Organization is established 1996-President Bill Clinton signs welfare reform into law, U.S. launches Operation Desert Strike against Iraq, President Bill Clinton wins second term 1997-Madeleine Albright becomes first female secretary of state, China reclaims sovereignty over Hong Kong 1998-Smoking is banned in all California bars and restaurants, California voters approve Proposition 227, abolishing state’s bilingual education program, Monica Lewinsky scandal 1999-Columbine High School Massacre 2000-George W. Bush becomes president 2001-Almost 3,000 are killed in the September 11th attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, U.S. invades Afghanistan, President George W. Bush signs the U.S. Patriot Act into law 2002-No Child Left Behind Act is signed into law, Republican party maintains control of the House and gains control of the Senate, President George W. Bush signs Homeland Security Act into law 2003-More than 10 million people in over 600 countries, protest against the Iraq war, U.S. invades Iraq, U.S. forces seize control of Baghdad, ending regime of Saddam Hussein 2004-President George W. Bush defeats Senator John Kerry; Secretary of State, Colin Powell resigns and is replaced by Condoleezza Rice 2005-first, free parliamentary elections in Iraq since 1958 2007-Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female Speaker of the House, Virginia Tech Massacre 2008-Fidel Castro resigns as president of Cuba 2009- Barack Obama is inaugurated as the first African-American President of the U.S.

__**Working Strategy**__ President Obama's current educational agenda is full and highly amibitious. It seeks to improve education for early childhood-college, but It is not without controversy. States accepting federal monies must agree to federal educational reform in specific areas. Legislative changes must be watched carefully. Below is a synopsis of President Obama's speech on education and the most recent law signed in February 2009. It spells out current federal funding earmarked for education:

In 2009, President Barack Obama gave an education speech proposing __**five pillars of reform**__ and a message for U.S. students: 1) "Investing in early childhood initiatives" like Head Start; 2) "Encouraging better standards and assessments" by focusing on testing itineraries that better fit our kids and the world they live in; 3) "Recruiting, preparing, and rewarding outstanding teachers" by giving incentives for a new generation of teachers and for new levels of excellence from all of our teachers .4) "Promoting innovation and excellence in America’s schools" by supporting charter schools, reforming the school calendar and the structure of the school day. 5) "Providing every American with a quality higher education--whether it's college or technical training

And for students themselves, the President had a message for them as well:

//"Of course, no matter how innovative our schools or how effective our teachers, America cannot succeed unless our students take responsibility for their own education. That means showing up for school on time, paying attention in class, seeking out extra tutoring if it’s needed, and staying out of trouble. And to any student who’s watching, I say this: don’t even think about dropping out of school. As I said a couple of weeks ago, dropping out is quitting on yourself, it’s quitting on your country, and it is not an option – not anymore. Not when our high school dropout rate has tripled in the past thirty years. Not when high school dropouts earn about half as much as college graduates. And not when Latino students are dropping out faster than just about anyone else. It is time for all of us, no matter what our backgrounds, to come together and solve this epidemic."//


 * __The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, also known as the federal stimulus bill, was signed into law in February 2009.__**
 * The legislation is designed to stimulate the U.S. economy** and provides close to $100 billion for education nationwide.
 * Much of the $8 billion is for augmentations to existing programs**—e.g., Title I for disadvantaged students and IDEA for students with disabilities. Over $3 billion is coming through the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, which provides largely discretionary monies and requires states to report on specific indicators in four reform areas:
 * 1) Increasing teacher and principal effectiveness;
 * 2) Establishing data systems and using data for improvement;
 * 3) Adopting rigorous college- and career-ready standards and high-quality assessments;
 * 4) Turning around the lowest-performing schools.


 * The largest of the competitive grant programs is Race to the Top**, which will provide a total of about $4.35 billion to a small group of states with bold plans for action in the four reform areas listed above. Up to $350 million of the Race to the Top fund is set aside for states to develop new assessments. Other competitive grants will provide incentives to enhance teacher recruitment and retention, create alternative pay structures for teachers, and develop longitudinal data systems. In addition, Invest in Innovation ("i3") provides funding for local entities to explore promising ideas and expand proven programs.

Bill and Melinda Gates have recently extended their Race to the Top grants to ALL states. Here are some links to guide educational leaders in obtaining funding for their individual entities:

[|ARRA information] [|Gates "Race to the Top" for all states-article]

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