“When Microsoft Corp.’s worldwide student software programming competition began four years ago, many projects that emerged were ‘fun,’ according to Craig Mundie, the company’s chief research and strategy officer. There was no shortage of smiles as Mundie and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates visited June 26 with some of the finalists from this year’s Imagine Cup. […]
“For nearly a decade, college and university research and business officers have been troubled by a conflict between federal patent and tax laws that restricted the sorts of research that could be done in facilities built (as many are) with tax-exempt bonds. To avoid running afoul of federal tax law because of that conflict, some […]
“The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected school diversity plans that take account of students’ race in two major public school districts but left the door open for using race in limited circumstances. The decision in cases affecting schools in Louisville, Ky., and Seattle could imperil similar plans in hundreds of districts nationwide, and it further […]
“Conflicting federal mandates on special education have teachers and students feeling like characters in Joseph Heller’s ‘Catch 22.’ … Accountability can be a powerful concept. But if the measurements used aren’t rooted in logic, then the entire movement of standards, testing and accountability loses its credibility, as does No Child Left Behind. Students, schools and […]
“Kankakee County could be an area that would benefit markedly from a school voucher system. In the new ‘Cities Ranked and Rated’ book, Kankakee County’s educational score slipped 40 places. The essential data is this: While we have improved somewhat in high school and college graduation rates, other communities have passed us by. Illinois, it […]
“The tight connection between test scores and home prices that was reported by the recent Trinity College study raises fresh doubts about the ability of an open educational marketplace to improve schooling for all children. Although the study focused only on West Hartford, Conn., its conclusions apply to other blue-ribbon communities across the country. When […]
“The South Carolina Legislature killed real education reform again this year. Instead of education tax credits and scholarships, which Rep. Tracy Edge and Sen. Larry Grooms put forward this year, state lawmakers recently passed a ‘choice’ law that allows students to enroll in different school districts without paying tuition. But the law doesn’t create any […]
“For years, Minneapolis public school leaders have wanted little to do with most charter schools. Of the city’s 30 charter programs, only four are sponsored by the school district. Viewing charters as competition and concerned about several high-profile charter failures, school board members have refused most requests for sponsorship. To cement that distance, the board […]
“An environmental group has sued the U.S. Navy, alleging that the military is polluting San Diego Bay by discharging storm water loaded with toxins. The suit, filed Tuesday in federal court in San Diego by Coastkeeper, claims the Navy and the Department of Defense have allowed zinc, copper and other contaminants to enter the bay […]
“Citgo Petroleum Corp. and its refining subsidiary were convicted Wednesday of breaking federal environmental laws by operating two open-air storage tanks without proper emission controls at a refinery in Corpus Christi. But Citgo was acquitted by a federal jury on charges that it knowingly allowed wastewater in the tanks to expose the atmosphere to illegal […]
