Secretary Margaret Spellings

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today addressed students, faculty, business leaders and Russian government officials at the Moscow State University of International Relations (MGIMO) for a conference on international partnerships co-hosted by The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law at The University of Texas at Austin and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. Secretary Spellings highlighted a newly inaugurated higher education research partnership between MGIMO and the Strauss Center and underscored the need for additional collaboration, innovation and exchange of ideas in today’s globalized world. Following are Secretary Spellings’ prepared remarks: Thank you, Jim Langdon, for that introduction. I’d ... Read Full Story

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said Saturday steps were being taken to assure student loans would be available for the 2009-2010 school year. Spellings said in a statement that the Education Department was working with the Treasury Department and the Office of Management and Budget to assure the stability of the Federal Family Education Loan Program and Direct Loan Program. We recognize that the current economic situation has created real financial challenges for students and their families, who are increasingly concerned about how they can secure loans to help cover college costs, Spellings said. I want to reassure students ... Read Full Story

Secretary Spellings approval of two high-quality growth models, which follow the bright-line principles of No Child Left Behind. Michigan is immediately approved to use the growth model for the 2007-2008 school year. Missouri's growth model is approved on the condition that the state adopt a uniform minimum group size for all subgroups, including students with disabilities and limited English proficient students, in Adequate Yearly Progress determinations for the 2007-2008 school year. Read Full Story

Not sure how I missed this. In any case, this serves as further proof that I am human. Hillary and I are part of the same species ! At a press conference this past Monday, US Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced that the administration will move to a uniform graduation rate . In vernacular blog-speak (redundancy alert!) this means that all the states will use to same formula to calculate graduation/dropout rates. Have you ever heard of the Silent Epidemic ? Probably not. And that’s precisely why it’s a “silent” epidemic and not the “popular” epidemic. The Silent Epidemic is our high school ... Read Full Story

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings defends the Bush administration’s education policy to a shockingly supportive Newsweek reporter. (At the start of his first term) President Bush spoke loud and often about the raw deal poor and minority kids were getting in public school. Instead of a bleeding heart, he showed a kind of flinty compassion for the poor by condemning what he famously called the “soft bigotry of low expectations” that plagued our inner cities. He coupled that with an inspired can-do attitude about making real, lasting change that disarmed even his fiercest opponents. Thus was born the “clear-eyed” bipartisan No Child Left Behind reform, ... Read Full Story