Resegregation, Career Preparation, & Merit Compensation

In honor of MLK Day, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan penned a letter in the Washington Post on maintaining racial diversity in America’s Schools, specifically referring to recent efforts by Wake County’s (NC) school board to reverse “a long-standing policy to promote racial diversity in its schools.”
The Department of Education has proposed new regulations for the Investing in Innovation (i3) grant competition, in the event that it is renewed this year.
EdWeek profiles California’s new governor Jerry Brown how he has shaken up education policy in his first days in office.
The Times-Picayune reports that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is proposing a new law that would create partnerships between businesses and charter schools to “help feed the pipeline of qualified workers.”  EdWeekprovides additional coverage.
Check out this op-ed in NJ Spotlight on merit pay for teachers in NJ.  “As we begin what Christie promises to be a year of education reform, let’s reexamine the rigidity and irrelevance of our [current] metrics for merit pay. Our current narcissistic system disregards schoolchildren and discourages our finest professionals.”
The Associated Press reports that Epic One on One, Oklahoma’s first online charter school, will be sponsored by a rural Okfuskee County school district.