Blog

America Forward is on the move! Yesterday we hosted an exciting service event with Chelsea Clinton in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Acknowledging the reality of the Congressional schedule, and the unlikelihood that the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law will be reauthorized before the session ends, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings yesterday proposed major regulatory changes in enforcement of the law. One change will require states to use a single federal formula to calculate and report high school graduation rates. Secretary Spellings also wants to require schools to notify parents of their right to transfer students out of failing schools two weeks before the start of each school year, and to explain more fully to parents the opportunities for federally financed tutoring that are available to students attending troubled schools. The federally financed after-school tutoring program was a hotly debated topic when Congress sought to rewrite the law last year. The Secretary will issue final regulations in November, and they will take effect one month later, just weeks before a new president takes office. Read more about the changes to NCLB.

The April 17th edition of The Chronicle of Philanthropy has a great article about how social entrepreneurs are impacting the policy agendas of the presidential candidates. The article profiles Public Allies, an America Forward Advisory Board Member, and its relationship with the presidential candidates, including its “unique historical relationship” with Senator Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle. (Senator Obama was a member of the group’s founding board, and Michelle was the first Executive Director of Public Allies Chicago.) In the article, Michelle says her work with Public Allies was a “major influence in her husband’s decision to champion national service as part of his presidential run.” Public Allies CEO Paul Schmitz highlights how well the organization has been supported by the Clintons and the Bush Administration, as well. Public Allies is an exciting example of the connection between social entrepreneurship and public policy, and highlights just one aspect of the many ways social entrepreneurs can influence the agendas of the presidential campaigns, and increase their support for innovation and entrepreneurship in the social sector.

Bell Multicultural Senior High School in Washington, DC is highlighted in today’s Washington Post as the first public high school in the District to require all of its students to take college level AP courses and exams. In “Embracing the Challenge of AP English for All Students,” Bell educators, parents, and students dispute the warning that the growth of AP courses, particularly for low-scoring students, is a recipe for disaster. Rather, required AP courses are “exactly what we need to prepare for college or good jobs.”