- With Election Day on Tuesday (go vote!), Education Week is covering interesting state battlegrounds with its delicious “Caravan of Delights” series. Each day, State EdWatch mainstay Andrew Ujifusa walks readers through an important state race, including polling numbers, candidates’ education-related positions, and local factors influencing the debates. Individual sections are devoted to each Republican and Democratic candidate, and a catchall section lists other things to know, such as relevant information about select superintendents and lieutenant governors. It’s worth a read for anyone who wants to make an educated vote—which we could use more of.
- Bloomberg Philanthropies is teaming up with Khan Academy, the College Board, and a handful of other prominent ed groups to boost the college-going rates of poorer students. Spending more than $10 million over the next two years, the program targets top high schoolers who come from lower-income families and aims to educate them about on the college application process. Too many of these kids are missing out on opportunities. The plan is to reach about 70,000 students, persuading at least 10,000 of them to attend any one of 250 colleges where lower-income kids tend to graduate at a high rate with manageable debt. No matter how you look at it, this is a great initiative. Still, one wonders whether it’s enough. Should interventions start younger?
