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New Podcast:
William LockridgeA Step Back in DC Schools Reform?

In our latest episode of A Challenging Course, we followed DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee as she set about putting her radical reform plans into action.

We also met William Lockridge, DC school board official for over 9 years. Rhee's plans for mayoral control has dissolved the school board leaving Lockridge and other community members with little say in decision-making. Lockridge discusses his new role in the DC school system and offers another perspective on all of the changes.

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RECENT PODCAST >>>

Teaching for America: A Talk with Wendy Kopp
Today, Teach for America (TFA) is the country’s largest provider of teachers for America’s low-income communities. Wendy Kopp sat down with us to talk about TFA’s core values, some bright alums (including Michelle Rhee) and how TFA is influencing DC and New Orleans school districts.

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NEWS >>>

Lessons of War Wins A Telly Award

Our program, Lessons of War, won a Silver (First Place) Telly Award for News or News Feature. The Telly Awards honor the best local, regional, and cable television programs.

Learn more >>>


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Learning Matters News

Lessons of War Wins a Telly Award
Our program, Lessons of War, won a Silver (First Place) Telly Award for News or News Feature. The Telly Awards honor the best local, regional, and cable television programs.

Learning Matters Now On YouTube
We've joined the social networking fury and will make all of our shows, segments and video podcasts available on YouTube in the coming months. Be sure to check it out, subscribe to our videos and spread the word.

Learning Matters Nominated for an Emmy
While we did not win in our category, "Continuing Coverage on a Regularly Scheduled Newscast," we lost to what looked like a terrific CBS News series of reports about the US Marines in Ramadi (leading most of us to conclude that we are in the wrong category!). But you should check out Turnaround Specialist, our 4-part NewsHour series that was nominated.

Youth Producers from Listen Up! Capture Peabody Award
"Beyond Borders: Personal Stories from a Small Planet" received broadcasting’s highest honor, the George Foster Peabody Award. Listen Up! Youth Media Network produced the 1-hour documentary, which aired on the Independent Film Channel. Learn more.

Learning Matters Receives Hewlett Grant
Learning Matters has been awarded a $1,000,000 grant from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. These funds will support our continuing reportage for the NewsHour, allow us to update the documentary "First to Worst," expand our education podcasts, and more.

Learning Matters Awarded The 2007 Bellwether Award
On January 27, 2007, Learning Matters was awarded the 2007 Bellwether Award for "Declining by Degrees: Higher Education at Risk" (documentary and book). The University of Florida and its Community College Futures project recognized Declining by Degrees as a “cutting-edge, trendsetting program” worthy of distinction. Since 1995 the Bellwether Award has been given to the most provocative and influential education-related book of the year. "Declining by Degrees” is the first documentary to be honored.

Learning Matters Wins Prestigious CINE Golden Eagle Award
Turnaround Specialist Part 2, produced and edited by John D. Tulenko and David Wald, has won a 2006 CINE Golden Eagle Award for Informational Reporting. This is the 4th CINE Golden Eagle awarded to Learning Matters.

The CINE Golden Eagle awards, distinguishing excellence in professional and amateur works, are recognized internationally as symbols of the highest production standards in filmmaking and videography. CINE has, since its founding in 1957, been dedicated to discovering, rewarding, educating, and supporting established and emerging talent in film and video.

Learning Matters Receives $3,580,500 in Foundation Grants
Grants awarded by The Annenberg Foundation, The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York and Adobe Youth Voices (on behalf of Learning Matters’ Listen Up! project) to Learning Matters will enable the award-winning organization to continue reporting for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, to produce documentaries about education for PBS, and to expand learning opportunities for youth.

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Documentaries

California Schools: America's Future
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is scrambling to avoid $4.8 billion in potential cuts to public school funding. His controversial plans hinge on lawmakers' approval. Unfortunately, it's not the first time California's public schools have been on the brink. California Schools: America’s Future traces the roots of the current crisis. Learn more >>>

Big Time Losers

College sports is bigger than ever and almost everyone seems to be profiting. Corporate sponsorship brings some universities almost $4 million per home game. Top-level coaches make $1 million on average. But only half of all football players and almost two-thirds of men's basketball players fail to graduate. Big Time Losers examines the price colleges and athletes pay when sports becomes big business. Learn more >>>

Discounted Dreams
Community colleges are the fastest growing segment of American higher education ­ and some say the most vital to America’s future. But growing enrollment is straining the system, underfunding persists, and in spite of some remarkable success stories, they fail to graduate even half of those who come.

In this new documentary, veteran correspondent John Merrow explores the paradoxes of these vital institutions. Learn more >>>

[More Documentaries]

Reports on The NewsHour


A Closer Look at NCLB
How is No Child Left Behind working and what do educators and students really think about it? This series of three reports and ten audio interviews takes a closer look at No Child Left Behind, the federal law passed in 2001 and up for reauthorization this year.

Lessons of War
What is life like in a school where half of the children have a parent in a combat zone? What can a teacher do to comfort a child whose mother or father has just deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan and at the same time stay focused on the "letter of the week" or the writing lesson of the day?

And then there is the toughest question: When a 7 year old asks, 'Will my Daddy die?' or 'Will my Mommy come home safe?', how should a teacher respond?

We went to McNair Elementary-a Department of Defense school in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to find out.

[More NewsHour Reports]

 

Recent Articles

The Influence of Teachers: On Rewriting, Character Education, and the Future of America
By John Merrow
Independent School Magazine / January 2008

Learning Without Loopholes
With NCLB reauthorization on hold, we should move toward common standards—and fewer excuses.
By John Merrow
Education Week / December 5, 2007

New American revolution fought over national education standards
By John Merrow
San Jose Mercury News / October 17, 2007

[More Articles]
 

 
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