http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-917123.mp3
Albany, NY – 19 RACE TO THE TOP FINALISTS VIE FOR BILLIONS OF DOLLARS:
WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED NEXT MONTH -
U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, has chosen 18 states and the District of Columbia as finalists in the Race to the Top competition. Secretary Duncan plans to announce the winners of 10 to 15 grants totaling over 3 billion dollars sometime in September.
The total combined budget requests of the 19 finalists is 6.2 billion dollars, about twice the amount left in the Race to the Top account, which is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Each state has been sending five-person teams to Washington this month to make their final pitch to peer reviewers who can change the ultimate point total.
TBOOK interviews Secretary Arne Duncan.
Glenn Busby reports. (11:44)
"LIFE'S LITTLE COLLEGE ADMISSION INSIGHTS: TOP TIPS FROM THE COUNTRY'S MOST ACCLAIMED GUIDANCE COUNSELORS"
Part Two: Access, Diversity, and Indictment of Public Education -
The countdown to college is on. Whether you're headed there right now or finishing high school - faced with the choice of where to go - this is one of life's most important decisions.
Eric Yaverbaum, along with his daughter Cole, are the authors of Life's Little College Admission Insights: Top Tips from the Country's Most Acclaimed Guidance Counselors." It's new this year from Morgan James Publishing.
The book is compiled in real time' as the family goes through the college search process. The book hopes to jump start students on their college research, and strives to make it an enjoyable process for the whole family.
Glenn Busby reports. (5:36)
THE ACADEMIC MINUTE
"COMMUNITY COLLEGES" -
In other education news, there continues to be a greater demand for workers in computer science fields than the supply produced by the educational system. So, a Colorado Congressman has introduced the Computer Science Education Act. It would offer grants to evaluate computer science education across the U.S. and implement changes. And that brings us to our "Academic Minute", which this week, is about the importance of steering students into demanding fields of study.
This week's episode features Dr. Becky Wai-Ling Packard, Associate Professor of Psychology and Education at Mount Holyoke College
The Academic Minute is hosted by Dr. Lynn Pasquerella, a celebrated philosopher and medical ethicist, and President of Mount Holyoke College. (2:30)