Catch up on this week’s Short Reads and stay informed on what is happening in the District and read the top education headlines.

Paul Ryan On Education: Less Federal Control

DC Council candidates ramp up fundraising

The fight for school libraries in DC

Report: DCPS efforts to curb truancy hurt by understaffing

Education plan doesn’t replace poor parenting

DC Council needs permanent education policy office

Paul Ryan On Education: Less Federal Control

“Stagnant student achievement levels and exploding deficits have demonstrated that massive amounts of federal funding and top-town interventions are not the way to provide America’s students with a high-quality education,” says Ryan’s website. “It is imperative, then, that we allocate our limited financial resources effectively and efficiently.”

DC Council candidates ramp up fundraising
With nearly 75 percent of D.C. voters registered Democratic, local partisan elections frequently draw less interest than primaries, which this year were held in April. Incumbent council members Jack Evans and Muriel Bowser raised $1500 and $19217
The fight for school libraries in DC
Mayor Vincent C. Gray and D.C. Council members have said they want to keep the city’s public neighborhood libraries open seven days a week. But Jack Evans has accused them of being all talk and no action. They certainly didn’t provide more funding to …

Report: DCPS efforts to curb truancy hurt by understaffing
Inspector General Charles Willoughby’s office also said lax policies created inconsistent responses to unexcused absences throughout the system, a problem DCPS says it began to correct last school year.

Education plan doesn’t replace poor parenting
President Obama recently wrote an executive order that established a White House initiative on educational excellence for black Americans that will be housed in the Department of Education. It proposes “to identify evidence-based best practices” to …

DC Council needs permanent education policy office

When Chairman Kwame Brown resigned from the DC Council earlier this year, 2 of his 3 committee staff members overseeing education left with him, causing an all-too-common “brain drain” of Council committee staff. Until committee staff members are hired centrally by policy professionals, and not directly by councilmembers, the council will be unable to effectively budget, legislate and provide oversight in the area of education.