Profile on U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Learn more about his passion for quality education and plans for the department.

The United States Department of Education this week urged states to "act now" to get their applications in for stimulus package funding. Education Secretary Duncan said that states should act as quickly as possible on State Fiscal Stabilization Funds to help move reforms forward and to protect teaching jobs that are at risk.

Third, there's more great ideas about what works around the country than ever before. What I've said repeatedly is I don't have to come up with any great ideas. My job is to listen, to learn. And that in every inner-city community around the country and many, many rural communities, there are extraordinary schools, great educators who are beating the odds every day. My job is to listen to them, to invest in them, to take to scale what works. And there's been this blossoming of entrepreneurial ideas and energy around education over the past 10 to 15 years. And we know what is possible: Regardless of socioeconomic challenges, regardless of family background, when children have a chance to get a great education, they do very, very well.

This week the RAND Corporation released its fourth and final study in a series of comprehensive reports on California's preschool system. In this moment of unprecedented fiscal hardship, the RAND research provides guidance on how California can most effectively and efficiently spend its early education dollars, and shows how early childhood education is critical in our efforts to close the achievement gap.

A promised deluge of federal stimulus funds for preschools, a major priority for President Barack Obama, will start flowing to centers in San Diego just as state funding is being clipped. That might sound like a blessing, but dollars from state, federal and other programs cannot be easily swapped to plug gaps. The push-and-pull on preschool money is putting many centers in the paradoxical position of juggling expected cuts with investments in better programs and training, benefiting some families and not others.

This article about San Diego Unified School District paints an honest picture of the classic struggle that many school districts and counties will face in trying to get together an Economic Stimulus action plan so quickly that favors school reform ideas put forth by Arne Duncan. Union negotiations, feedback from teachers, parents and community will all stall the process.

An Alternative Accessible Version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) PreK-12 Education "Saving and Creating Jobs and Reforming Education" Powerpoint Presentation given by Andrea Ball at the May 2009 State Board of Education Meeting. Outlines all of the stimulus funding programs.

Race to the Top, as ED has described it in the past, is designed to "help states with bold plans to improve student achievement." It will provide $4.35 billion to create incentives for states to create "innovative" programs that can be replicated throughout the country. And, in general, it will be aimed at funding programs that satisfy the principles outlined in the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, which include creating and saving jobs; ensuring transparency, reporting, and accountability; and improving student achievement through school improvement and reform.

To save the school, he fired the entire staff and put a nonprofit group in charge. New principals and teachers were brought in to set the school on the right path. "Sometimes it takes a fresh start," says Don Feinstein, executive director of the Academy for Urban School Leadership, the nonprofit group that took over Howe in September and now runs a total of eight "turnaround" schools along with six teacher-training academies in the city.

he passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has provided unprecedented levels of federal funding for education, and it has prompted most grant writers across the country (from all disciplines, not just education) to prepare themselves for a deluge of funding announcements--many of which will require quick turnaround times for proposals.

This Broadband Stimulus Webinar is sponsored by Aperto, Wireless Connections and Edgenics. It is being hosted by the E Broadband Services Alliances (EBSALL), a non-for-profit alliance founded by the three companies to provide broadband services to under-served and un-served markets. This Webinar will provide valuable insights concerning: (1) opportunities for funding broadband initiatives under provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA); (2) WiMAX wireless technologies used to implement broadband networks with insights on the design, engineering, and planning of broadband networks; and (3) best practices for securing broadband funding.

The following provides national and state-by-state breakdowns of funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that has been budgeted for distribution by the U.S. Department of Education, based on estimates by the department.

More than $7 billion available to bring broadband access to underserved areas

We're supposed to have an economic "stimulus" plan to both stave off further economic decline and invest in key 21st century assets such as broadband and electronic medical records. In the 90-plus days since its approval, it is disarming how little of the stimulus money has been invested and how far the funding allocation dates have been pushed back. In the case of broadband networks, the original stated goal was to have as much as half the stimulus funds committed or spent by Sept. 30. Now the federal government's Web site, www.recovery.gov, lists the first award date as Dec. 31.

In a report released Tuesday, ABI says the government will spend $6.8 billion for "wireless communications upgrades and new deployments" over the next two years, thus providing "a significant one-off opportunity for wireless equipment vendors."

28-page report from SETDA on the current state of broadband in our educational system

This funding will be distributed via grants, loans and loan guarantees for broadband infrastructure. At least 75% of areas to be served with these funds must be in a rural area without sufficient access to high speed broadband. \n

While the majority of schools have basic Internet access, it's often limited, slow and not capable of handling the technology applications our administrators and educators need to ensure our students are prepared for the 21st century workplace and life. As we continue to expand use of digital learning environments to deliver personal and adaptive experiences for our students, the need to ensure rich connectivity in and out of the classroom becomes paramount.

NTIA will have a total of $4,549,000,000 to award to grant recipients that will be available until September 30, 2010. Of the amount provided, NTIA will use about $3,749,000,000 for infrastructure-related grants; not less than $200,000,000 for competitive grants for expanding public computer center capacity; not less than $250,000,000 for competitive grants for innovative programs to encourage sustainable adoption of broadband services; and up to $350,000,000 to develop and maintain a broadband inventory map