Society
Postal Trendwatch – April 2014
Click here to download the full study as PDF. Executive Summary The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) lost $354 million in Q1 FY 2014 -- the 19th money-losing quarter of the prior 21. Still, the loss represents a significant improvement over the $1.3-billion ...
International Postal Update — April 2014
ROYAL MAIL AND UK RETAILERS SHIFT TOWARD E-COMMERCE Royal Mail and retailers look to capitalize on e-commerce growth. Royal Mail recently launched a television advertising campaign targeting parcel business customers -- its first in five years. The po ...
Snow Days Need Not Get in the Way of Learning
Pennsylvania kids wishing for snow days might soon come into a shock while parents breathe a sigh of relief. That’s because the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives passed the Online Education Initiative, a proposal that could replace the Xbox with online classes on snow days.
New Postal Service Offerings Raise Questions
Issue Brief February 20, 2014 Summary A new U.S. Postal Service product offering and one recently proposed could generate new revenue via direct financial services to consumers and same-day metropolitan package delivery. But pertinent questions of reg ...
Updating Career and Technical Education For The 21st Century
Career and Technical Education (CTE) is undergoing rapid change in many schools across the United States, as educators strive to connect school programs with actual workplace needs. But while a small number of exemplary models are demonstrating powerful progress, as measured by postgraduation outcomes, many of the 17,000 high schools that offer CTE remain mired in outdated instructional models.
Consider Performance-Based Funding for Education
Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch The newly minted governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, has a short window in which to impact the Old Dominion’s education landscape. As his team moves to advance his schools agenda, including boosting funding for the Stand ...
Wiring Schools for the 21st Century – What it Will Take
All children should have access to a high-quality education, but many in the United States are denied this opportunity because of a wide range of contributing factors, some easier to solve than others. As more and better instructional tools and materials are becoming available online, it is more essential that schools be wired with adequate, reliable broadband Internet connections. This allows schools to deliver both the content and the interactive online environment where actionable feedback directly guides students’ progress, supporting teachers and allowing them to produce remarkable efficiencies in learning. The nation’s best blended-learning schools fully integrate technology into their instruction in this way and produce powerful results, especially when it comes to closing achievement ...
Course Choice Proving a Promising Ed Reform Approach
The first of its kind and scope in the United States, Louisiana’s Course Choice program presents a promising opportunity to reduce achievement gaps while providing significant new educational options . .
Event: What Can Blended Learning Do for Virginia Students and Schools?
Blended learning – personalizing education by fully integrating technology into classroom instruction – is registering powerful academic results around the country. Increasingly, an innovation that . . .
An Insecure ‘Smart’ Grid is Not So Smart
The electrical grid is vital not only to civil society but to the military as well. Defending it against the threats of the post-9/11 era requires strategic thinking to complement the grid’s focus on local interests ...