AP - Challenging civil rights organizations and teachers' unions that have criticized his education policies, President Barack Obama said Thursday that minority students have the most to gain from overhauling the nation's schools.

• Obama refuses to budge on Race to the Top education reforms (The Christian Science Monitor)
  The Christian Science Monitor - President Obama made it clear Thursday morning that he has no intention of backing down from his education reform agenda, despite criticism from core constituencies in his own party.  More
  
  
• Obama defends education policies to critics (AP)
  

  AP - Challenging civil rights organizations and teachers' unions that have criticized his education policies, President Barack Obama said Thursday that minority students have the most to gain from overhauling the nation's schools.

  
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• Obama to deliver education reform speech Thursday (AP)
  AP - President Barack Obama will deliver an education reform speech Thursday morning at the National Urban League's 100th Anniversary Convention in the nation's capital.  More
  
  
• AP-Univision Poll: College dreams for Hispanics (AP)
  

  AP - More than 10 years have passed since she gave up her pursuit of a degree in computer science, but Yajahira Deaza still has regrets. She says she feels incomplete.

  
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• Do Elite Universities Discriminate Against Poor Whites? (Time.com)
  Time.com - A Q&A with Princeton sociologist Thomas Espenshade on his decade-long investigation into college admissions practices at eight elite schools  More
  
  
• 18 states, DC are education reform grant finalists (AP)
  

  AP - Eighteen states and the District of Columbia were named finalists Tuesday in the second round of the federal "Race to the Top" school reform grant competition, giving them a chance to receive a share of $3.4 billion.

  
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• Government taps 19 states for education grant finals (Reuters)
  Reuters - The Department of Education has selected 19 states to vie for $3.4 billion in grants aimed at improving their schools, Secretary Arne Duncan said in a speech on Tuesday.  More
  
  
  • Obama refuses to budge on Race to the Top education reforms (The Christian Science Monitor)
    The Christian Science Monitor - President Obama made it clear Thursday morning that he has no intention of backing down from his education reform agenda, despite criticism from core constituencies in his own party.  More
    
    
  • Obama defends education policies to critics (AP)
    

    AP - Challenging civil rights organizations and teachers' unions that have criticized his education policies, President Barack Obama said Thursday that minority students have the most to gain from overhauling the nation's schools.

    
      More
    
    
  • Obama to deliver education reform speech Thursday (AP)
    AP - President Barack Obama will deliver an education reform speech Thursday morning at the National Urban League's 100th Anniversary Convention in the nation's capital.  More
    
    
  • AP-Univision Poll: College dreams for Hispanics (AP)
    

    AP - More than 10 years have passed since she gave up her pursuit of a degree in computer science, but Yajahira Deaza still has regrets. She says she feels incomplete.

    
      More
    
    
  • Do Elite Universities Discriminate Against Poor Whites? (Time.com)
    Time.com - A Q&A with Princeton sociologist Thomas Espenshade on his decade-long investigation into college admissions practices at eight elite schools  More
    
    
  • 18 states, DC are education reform grant finalists (AP)
    

    AP - Eighteen states and the District of Columbia were named finalists Tuesday in the second round of the federal "Race to the Top" school reform grant competition, giving them a chance to receive a share of $3.4 billion.

    
      More
    
    
  • Government taps 19 states for education grant finals (Reuters)
    Reuters - The Department of Education has selected 19 states to vie for $3.4 billion in grants aimed at improving their schools, Secretary Arne Duncan said in a speech on Tuesday.  More
    
    
  • Consumer confidence retreats further in July (AP)
    

    AP - Americans' confidence in the economy eroded further in July amid worries about a job market that has proven stubbornly stagnant. The report raised concerns about the overall economy and the back-to-school season.

    
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  • Fewer parents to cut back-to-school budget (Reuters)
    Reuters - Fewer parents plan to cut their back-to-school budgets, but they will count on smartphones and social networking to find the best bargains during the second biggest shopping season of the year, according to a Deloitte survey released on Tuesday.  More
    
    
  • Obama to defend education plan (Politico)
    Politico - President Barack Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan will deliver major speeches this week on their $4.35 billion Race to the Top school reform program, pushing back against complaints that it promotes unproven methods and ignores long-standing inequities in public education.  More
    
    
  • Ed Dept, civil rights leaders discuss reform (AP)
    AP - Civil rights leaders are criticizing Obama administration education reforms aimed at turning around low performing schools and closing the achievement gap for minority students.  More
    
    
  • Educated people cope better with dementia (Reuters)
    Reuters - Educated people are better able to cope with the physical effects of dementia, and even one extra year of education can significantly cut the risk of developing the brain-wasting disease, scientists said on Monday.  More
    
    
  • Hundreds of DC school employees to be dismissed (AP)
    AP - The D.C. Public Schools are firing 241 teachers and warning more than 700 other employees that they could be fired in the next year if their performance doesn't improve.  More
    
    
  • Proposed federal rules target for-profit colleges (AP)
    AP - The Education Department proposed much-anticipated regulations Friday that would cut off federal aid to for-profit college programs if too many of their students default on loans or don't earn enough after graduation to repay them.  More
    
    
  • Sector Snap: For-profit education shares rise (AP)
    AP - Shares of for-profit education companies soared Friday after the Department of Education proposed new rules that should allow most schools in the industry to continue to receive federal loan funds.  More
    
    
  • Public sector losing jobs in this recession: report (Reuters)
    Reuters - State and local governments have cut fewer jobs than the private sector during the recession, but public education is still facing its worst job losses in 30 years, according to a report.  More
    
    
  • 2 more plead guilty in Obama student loan case (AP)
    AP - Two former employees of a U.S. Department of Education contractor in Iowa have pleaded guilty to illegally viewing President Barack Obama's student loan records.  More
    
    
  • Education inventors get boost under new programs (AP)
    AP - A movement is under way to make it easier for entrepreneurs to navigate the lucrative and sometimes-tricky education market and introduce new technology and products into classrooms.  More
    
    
  • Police: Decomposed body is missing Calif. teen (AP)
    

    AP - Authorities identified a decomposed body Wednesday as that of a 17-year-old girl who was likely kidnapped while walking home from school last week in Southern California.

    
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  • Rural schools from apartheid cloud S.Africa's future (Reuters)
    Reuters - A tap with running water came when apartheid ended, electricity came 14 years later but the text books for each student have yet to arrive at Knoppiesfontein Primary Farm School.  More