In advance of the release of the highly anticipated motion picture Annie, in theaters on December 19, 2014, Sony Pictures Entertainment is helping to support Turnaround Arts, a signature program of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. Turnaround Arts works with local program partners to provide intensive arts education resources to clusters of high-poverty schools across the country, leading to increases in attendance, academic achievement, and student engagement. As part of a collaboration with Annie to promote arts education, Turnaround Arts will receive support, and Turnaround Arts schools who want to put on the Broadway classic will get resources and assistance in staging their production.

The initiative kicked off Wednesday, September 10, 2014 in Minneapolis, where Jamie Foxx, Quvenzhan� Wallis, and filmmaker Will Gluck visited Northport Elementary, a Turnaround Arts school, where they met the first-through-fifth graders and worked with students preparing to audition for their school production of "Annie."

Commenting on the announcement, Margo Lion, Co-Chair of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, said, "We are thrilled to be working with Sony Pictures and the new film of Annie, a truly beloved American musical, to get more arts education into the schools that need it the most. For any school, producing and performing a musical can be a memorable event. For our Turnaround Arts schools, it can be transformational. Students, parents and teachers get involved building sets, sewing costumes and rehearsing, and the whole community hums with excitement and expectation. In schools that often struggle with low morale and low parent and student engagement, putting on a musical is a doorway into more teamwork and collaboration, and we are excited to be there with Sony Pictures and Annie as the curtain goes up on these efforts."  >>READ MORE 

The Oregon Department of Education has fined Portland Public Schools for over-disciplining African American special education students at a higher rate than other students. This punishment requires the district to use $1.5 million, which is 15% of its federal funding from Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) during the 2014-2015 school year and the 2015-2016 school year to resolve this issue.

Kelly House of The Oregonian reports that according to district spokesperson Christine Miles, the money is to be used to implement programs that will improve this pattern of disciplining special education students too severely and often.

Portland Public Schools has had a long-term issue with imbalanced discipline of minority young people.  School districts nationwide have had this same issue take place, as The Oregonian previously reported.

Superintendent Carole Smith made oversight of the district's disciplinary practices one of her goals for the 2014-2015 school year.  The state department sanctioned the district in 2011 for this same reason.  >>READ MORE 

Former private charter school principal Scott Given, who founded the nonprofit UP Network in 2010, will meet with Springfield School Committee members Monday night to outline the group's proposal to open the first UP Academy west of Interstate-495 in fall 2016.

In an interview with The Republican, MassLive.com, Given said, the UP (unlocking potential) Education Network essentially "restarts" existing public schools - from the hiring of principals and teachers to outlining a curriculum with the aim of substantially boosting performance at struggling schools.

The city of Springfield requested the proposal from the UP Education Network to help improve performance at a yet-to-be-identified underperforming, or state-rated Level 4, middle school in Springfield.  >>READ MORE 

In an immediate effort to support music education, Jostens will donate $50,000 to the GRAMMY Foundation today to promote the educational and inspirational impacts of music in high schools.  Additionally, students across the U.S. will have the opportunity to join Jostens in raising up to $100,000 for music education through yearbook and class ring customization offerings between September 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015. When a student purchases the music icon for the cover of their Jostens yearbook, Jostens will donate $1 to the GRAMMY Foundation (up to $50,000). When a student purchases a Jostens Heritage� or Achiever� class ring with a Music Design-A-Side�, Jostens will donate $1 to the GRAMMY Foundation (up to $50,000).  

"Working with educators to increase the climate and culture across U.S. schools is a priority for Jostens, and music programs are shown to be beneficial to students' motivation and academic achievement," said Chuck Mooty, president and CEO, Jostens. "We are honored to partner with the GRAMMY Foundation to further the work they are doing to support music education in high schools and make a difference in people's lives through music." >>READ MORE