Where does learner-centered education stand in your list of priorities? AERO is the main networker and promoter of education alternatives around the world. But we are a very small nonprofit. We depend on support from the people in our network so we can keep fighting for these choices to be available to parents and children everywhere.

The second is the Montessori article.  Montessori  did  NOT write "The Hundred Languages of Children." That comes from the  extraordinary educators of Reggio Emelia in Italy, edited by Edwards,  Gandini and Forman.

By Hanna Greenberg

For many years now a Halloween dance has taken place in the barn. Wearing a costume is optional but most people come wearing something funky, beautiful or amusing.
The dances are totally organized by students, while staff serve as chaperones who are willing to lend a hand when asked but do not affect the way the dance is run.

Every year the ambiance is unique: the decorations are different, the music chosen by the DJ is different, and the people attending are whoever wishes to come. On the other hand firm traditions have evolved over the years of which I will name just a few. The age range of the kids is from five to twenty, and they all observe and comment on each others outfits, join in the dancing and participate in the Limbo Contest. It is so lovely to see how kids of all ages and sizes attempt to pass under the pole without touching it or falling, until the two who hold the pole are down on their knees and all but one person manages to get through it.

By  Roger Riddell

Initially adopted by nearly all states and the District of Columbia, the Common Core State Standards received backlash  - particularly in red states - following the Obama administration's backing of them and subsequent efforts to encourage their adoption via measures like federal Race to the Top grants.

That many states largely kept them intact while rebranding them with new names or minor tweaks isn't exactly news. Indiana was notably  the first state to "drop" the standards, though retired University of Arkansas professor and Common Core opponent  Sandra Stotsky notably referred to initial replacement drafts as a "warmed-over version of Common Core's standards" for English language arts. But the report from Achieve provides a great, big-picture view of just how common that approach was among states that made changes to the standards.

Long before there was an independent federal education department-before many states had school systems, in fact-there was a federal education statistics agency.

Today, the National Center for Education Statistics celebrates its 150th anniversary (albeit without a permanent commissioner in place). Though the agency remains independent of the Education Department, its work has laid a bedrock for education policy in the United States in areas from large-scale testing, to tracking students over time, to using surveys and local administrative data to understand changes in schools.

Colleen Wilson

Coming up with school improvement project ideas is no longer limited to district officials, architects and consultants in the Chappaqua Central School District - students now have a voice in that process.

Through an after-school club at Horace Greeley High School, students last month began pitching projects to improve their school in a "Shark Tank"-style event, mimicking the popular TV show where entrepreneurs present new business ideas to investors.

Students researched, worked in groups and presented ideas that could be eligible for grant money from the Chappaqua School Foundation, a nonprofit that funds projects and programs outside the scope of the district budget.