By Dennis Powell, e-Management

The late advice columnist Abigail Van Buren (“Dear Abbey”) once said, “True, a little learning is a dangerous thing, but it still beats total ignorance.” Benjamin Franklin believed, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” The late Nelson Mandela asserted, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” The verdict is in! Education means a lot of things to different people.

Spotlight on Education
For this government spotlight, e-Management wanted to examine the federal government and its role in education. To begin, we had to take a closer look at the U.S. Department of Education (E.D.). After all, more than 4,400 employees support the department’s mission “to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.” The agency has only been around since 1980 following President Jimmy Carter’s signing of the Department of Education Organization Act. Today, the agency has a $68 billion budget, which goes toward collecting data on schools and leading education research; calling attention to the most pressing issues in education; ensuring equal access to education and ending discrimination; and finally, driving the policies that shape federal financial aid for students.

4 Gold Stars for E.D.
The department clearly has its hands full. So, we had to narrow down E.D.’s good work to four stellar initiatives for students.

1. School Improvement: Locating the Dropout Crisis (2004) reveals that more than half of the nation’s 1.2 million dropouts come from fewer than 15% of schools. To address this surprising statistic, the Department of Education administers the School Improvement Grant (SIG) program, which provides grants to states. Since 2009, more than $4.5 billion has gone to support the SIG program. SIG grants provide better resources to underserved public schools in rural and urban areas. The goal of this program is to increase achievement among students of all ethnicity who attend low-performing schools.
2. Financial Aid: The average annual tuition cost for private and public colleges is about $24,000.  Naturally, many students use scholarships, grants, and loans to subsidize their college expenses. The Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) is here to help. FSA provides $150 billion each year in tuition support. Through FSA programs, students qualify for work-study funds, grants, and low-interest loans.
3. Arts Education: In our National Endowment for the Arts blog spotlight, we talked about the challenges around arts education. E.D. supports arts education through grants. Earlier this week, the agency announced its awarding of $13.4 million to 34 organizations around the country. Specifically, these educations grants will support arts educators. The grants will also have the added benefit of being tools for educators around the country to share best practices for improving student achievement.
4. Public Charter Schools: Public Charter Schools are controversial organizations. Advocates for those learning institutions point to a recent National Charter School Study from the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University. The report suggests that these schools are effective for low-income, immigrant, and minority students. The Department of Education seems to agree. This week the agency awarded nearly $40 million in grants for the expansion and creation of new “high quality” public charter schools. The grants will help build on the formulas of successful and high achieving charter schools and will affect students of underserved communities in 12 states. Overall, the department has invested more than $220 million over the last 12 months for “high quality charter schools and the dissemination of their successful efforts.”

What can E.D. do for you?
The Department of Education’s 35-year history isn’t without controversy. The department has come under fire for No Child Left Behind and the Common Core—even though the latter is a National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) initiative. Speaking of , (1) do you think the new standards are good for students? (2) What do you think the Department of Education should be doing more of when it comes to education policy? (3) How would you grade the Department of Education?