It is a pleasure to talk to the members of the NNPA, who have played such an important role in giving voice to communities whose voices too often go unheard. One of the most extraordinary opportunities in my job is that I get to visit hallowed ground. I have had the honor of standing in the footsteps of giants who fought and won battles for equal educational opportunity.

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U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that 11 states will receive funding to continue efforts to turn around their persistently lowest achieving schools through the Department's School Improvement Grants (SIG) program.

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with the South Carolina Technical College System (SCTCS), the state's largest higher education system, that will ensure that the websites of SCTCS and its 16-member colleges are accessible to persons with disabilities.

In March 2012, ED’s Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) announced the release of an innovative FAFSA Completion Tool to help guidance professionals, school administrators and practitioners both track and subsequently increase FAFSA completions at high schools acro

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has announced the appointment of David J. Johns as executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Healthy Students has awarded Perry Hall High School in Baltimore County, Md., a Project School Emergency Response to Violence (SERV) grant, totaling more than $35,000, to assist with ongoing recovery efforts following a school shooting in August—on the first day of school.

Today the U.S. Department of Education released provisional school-level graduation rates for 2010-11 – the first school year for which all states used a common, rigorous measure for reporting high school graduates.

Where can you go to find— in one place— Arne Duncan, Mark Zuckerberg, Marco Rubio, Stephen Hawking, and Snoop Dogg agreeing with each

By Arne Duncan and Kathleen Sebelius. Reposted from the Huffington Post.

In honor of Black History Month, the White House recently held a Champions of Change event honoring 10 leaders who are working to ensure that African American students in their community receive an education that prepares them for high school graduation, college completion, and productive careers

Yesterday, some 6,500 students in Chicago were moving, shaking, jumping and dancing in what may have been the largest coordinated “recess” in history. Why the sudden burst of activity? It has a lot to do with a one of the enthusiastic recess leaders: First Lady Michelle Obama.

Rolling Terrace Elementary School represents so much of what we want our country to be like and aspire to. Many of the students at Rolling Terrace grow up in poverty and the children speak as many as 35 different languages—it's a baby United Nations! But the children are thriving. They have great adults who take care of them and are excited to work with them.

An educator asks a questi

Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced it has received requests from Pennsylvania, Texas and Wyoming for flexibility from No Child Left Behind in exchange for state-developed plans to prepare all students for college and careers, focus aid on the neediest students, and support effective teaching and leadership.

It's a pleasure to speak again to principals, and to be back before the NASSP. I'm going to keep my remarks relatively brief. I want to speak first to the impact that sequestration could have on educating our children and youth. And then I want to talk about three elements of our second term agenda that will especially impact principals.

The U.S. Department of Education today issued a Dear Colleague letter to state school chiefs requesting immediate action to reduce gender-based violence in schools and to help ensure all students are safe.