Don't forget to register for the College and Career Readiness Summit on Friday, June 14, 2013. The Summit will be held at Cedars Conference Center in McPherson. Superintendents are invited and encouraged to bring members of their administrative teams.

Registration is free. Click the image at the right to register. Please note: There are separate registrations for the Summit and the Summer Conference. One (1) person per registration form.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee passed out of committee, the Strengthening America's Schools Act (SASA), a bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The 12‐10 vote was along party lines and represented a departure from the bipartisan nature of the 2011 HELP Committee bill.

The U.S. Department of Education is proud to announce that the first-ever Principal Ambassador Fellowship has officially launched! The Principal Ambassador Fellowship has been modeled after the Teacher Ambassador Fellowship that the Department has offered since 2008. Secretary Arne Duncan unveiled the program to the public at a National Association of Secondary School Principals conference earlier this year. Principals can click here to apply for the 2013-2014 school year The deadline is July 16, 2013.

EMC Insurance Companies, which insure a majority of Kansas schools, says concealed handguns on school premises pose a heightened liability risk. In a memo dated May 15, 2013, the company informed its Kansas agents that it will not insure schools that allow employees to carry concealed weapons. Schools who are currently insured by EMC and allow concealed carry will not be renewed.

The National Institute for Early Education Research’s (NIEER) released State of Preschool 2012 Yearbook. According to NIEER’s latest study, 28 percent of America’s 4-year-olds were enrolled in a state-funded preschool program in the 2011-2012 school year, the same percentage as the year before. This stagnation in enrollment growth was compounded by an unprecedented funding drop of $500 million nationwide. The State of Preschool 2012 Yearbook looks at Kansas' two state-funded early learning programs, the Four-Year-Old At-Risk Program and the Kansas Pre-K program, specifically looking at policies supporting early learning, state spending and access to programs.

The Kansas Afterschool Alliance is teaming up with the Noyce Foundation to recognize exemplary afterschool STEM programs serving young people in grades 4 through 8.Help us showcase how afterschool STEM programs are helping young people get excited and engaged in STEM.Applications are due by May 15 - Apply now!