In regard to children’s physical activity, educational institutions should prioritize quality over quantity in their exercise programs.

Aaron Sams has become synonymous with Flipped Learning around the world. An award winning educator who speaks and consults on new learning designs took time to debunk myths and update us on how Flipped Learning is becoming common practice in schools all over the world. Dr. Berger: From the outside Flipped Learning appears to have been generated from the educator and in response to antiquated delivery systems and experiences in the classroom for both teacher and student. How can we include administrators, in the process, so that the entire school embraces new methods for educating students? Aaron Sams: You are right. much of the Flipped Learning wave has come from the ground up. From teachers in classrooms. However, we are reaching the point where the early adopters and innovators are soaring, and these teachers are the ones who often try new things in their classrooms without seeking support from outside sources …

By Kristin Decarr

EI Days experts talk about the challenges edtech entrepreneurs face in education.

The University of Phoenix probably wishes the students were just cutting class. But many aren’t even enrolled anymore.Enrollment at America’s largest for-profit university was about 460,000 students five years ago. Now it’s 213,000.The University of Phoenix’s parent company, Apollo Education Group (APOL), announced more losses Wednesday. Its revenues and enrollment both sank roughly 14% in its latest quarter compared to a year ago.Apollo CEO Greg Cappelli tried to strike an optimistic tone, but investors gave the stock an “F” for falling. The stock tanked almost 30% Wednesday. Read the rest of the story on CNN Money.

by Maureen SullivanWith a speech at Liberty University in Virginia on Monday, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) became the first candidate to declare for the 2016 presidential election. Just about every chance he gets he says he believes school choice is the civil rights issue of the 21st century. Here’s a look at some of his other views on education issues:Common Core State Standards:“We need to repeal Common Core,” he told the Heritage Foundation’s Conservative Policy Summit in January. “We need to get the federal government out of the business of dictating educational standards. Education is far too important for it to be governed by unelected bureaucrats in Washington. It should be at the state level or even better at the local level.”Read the rest of the story at Forutune

by Maggie HabermanThe last time she ran for president, Hillary Rodham Clinton did not have to take a position on the Common Core, Race to the Top or teacher evaluations in tenure decisions.She won the endorsement of one of the nation’s largest teachers’ unions in 2007 after deploring the use of standardized tests and the underfunding of the No Child Left Behind law by President George W. Bush’s administration.Now, as she prepares for a likely second run at the White House, Mrs. Clinton — who largely avoided domestic policy when she was secretary of state — is re-entering the fray like a Rip Van Winkle for whom the terrain on education standards has shifted markedly, with deep new fissures in the Democratic Party. Read the rest of the article on the New York Times website.

Online learning platforms like edX and Udacity began by offering free education but have become significant rivals in enhancing careers.

By: Matt Zalaznick District Administration, March 2015 N inth graders in North Carolina take all their classes on the campus of a major state university. Early-college high school students in Connecticut can gain an inside track to one of the world’s largest tech companies. Online and blended learners in Michigan can spend a fifth year in high school and graduate with an associate’s degree.Aside from providing a money-saving jump-start on college, the rapid spread of early-college high school programs is spurring closer collaboration between K12 and higher ed around preparing students for the rigors of college life and coursework.“This definitely provides a really good opportunity for K12 and college partners to be more explicit about their shared expectations for students,” says Joel Vargas, vice president of Jobs for the Future, a nonprofit that, among other initiatives, helps districts design early-college programs. “They have figured out a way to share responsibility for providing …

ASCD 2015 has wrapped in Houston. Check out highlights and prepare for next year in Atlanta, Georgia!

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is highlighting private-sector efforts to encourage more students from underrepresented groups to pursue education in science, technology, engineering and math.At the White House Science Fair on Monday, Obama will announce more than $240 million in pledges to boost the study of those fields, known as STEM. This year’s fair is focused on diversity.Obama will say the new commitments have brought total financial and material support for these programs to $1 billion. Read the rest of the story at U-T San Diego

ASCD wraps in Houston. Check out Monday’s action!

Baruti Kafele, better known as Principal Kafele, communicates his experiences in educational leadership with great conviction. An award winning leader Principal Kafele has impacted all sectors and stakeholders in education through his public speaking, books and consulting. His latest book “The Principal 50” focuses on the critical questions needed to drive excellence in school leadership.

Josh Starr, former Superintendent of Montgomery County Schools, Maryland, discusses life in educational leadership. Starr opens up in his first interview since resigning his post. He talks about the community of superintendents and the demands of the position. Starr also recaps his tenure in office and the environment his successor will be inheriting.

By Jimmy Vielkind ALBANY—Voters offered a mixed appraisal of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s various budget proposals, but a new poll finds a majority believe he should separate his proposed changes to the state’s ethics and education plans from the $141.6 billion spending plan currently under negotiation with lawmakers.The Siena Research Institute found 56 percent of the 800 voters surveyed wanted to see the education plans dropped, and 54 percent wanted to see ethics addressed as a separate bill.Cuomo, a Democrat, has said he won’t approve a budget that isn’t linked to a five-point ethics plan that includes forcing lawmakers to disclose their law and business clients. He’s also yoked a proposed $1.1 billion increase in school aid to changes to teacher evaluation and tenure laws, an increase in the amount of charter schools in the state, the extension of tuition assistance to undocumented immigrants—known as the Dream Act—and a tax credit on …