Newly elected and re-elected senators and representatives took the oath of office for the 111th Congress, which convened on Jan. 6, 2008. While most of the press focused on those who were not sworn in for one reason or another - Roland Burris (D) of Illinois and Al Franken (D) and/or Norm Coleman (R) from Minnesota - there were celebrations all over Capitol Hill to mark the occasion.

Those off the Hill were busy planning for the unprecedented crowds that will arrive in the capital city for the historic swearing in Barack Obama. Those not engaged in party planning were busy having conversations about the fragile state of the American economy. Hearings were held before many committees on both sides of the Capitol. Obama met with House and Senate leaders and also gave his first major policy speech in several months on the topic of the economy and the actions his government will be prepared to take to address the crisis. Though Congress had hoped to have a stimulus bill on his desk on inauguration day, it now appears that the target for completion of what is likely to be a trillion-dollar package will be President's Day. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) were both quoted this week saying Congress would not take another recess until work on what is now called the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" is complete.

The promise of such an enormous tax-cutting and spending package has prompted every advocacy and interest group imaginable to promote a "vital piece" to include in the plan. A group of governors called on Congress to include $250 billion for general education support to the states. This could pay for everything from early childhood education to full funding for IDEA. College and university presidents are looking for a $6 billion campus infrastructure package plus another $6 billion to increase the size of the maximum Pell Grant award. K-12 advocates, beyond the large block grant, want to see a large portion of the overall infrastructure plan targeted to school construction and renovation. And the list goes on. The needs are enormous, and Nobel Prize-winning economists have convinced a large percentage of legislators that the government must spend its way out of this recession. This debate will dominate congressional activity for the next few weeks.

It is hoped that also during the next few weeks Congress will take final action on the FY 2009 budget, which has been folded into one omnibus spending bill. The $60 billion contained in that legislation for education sounds like a pittance in the context of the current debate about economic recovery.

On Jan. 7, Education Week released its 13th annual Quality Counts report, "Portrait of a Population: How English-Language Learners are Putting Schools to the Test." The report used in-depth journalism and multiple data sources to investigate and present conclusions on the diverse and growing English language learner (ELL) population in the U.S. Education Week's Virginia Edwards welcomed the audience to the event and noted that Quality Counts 2009 contains data, journalistic research and explanatory articles on the growing population of ELLs in the United States. Christopher Swanson and Amy Hightower, with the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, highlighted the content of the report, including a portrait of this diverse population and the academic challenges these students present to public schools. Also discussed in the report is the role of certified English-as-a-second-language (ESL) teachers, the assessment and accountability standards for ELLs and state funding for ELL programs.

The event included a panel discussion with Ana Sol Gutierrez, a Maryland House Delegate; Kris Gutierrez with the University of California, Los Angeles (also on the Obama Education Policy Transition Team); Maria Santos with the New York City Department of Education; and Deborah Short with the Center for Applied Linguistics. The panelists discussed the greatest challenges facing ELLs in the United States, with the consensus that these students do not receive enough attention from policy makers. Citing their experiences with even high-quality public school systems failing ELLs, panelists believe the public education system has yet to fully embrace and adapt to these students. The topic of the panelists' Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization "wish list" arose, which included required ELL training for all teachers in a district with ELLs, five- and six- year high school graduation plans, a language threshold test administered before NAEP tests and federal guidelines for funding ELL programs in states. Of special note are Gutierrez' recommendations because of her role on the Education Policy Presidential Transition Team. Specifically, she asserted that ESEA reauthorization should yield a national definition of ELLs, longitudinal tracking data for ELLs and allowance of native language academic achievement tests, where appropriate.

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On Tuesday, Jan. 6, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) introduced a series of 10 bills conveying the Democratic majority's priorities for the 111th Congress. One of these bills, S.7, is a "Sense of the Congress," which urges the 111th Congress to consider and pass education legislation that reflects much of President-elect Obama's broad education priorities. Titled the Education Opportunity Act of 2009, the bill urges Congress to enact legislation that expands educational opportunities for Americans by: (1) increasing access to high-quality early childhood education and expanding child care, after school and extended learning opportunities; (2) improving accountability and assessment measures for elementary and secondary school students, increasing secondary school graduation rates and supporting elementary and secondary school improvement efforts; (3) strengthening teacher preparation, induction and support to recruit and retain qualified and effective teachers in high-need schools; (4) enhancing the rigor and relevance of state academic standards and encouraging innovative reform at the middle and high school levels; (5) strengthening mathematics and science curricula and instruction; and (6) increasing federal grant aid for students and the families of students, improving the rate of post-secondary degree completion and providing tax incentives to make higher education more affordable.

The legislation is a "message bill," with no details or specifics, although upon its introduction, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the Democratic Conference Secretary, said, "For the first time in a long time, we have an opportunity to make a real difference in the way we treat health care and education. Our nation's economy and the strength of our communities depend on an effective and responsive education system. Reforming and improving these two critical systems will not be easy, but we stand ready to work with all of our colleagues to make the improvements our country deserves." The bill has 20 co-sponsors, all Democrats, and has been placed on the Senate calendar for consideration.

Obama Appoints Performance Officer: President-elect Obama has appointed Nancy Killefer, a director at McKinsey & Company and a former assistant secretary of the Treasury during the Clinton administration, to serve as the country's "chief performance officer." In this newly created post, Killefer will help to oversee reform of the federal government and its budget. As he named Killefer, Obama noted that he plans to scour the federal budget to eliminate what does not work and improve what does to "put government on the side of taxpayers." He said, "We can no longer afford to sustain the old ways when we know there are new and more efficient ways to getting the job done."

New House Education and Labor Committee Members Selected: As the 111th Congress officially got under way, new members of the House Education and Labor Committee were announced. New Democratic members include Reps. Marcia Fudge (Ohio), Jared Polis (Colo.), Paul Tonko (N.Y.) and Pedro Pierluisi (Puerto Rico). New Republican committee members were also announced, including Reps. Brett Guthrie (Ky.), Bill Cassidy (La.), Tom McClintock (Calif.), Duncan Hunter (Calif.) and Phil Roe (Tenn.). These additions bring the committee's total membership to 27 Democrats and 19 Republicans. Leaving the Education and Labor Committee to join the Ways and Means Committee are Reps. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.) and Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.). Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) has also left the committee to join the Energy and Commerce Committee. Additional committees, in both the House and Senate, will fill out in coming weeks.

Financial Literacy Advisory Council Presents Annual Report to President: On Jan. 6, the President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy held its seventh public meeting to discuss the accomplishments of the council's five committees and to approve the first report to the president. During this meeting a copy of this report was presented to Henry Paulson Jr., Treasury secretary. Among the accomplishments cited by the council's five committees were the successes of the Education Committee's "Money Math: Lessons for Life" curriculum and the "National Financial Literacy Challenge." Money Math is a curriculum designed to provide teachers and students with real-life, personal finance-related math concepts designed to improve financial literacy. The National Financial Literacy Challenge is a voluntary, 35-question test for high school students across the country that evaluates students' financial literacy knowledge. Between Nov. 3 and Dec. 12, 2008, more than 75,000 students participated in this test, with 362 students earning the National Financial Literacy Award medal. These students had perfect or near-perfect scores and received college scholarships from the Charles Schwab Foundation for their accomplishments. Following this meeting, the council proceeded to the White House to present the president with its report, which includes a total of 15 recommendations intended to improve financial literacy and education from preschool through adulthood. More info.

NIFL Releases Early Literacy Report: On Jan. 8, the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) released a new report titled "Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel." The report is the culmination of six years of research on the effectiveness of instructional practices, parenting activities and interventions used with children from birth through five years old to promote early literacy skills. The panel discovered that alphabet knowledge; phonological awareness; rapid automatic naming of letters, digits and colors; writing one's own name; and the ability to remember spoken information for a short period of time are all greatly predictive of later literacy achievement. The report goes on to identify instructional practices that enhance literacy skills for young children, such as shared-reading interventions, parent teaching, and preschool and kindergarten programs. "The findings suggest that there are a number of areas we can focus on in order to make a difference," said Dr. Timothy Shanahan, chairman of the panel. More info.

NCES Releases New Report on Adult Literacy: On Jan. 8, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released the National Assessment of Adult Literacy: Indirect County and State Estimates of the Percentage of Adults at the Lowest Literacy Level for 1992 and 2003. These data provide estimates on the percentage of adults for all U.S. states and counties who lack basic prose literacy skills. The study provides data for 2003 and 1992. The new data are currently the only available snapshot of adult literacy rates for individual states and counties. The report is accompanied by an interactive Web tool, which shows the percentage of adults lacking basic prose literacy skills for all states and counties. In addition to allowing users to view adult literacy percentages for any given state, the Web tool also allows for comparisons to be made between two states, two counties in the same state, two counties in different states, across years for a state and across years for a county. View the report. Access the Interactive Web Tool.

Bush and Spellings Honor NCLB Anniversary: President Bush and Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings participated in a roundtable discussion in Philadelphia, Pa., in honor of the seventh anniversary of the signing of the No Child Left Behind Act into law. During the event, Bush touted the many achievements of NCLB and stated, "I firmly believe that thanks to this law, more students are learning, an achievement gap is closing. And on this anniversary, I have come to talk about why we need to keep the law strong. If you find a piece of legislation that is working, it is important to make sure the underpinnings of that law remain strong." Spellings also announced the release of "Great Expectations." The document examines the history of public education in America and how students once left behind are now leading the way. "Great Expectations" is divided into eight sections, each focusing on a different aspect of NCLB and its effect on student achievement and ways to improve in the future. More info.