ADVISORY: Secretary Perdue in Virginia TOMORROW
(Washington, D.C., July 24, 2018) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will be in Arlington, VA TOMORROW, Wednesday, July 25th to keynote the Agriculture Transportation Summit. Following the speech Secretary Perdue will hold a media availability.
Secretary Perdue keynotes the Agriculture Transportation Summit
WHAT: Secretary Perdue keynotes the Agriculture Transportation Summit. Immediately following his remarks, Secretary Perdue will hold a media availability in Crystal Room II.
WHEN: TOMORROW, Wednesday, July 25th beginning at 8:30 a.m. EDT.
WHERE: The Westin Crystal City, 1800 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA 22202
*NOTE: Media interested in attending must RSVP to press@oc.usda.gov by TODAY, Tuesday, July 24th at 8:00 p.m. EDT.
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A weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else — from the nation’s leading voice on education innovation and opportunity.
JUST THE FACTS…OR NOT. A NY Times op-ed, “A Plea for a Fact-Based Debate About Charter Schools,” would appear to make a compelling case for reasoned discussion on charter schools but there are some glaring holes in the piece that make it less reasonable than it seems. For example, there is no mention of the value of charters as drivers of innovation, nor does it point out the options and opportunities charters offer parents and children. Then there’s this blanket, off-base assessment: “[Charter] schools have their downsides…disciplinary policies can be severe…The schools also rely on hard-working, moderately paid young teachers, many of whom can’t make a career of the work.” We’re all for a fact-based debate, but it first requires that one stick to the facts.
POLITICAL MACHINACTIONS IN AZ. An op-ed, titled “School choice advocates shouldn't assume a favorable political climate in Arizona. There are some ill winds blowing” provides a valuable assessment of the political goings-on in the Grand Canyon State. The state’s voucher program faces a dilemma as a ballot issue – which has the program losing either way – and a push to get rid of the procurement exemption for charter schools – which is one of the driving forces behind the hugely successful Arizona charter movement – is also in jeopardy. Both are worrisome developments and serve as a cautionary tales for education reformers everywhere.
AND ANOTHER OPINION OF NOTE. The headline from the Las Vegas Review-Journal says it all, or at least most of it: “To attract better teachers to low-performing schools, reform union pay structure.” Another on-point observation from the commentary: “…once again, the problem can be traced to the one-size-fits-all socialized pay structure that has long dominated teacher compensation thanks to union politics.” As we often say in these cases, “Amen.”
THIS JUST IN. “NEA Budget Cuts Don’t Include Executives’ Salaries.” Need we say more?
HOW TO WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR. A well-crafted, succinct, to-the-point letter to the Seattle Times from local resident Morton Kondrake. “Charter schools: Good for Washington.”
IT JUST NEVER ENDS. Turns out they’re stacking the deck against charter schools in the City of Brotherly Love. Apparently, although not surprisingly, the Philly school district is using its new Charter School Performance Framework to measure charter school quality, while completely ignoring the same standards when assessing the performance of district-operated public schools. Outrageous.
IN A MORE COOPERATIVE VEIN. The House Committee on Education and the Workforce is hosting a bipartisan innovation forum and showcase tomorrow on Capitol Hill. The event will highlight the work of 24 innovators who are running education and workforce development programs in their communities and will reflect a key element of CER’s mission: bringing innovation and opportunity to America’s education system. Tomorrow beginning at 10:00 a.m., 2175 Rayburn House Office Building with the showcase in the Rayburn Foyer.
INTERN AT CER. Are you ready to transform U.S. education? Do you want to gain knowledge about education policy and put that into practice to create better education opportunities for all children? Do you have a knack for research and strong writing and communication skills? If so you might be a great fit to intern at CER! Learn more and apply here.
Don't forget! Meet us in Miami Oct. 25-26 for our Silver Anniversary Summit + Celebration. More info at edreform.com.
Founded in 1993, the Center for Education Reform aims to expand educational opportunities that lead to improved economic outcomes for all Americans — particularly our youth — ensuring that conditions are ripe for innovation, freedom and flexibility throughout U.S. education.
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HOPESFALL
Celebrates Arbiter
Charting Success
#1 Top New Artist Albums
#13 Independent
#14 Top Rock
#17 Internet
#32 Digital
#41 Top Current Albums
Available for Purchase Here
Streaming on Spotify & Apple Music
"Much like the album as a whole, ['H.A. Wallace Space Academy']
ebbs and flows with the larger-than-life riffs and brooding melodies
that Hopesfall fans grew to love..." - Loudwire
"With Arbiter, they pen a collection that rattles and hums through a series of peaks and
valleys, ultimately offering a thoughtful transmission that is exactly what fans have
been tuned into and craving for years." - Cryptic Rock
"...it's also a distillation, refinement and blend of everything
that came before; an uplifting, radiant and engaging record that comfortably
speaks to the potential of a bright future." - Kill Your Stereo
July 24, 2018 - Charlotte, NC - Melodic hardcore legends Hopesfall are celebrating an incredibly successful first week after the release of their new album, Arbiter, available now via Graphic Nature / Equal Vision Records. Arbiter secured the #1 spot on the Top New Artist Albums Chart, as well as #13 Independent, #14 Top Rock, #17 Internet, #32 Digital, and #41 Top Current Albums. The album has been heralded online and in print by Loudwire, Alternative Press, Metal Injection, New Noise Magazine, and more. It is now available for streaming via Spotify and Apple Music, and purchased online at hopesfall.lnk.to/arbiter.
Hopesfall formed in 1998. Over the next decade, the band would undergo numerous line-up changes but always drew from the same core group of lifelong friends to source new members. The bond between the group was so strong that even after disbanding in 2008, guitarists Joshua Brigham and Dustin Nadler and drummer Adam Morgan continued to get together on Wednesday nights to work on new music despite having no plans to release it. It was during these jam sessions that the music that would eventually find its way onto Arbiter first began to take shape.
In 2012, Brigham and Morgan visited frontman, Jay Forrest, in Chicago culminating in the decision that Forrest would add vocals to the demos. The lineup for the band's reformation would then be cemented in August of 2015 when bassist, Chad Waldrup, joined the group to see Hum and Failure. Still, the idea of putting out new music as Hopesfall wasn't part of the plan. With the lineup complete, the band brought their demos to another trusted collaborator - producer Mike Watts (Glassjaw, Dillinger Escape Plan, O'Brother) whom they had worked with on two previous releases, Magnetic North and A Types. It was Watts who brought the demos to Dan Sandshaw and Will Putney of Graphic Nature / Equal Vision Records where the idea of releasing it as a Hopesfall record was finally discussed. A testament to the band's hard-earned legacy, the famed label immediately jumped on the opportunity to release the project.
Arbiter has a decidedly unique bend to it, but Brigham points out that it is built off of the same principles as Hopesfall's previous catalog - "big riffs and dark melodies." Forrest adds that the driving message of Arbiter remains the same as well: "Hopes fall. Tragedies happen. But that doesn't mean you should give up or not stay the course."
Arbiter is out now via Graphic Nature / Equal Vision Records. It is at once a reminder of why Hopesfall has become so influential and a beacon of its continued evolution.
The band recently took to the stage for the first time since 2011 for three special sold out release shows - two at Brooklyn's legendary Saint Vitus and one at Charlotte's Neighborhood Theatre.
For More Information, please visit:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HopesfallOfficial
Twitter: www.twitter.com/hopesfall
Instagram: www.instagram.com/hopesfall
Arbiter Tracklisting:
1. Faint Object Camera
2. H.A. Wallace Space Academy
3. Bradley Fighting Vehicle
4. C.S. Lucky-One
5. Catapult
6. Tunguska
7. Aphelion
8. Drowning Potential
9. To Bloom
10. Indignation and the Rise of the Arbiter
