States grapple with teacher evals as part of race to the top

Many states are vying for federal Race to the Top funds. In order to get these merit-based funds, states are required to perform annual teacher evaluations and submit overall performance records as part of the application process. However, often these evaluations remain hidden from the parents and students of these teachers. But recently,the New YorkRead… Read more »

“Take a bite out of crime” with National Crime Prevention Month

Deltek Analyst Evan Halperin reports. Since 1984, the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) has designated October as National Crime Prevention Month. During this time, government agencies, schools and other organizations promote statistics relating to crime reduction and advocate safety awareness at the state and local level. The month-long campaign seeks to encourage volunteerism within theRead… Read more »

Smart Streamlining

Two new reports out this past week focus on tools and techniques for agencies to cope with the new fiscal austerity they face in years ahead. One is by the Partnership for Public Service, the other by the Government Accountability Office. They are both worth reading because they focus on smart ways to make cutsRead… Read more »

GovBytes: Car that sells excess energy back to the grid

According to an article over at Government Technology, energy company, NRG Energy, and the University of Delaware are partnering to develop commercially available technology that would allow electric cars to sell excess energy back to the grid. “This technology can be paid well, to provide the short bursts of back-and-forth power that we use toRead… Read more »

Daily Dose: Is the Amanda Knox Case Unique?

Amanda Knox, an American college student who was arrested in Italy while studying abroad for the murder of her roommate in 2009, was finally released yesterday. Even though the case gathered attention around the world because of Secretary Hilary Clinton’s personal involvement, the State Department claims that all Americans incarcerated abroad are priorities in theirRead… Read more »

Fuel Efficiency by Way of Turbocharging?

We haven’t posted about vehicle efficiency here at the CEIL Blog in a while, but it’s never far from our minds. According to the EIA, gasoline prices in the US dropped throughout the summer (on average) but we still keep our eyes open for any technology that might help us and our burn less fuel.Read… Read more »

Coming up With Ideas

Coming up with ideas sounds really easy, but sometimes to get the simple but most effective ideas, it’s worth thinking about how to stimulate them. I’ve been working with local residents from community and arts groups and students from colleges and universities to help them come up with ideas for our competition. A few daysRead… Read more »