Free reading lessons are now available on-line, thanks to Montessori Home, Inc. The interactive website features 40 mini-lessons geared to beginning readers and is available at www.learntoreadfree.com.

Two new books address two issues of critical concern on the eve of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA): how confident can teachers, principals, parents, district administrators, and state education agencies be in the quality of the evidence upon which school improvement plans and educational reform policies are based?

Michigan Virtual High School, a division of Michigan Virtual University (MVU), and Bridges Transitions Co., a Xap Corporation company, have signed an agreement to provide online test preparation tools for portions of the Michigan Merit Exam (MME) to all high school students in the state.

According to education experts a least half of all high school students in the state's urban school districts are dropping out of school and the rate is highest among blacks, Hispanics, and low-income students. In statistics released by the Intercultural Development Research Center statewide, each graduating class has at least 120,000 fewer students than started high school.

Students throughout Pennsylvania will have the opportunity to learn about aquaculture, food safety, leadership skills and other agriculture-related topics with an investment of $110,000 in 33 youth organizations, Governor Edward G. Rendell said today.

In a move that reflects the ever-increasing importance of teaching entrepreneurship to high school students, the Florida Department of Education has introduced Entrepreneurship as a high school major course, to be taught at participating schools statewide. As part of the A++ Education Act signed by Gov. Jeb Bush in June 2006, students can sign up for the Entrepreneurship major starting in the 2007-2008 school year, which will become one of 442 majors offered under the Education Act.

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, the nation's leading advocacy organization focused on infusing 21st century skills into education, today announced a joint partnership with the state of Wisconsin to bring 21st century teaching and learning skills to every school system in the state.

Young people from communities across the U.S. and Mexico who engage in after-school arts and humanities programs that promote educational achievement and productive lives will be honored at the 2006 Coming Up Taller Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on Monday, January 22. Time and location TBD.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on H.R. 5, the College Student Relief Act of 2007, which cuts the interest rates on student loans and passed on the House floor by a vote of 356 to 71, with all Democrats and 124 Republicans voting for the bill: "Today's bipartisan vote to cut the interest rate in half on federally subsidized student loans over the next five years will help make a college education more affordable and more accessible for our next generation of leaders and innovators. At a time when college tuition continues to skyrocket, this crucial legislation will help remove some of the barriers to a higher education.

Thacher Proffitt & Wood LLP announced today that Erik Klingenberg, a partner in the Structured Finance Practice Group, has accepted a position as an adjunct professor at St. John's Law School. Erik teaches "Securitization, Structured Finance and the Capital Markets", which commenced on January 10, 2007, while he continues to practice law full-time at Thacher Proffitt.