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Support for black and Latino males: Before an audience at Walker-Jones Education Campus that included 200 DC-area students, President Obama announced a new initiative to raise performance among male students of color. The program includes commitments by 60 of the nation’s largest school districts and a host of foundations and other organizations. (MSNBC.com)

Montgomery parents stumped: Montgomery County parents voice confusion over report cards that have replaced letter grades for elementary school with a four-letter scale that some parents say lacks nuance. (Post)

US ranks low on fresh education ideas: The United States lags behind other countries on innovation in its schools, says a new report. Only two countries—the Czech Republic and Austria—ranked lower. (Ed Week)

The pot boils at DC charter board: A charter school advocate has called for the resignation of DC Public Charter School Board member Barbara Nophlin after news surfaced that she has a $195,000 consulting gig with a charter school network in the city. (Examiner, Post)

Teen parenthood still on a slide: Recent figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show birth rates steadily falling among teen mothers aged 15 to 18, among all racial and ethnic groups, over the past 12 years. (CDC)

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Tagged: big ideas, charter schools, dcps, education, latino, links, maryland, montgomery, montgomery county, race

Greater Greater Education Staff Contributor Paula Amann brings experience as a high school bilingual teacher, an editor on education policy, and a journalist. She is also the mother of a student in a local public school. She believes school systems should choose teachers, create curricula, and set policy as if the right to a good public education were enshrined in the US Bill of Rights.