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The recent dust-up between Senators Obama and McCain over a new "GI Bill" for veterans has drowned out news of a measure in the same bill that could save districts billions in the coming years.

This seemingly arcane measure has very important implications for public schools. As we pointed out in March, a Bush administration decision to prevent schools from claiming Medicaid reimbursements for transportation and administration costs could have an enormous impact on school district budgets across the country.

In late 2007, Congressional opponents of this change managed to delay implementation of the new rules until June 30, which is of course just around the corner. ...

Alexander Russo's recent blog posting about the French film that received the Palme d'Or at Cannes last week caught my attention. The Class (Entre les Murs), which depicts a year in a junior high school that serves one of Paris's poorest neighborhoods, won nearly unanimous praise at Cannes--which is no mean feat.  Here's hoping that the film crosses the pond soon and finds a large American audience. ...

In the first installment of our interview with best-selling author Dave Eggers, Eggers told us about 826 National, the network of community-based centers he co-founded to help students with their expository and creative writing skills.

In this second installment, Eggers describes his strategies for motivating reluctant writers. These strategies include: ...

Dave Eggers found sudden and early fame when his 2000 Memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, quite nearly won the Pulitzer Prize. Since then, he has produced a prodigious body of work in both fiction and non-fiction, cementing his position as one of the nation's best young writers.

Eggers has also made a name for himself among public educators by founding and promoting 826 National, a network of 8 urban writing programs that offer tutoring to thousands of American students.

Recently, while fighting off a nasty infection, Eggers generously made time to tell me about the program, his strategy for motivating reluctant writers, and his plan to advocate for public school teachers.

Over the next week, Public School Insights will publish the interview in several installments. In today's installment, Eggers describes 826 National, its use of community resources, and its collaboration with public schools in the San Francisco Bay area. ...