Phil Handy, left, an education adviser for Mitt Romney, and Jon Schnur, an education adviser for President Barack Obama. Photo courtesy Education Week.

Washington Post: A new learning system, aimed at improving low-performing middle schools and students, launched this fall in Washington, D.C. The program, Teach to One, began in schools in New York two years ago, and is now expanding to the Nation’s Capital as well as Chicago. Although it is a non-traditional approach to teaching, Kaya Henderson, Chancellor of D.C. public schools, anticipates that it could be a “game-changer” if successful.

Joel Rose and Christopher Rush, founders of the nonprofit that developed Teach to One, intend for the program to address that each student learns at his or her own pace. Many students find themselves either struggling to stay on top of their schoolwork or not feeling challenged enough because of the speed at which lessons are taught. With the help of specialized software, students work on computer lessons at their own pace, then are tested at the end of each day to assess what they’ve learned and what assignment they may advance to next. In Washington, D.C., close to 200 students will participate in the program at Hart Middle School, where less than 30 percent of students are considered proficient in math.

Communities In Schools addresses the unique needs of students and supports innovative programs that help young people stay engaged in school and achieve. We applaud this new program’s efforts.

Education Week: Another debate, this one slightly less publicized than the Presidential Town Hall, took place earlier this week.

Teachers College at Columbia University in New York hosted a debate on Monday that addressed the education issues our country is facing. The speakers were Jon Schnur and Phil Handy, education advisers to President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, respectively.

In this Education Week blog post, one of the guest analysts reported that the topics discussed covered a range from early childhood education, No Child Left Behind waivers, the Pell Grants program and teacher evaluations.

What’s interesting, and perhaps encouraging, is that with all the other issues fighting for space in our crowded, 24-hour news cycle, education was singled out as a topic worthy of discussion in its own debate.

Communities In Schools’ advocacy work includes grassroots outreach by our affiliates, who connect with local politicians to make sure they are aware of how our organization can address the needs of children in their school districts.