News:
Heroes & Zeroes

Successful businessman that he is, University of Connecticut alum Ray Neag knows about investments and returns. So it might not surprise any school employee that Neag made a huge gift, $21 million, to UConn's School of Education--the largest donation ever to a U.S. teacher training institution. "I thought carefully about leveraging my assets for the greatest public benefit," says Neag, cofounder of a firm that makes medical devices. "Education made a big difference in my life--if we're going to make an impact, it's got to start at a very, very early age. Some people say that if you get to a child in his formative years, he's yours forever."

Speaking of getting to kids in their formative years: Publisher McGraw-Hill has released a textbook, now approved for use in 41 states, that uses commercial brand names and logos to teach the principles of sixth-grade math. One exercise even asks students to figure out how much money they need to buy a pair of Nike shoes. "This is the first time we've seen advertising in state-subsidized textbooks," notes Andrew Hagelshaw of the nonprofit Center for Commercial-Free Public Education. "A math textbook should not be another opportunity for companies to make kids brand-loyal to their products." For more on commercializing textbooks, go to www.commercialfree.org.

It's always nice to find a politician more driven by principles than polling data. Sue Connor, president of the Northwest Arctic Education Association in Alaska, cites Kotzebue Mayor Chuck Greene for his intervention last year in a school district contract dispute. "When the school board and our bargaining team were at a standstill and a strike was imminent," recalls Connor, "Mayor Greene encouraged the board to go back to the table and further the negotiations."

Thanks to Greene's involvement, Connor's local was able to avoid a strike and settle with a reasonable contract.

"Mayor Greene," Connor concludes, "is our local hero."