News stories tagged with "obama"

(05/10/12) Governor Cuomo, who won national praise and attention for championing the passage of same sex marriage in New York, calls President Obama's support of gay marriage a "major advancement for equal rights in this country." more

(05/09/12) President Obama was in Albany yesterday and gave a speech taking aim at Congress. But as the Innovation Trail's Marie Cusick reports, the President also touted the region's growth in high-tech manufacturing.

(05/08/12) President Barack Obama was warmly welcomed Tuesday at the University of Albany's nanotechnology center...and he used the occasion to praise the private-public partnership that funds the school.
Mr. Obama said the private sector is the quote-"true engine" of job creation in the US, not government--but that government can help, by making it easier for companies to hire new workers. And he said Congress isn't doing all it can. more

(04/02/12) President Barack Obama visited Burlington, Vermont last Friday for a fundraiser and campaign event. The state hasn't been visited by a sitting president since Clinton's trip in 1995. Obama arrived on Air Force One around 11:30 a.m. He met with Vermont politicians, lunched with high paying campaign donors, then spoke to a crowd of supporters at the University of Vermont. Sarah Harris was there and has our story. more

(03/07/12) Republican Mitt Romney barely squeaked out a win over Rick Santorum in the Ohio primary yesterday. But a new poll shows Romney would handily beat Santorum in New York by 15 points. The Siena College Poll also shows that Newt Gingrich trails Romney in New York by 25 points. more

(02/06/12) The top Roman Catholic official in the North Country is blasting the Obama administration for requiring churches to provide health insurance to employees that includes services such as contraception and sterilization. more

(01/25/12) New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will lead a new mortgage crisis investigation unit, announced by President Obama in his state of the union last night.

The special unit will investigate wrongdoing by banks related to real estate lending, and how that contributed to the financial collapse and the mortgage crisis. more

(09/19/11) Advocacy groups say it's now likely that New York State will miss another deadline to get federal funding to implement the new health care law, as the State Senate expresses some grave doubts about implementing parts of a program that's identified with President Obama at this time. Karen DeWitt has more: more

(08/25/11) Schools are getting ready to open for the year. And this fall most have some new obligations. New York was awarded nearly $700 million from the federal government as part of President Obama's Race to the Top education program. Now districts are gearing up to put the new mandates into practice.

Stephen Todd is assistant superintendent of the St. Lawrence and Lewis BOCES, which serves 18 school districts in Lewis and St. Lawrence counties. He says there are three major pieces to Race to the Top.

First, changing the core curriculum in math and English classes. "Instead of trying to teach a mile wide and an inch deep, let's teach what's essential and teach it really, really well. Instead of trying to read everything under the sun, let's make sure what we are reading, we are reading carefully and closely and deeply."

Second, says Todd: data analysis. In the past, he says, schools kept statistics about students and classrooms, but the analysis came only after the school year was over.

Todd says that's about to change: "Instead of doing an autopsy, let's do a physical. Part way through the year, we'll look at the patient. The individual student, the collective group, whether it be classroom or building. Let's see what's working, what's not working. Let's make mid course corrections, that allow us if there are problems to fix those and save the patient. So we're not doing an autopsy later, we're treating the patient as it goes along."

The third major piece of race to the top has to do with keeping closer track of teacher performance. Julie Grant visited the Canton Central Schools to find out what's changing with evaluations, and she found that both teachers and administrators are concerned about the cost in time and money. more

(08/17/11) President Barack Obama's poll numbers continue to falter in New York, according to a Siena College survey released Tuesday. In Albany, Karen DeWitt has the details: more