Reading First Press Conference

Yesterday KSN&C reported on the Fordham Institute's call for an investigation into the Reading First scandal.

Reading First, one of President Bush’s highest priorities under the No Child Left Behind Act, came under fire in a series of highly critical reports by the Education Department’s inspector general that found favoritism for certain textbook publishers and other management problems in the program’s early years...

With typical DC overkill, rather than fixing "the problem" and keeping the program, the Reading First budget was slashed from about $1 billion per year to less than $4oo,000. That means upwards of 4,000 of America's toughest schools will lose one of the more effective federal efforts ever to reach public school children.

Fordham is touting a recent report that they say tells, "The True Story of Reading First."

In this You Tube clip former Bush Ed Department appointee Mike Petrilli, now a vice president with the Fordham Institute, speaks from the steps of the US Department of Education.