In an op-ed piece today, New York Times reporter Nicholas Kristof proposes a new program that would combine the foundations of Teach for America and the Peace Corps.

In a Washington Post Letter to the Editor published yesterday, Maura Pally, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, discusses a growing trend in U.S. students’ interest in Russia and the Russian language. She states that “[b]oth trends bode well for U.S. engagement in the world because foreign language skills and the inter-cultural awareness they bring pave the way for mutual understanding and better relations.”

With a record number of participants—83—the Alliance held its 10th annual Advocacy Day on Thursday, March 4. Alliance members participating in this year’s Advocacy Day visited 104 House and Senate offices and represented a record 26 states, as well as the District of Columbia.

Japan announced plans to standardize student-evaluation methods with universities in China and South Korea, in a “possible first step toward a pan-Asian student-exchange program,” the Chronicle of Higher Education reported last week.

Japan's ministry of education says the plan will make it easier for students in Asia's three largest higher-education markets to study abroad.