Extortion has tripled in Mexico since 2004, and the latest victims are teachers in Acapulco, one of the country's biggest tourist spots. Gang members are plaguing teachers there with threats demanding they give over half their pay by October 1. Hundreds of schools have closed because of the threats, but thousands of teachers are not sitting quietly, and instead are taking to the streets in protest.

All over the country, 50 million public school students will head back to school this week.  And so today, we’re starting a week-long special look into the state of education in America in 2011. Today, we're talking about shrinking school budgets. State budgets have been feeling the squeeze since 2008, and with stimulus money running out, this is the year when schools are really having to tighten their belts. Later this week, we'll talk about the No Child Left Behind Act's looming deadlines, which require that by 2014, 100 percent of students will test at grade level in reading and math.

Yesterday, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced a major override of the No Child Left Behind accountability law for schools. Duncan's proposal will mean that states can apply to bypass performance requirements in the law. One of those requirements is that 100 percent students be proficient in reading and math by 2014. Arne Duncan talks about about the overhaul in the law and how it will affect students and schools. (Transcript available after the jump.)

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has just released a report that named principals and teachers in Atlanta's public schools who had been modifying tests and tampering with answers to improve results. The report found cheating in 44 of the 56 schools its authors examined, and 178 teachers and principals who cheated. The news will tarnish the reputation of Atlanta’s outgoing Superintendent Beverly Hall, who was named Superintendent of the Year in 2009. The large number of teachers involved has led some to call this America’s biggest teacher cheating scandal.

Teachers in Wisconsin may be throwing figurative fruit at politicians, but lawmakers across the country, from New York to California, are vowing to get rid of what they are calling the “bad apples” of the profession. Lawmakers in half a dozen states are trying to lift tenure and seniority protection, threatening mass layoffs and targeting teachers as the root of a failing education system. We asked the teachers in our listening audience: What makes you keep being a teacher?

The battle between Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and public unions continues. Tuessday, Governor Walker introduced his two-year budget proposal, which includes nearly $900 million in public school cuts. Walker unveiled his budget just weeks after he announced his controversial proposal to strip the state's public unions of collective bargaining rights. Wisconsin teachers are at the forefront of this fight. But how do teachers discuss the budget battle once they return to their classrooms?

Columbus Day is one of only 10 federal holidays, and in most schools across the country, it's recognized as a celebration of the man who discovered America. For many Americans, Christopher Columbus is a hero.

But in recent years, educators, politicians and scholars have argued that the conventional teaching of the holiday offers a lionizing myth of Columbus, and that students should be made aware of the uglier truths that followed his arrival in the Americas.

Earlier this month, Congress passed $26 billion in stimulus spending, $10 billion of which was aimed at rehiring public school teachers who had lost their jobs because of budget cutbacks. The Department of Education estimates that between 100,000 and 300,000 people in public schools across the country have either been fired or risk losing their jobs because of budget cuts.

A little over a year ago, the Obama administration and Congress doled out $100 billion in education money via the stimulus package. However, that money is running out, and slowly school districts across the country are having to cut funding and lay off teachers.

After passing State Senate Bill 191 at 12:00 am this morning, Colorado is at the heart of a national debate on teacher performance. The bill removes some job protections for tenured faculty, and aims to increase student performance. It was an emotional fight, with teachers facing the possibility of losing job security. 

The largest-ever survey of American teachers was released yesterday by the Gates Foundation and the Scholastic publishing company. Forty thousand teachers answered questions on how to fix schools and what they need to do a better job. We find out what the biggest needs of teachers are, according to the survey.