From the Post:

Metro is pleased to announce two new assignments to strengthen our education reporting team as the staff takes over primary responsibility for national as well as local coverage of this vital subject.

First, Amit Paley will cover local and national K-12 education topics in a beat dedicated to spotting trends and digging for scoops in the agencies, advocacy groups and think tanks of official Washington. He will take the lead in monitoring the U.S. Education Department, teaming with other reporters to broaden and deepen our coverage of No Child Left Behind and other laws, regulations and policies that affect our region's classrooms. Amit is brimming with ideas for accountability stories and features to be illustrated with scenes drawn from schools in the District, Virginia and Maryland. Amit came to The Post in June 2004 as an intern on the Maryland desk and has reported from Montgomery County, Southern Maryland and, most recently, Howard County. Last year he also served a strong nine-week tour in Baghdad. He will be based on the Virginia desk.

In addition, Valerie Strauss will move to cover higher education. She joins Susan Kinzie on the beat, so we will now have two reporters focused on this important topic. Valerie, a 19-year Post veteran, is one of our premier education writers. Most recently she and Jay Mathews have shared responsibility for writing for the Schools & Learning page. Valerie will continue to write for this page. Her strength is finding and reporting stories that get readers into classrooms and into the lives of students and their parents. Previously Valerie covered District schools, and before that she was an editor on Foreign. Her new assignment, pairing her with Susan, reestablishes the team that excelled in covering the unrest at American University in fall 2005. Valerie broke the news that the university was looking into the spending of then-president Benjamin Ladner, beginning a process that led to his resignation. Valerie will remain assigned to the Maryland desk.