Published March 8, 2011

President’s Day may have come and gone, but President Obama will be in town today to kickoff a series of events designed to highlight the country’s education system.

Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will tour TechBoston Academy in Dorchester and introduce a new federal agency designed to use technology to improve education. TechBoston Academy draws from a pool of students that the city has traditionally struggled to educate but, as the Globe reports, its “83 percent graduation rate is 20 percentage points higher than the citywide average.”

In other education news, WBUR’s Fred Thys reports on UMass Amherst’s efforts to distance itself from its party school “ZooMass” reputation. Some say the school has become too heavy-handed in disciplining its students. WBUR’s Monica Brady-Myerov reports on the Cambridge Schools Superintendent’s plan to buck current educational trends and create four middle schools for the city’s students.

On the first day of a five day trade mission that will take him from Israel to the UK, Gov. Deval Patrick met with Israeli officials and the CEO of El Al airlines in an effort to bring business to the state, the Globe reports. Across town, the Herald is focusing on a report that says Boston’s Inspectional Services Division Commissioner said that his department has allowed takeout restaurants across the city to evade paying many of the fees they owe.

What we’re watching: We’re following Obama’s visit, the latest developments in the corruption trial of former House Speaker Sal DiMasi and RadioBoston will dive into the controversy surrounding the payment of the leaders of nonprofits.