May 10, 2017

Delaware News

Department of Education
Education Due Process Layperson Panelist Members Sought
The Governor’s Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens (GACEC) is currently searching for volunteers to fill the positon of Layperson Panelist. Under IDEA and Delaware Law, there is an administrative hearing process to resolve disputes related to educational matters.

WDEL
Bites, burns, concussions: Delaware school violence report shows fights fueled by social media, caught on video
From bruises and bloody noses to cracked teeth, stitches, burns and concussions, at least 123 fights have broken out in Delaware schools since September 1, 2016, showing a troubling trend of school violence–tied to social media–that begins on the middle school level. A Delaware Department of Education report, obtained by WDEL, tracks third-degree misdemeanor assaults in compliance with legislation passed by the General Assembly.

The News Journal
Delaware school board members elected
Several new school board members were elected Tuesday night in elections held up and down Delaware. Elected candidates will serve five-year terms. They will make important financial, curricular, and other decisions for their individual districts, in many cases setting the tone for education in Delaware. Shortly after taking office, the new members also will have to grapple with the General Assembly’s final budget for the state, which is likely to include education cuts.

Newsworks
Delaware’s biggest school district in quandary over Gov. Carney’s budget cuts
Christina School District won’t close Sarah Pyle Academy, its alternative high school that has won a national award for dropout prevention. The district won’t eliminate music and strings programs. Nor will academic deans get pink slips, or the Montessori program end. Those cherished programs and others were spared this month by the board of Delaware’s largest school district, which is grappling with how to — and whether to — implement a possible $6 million in spending cuts that could strike Christina as part of Gov. John Carney’s “shared sacrifice” budget.

WDEL
Colonial School District braces for state budget cuts as referendum nears
A June 6th referendum and the final state budget for the next fiscal year will go a long way toward determining how many teachers and staff are still working in the Colonial School District – and to what extent programs may need to be cut. At Tuesday’s meeting, the Board of Education adopted final numbers that would take effect if the referendum is voted down and cuts need to be made for the 2017-18 school year.

Low voter turnout for school board elections throughout New Castle County
Voter turnout school board elections was described as abysmal and not good during the day by the Department of Elections for New Castle County. One incumbent was a winner, and that was Charlisa Edelin in Appoquinink. No other incumbent ran in the school board elections. Angela Mitchell and Meredith Griffin Junior were winners in Christina, John Skrobot the third in Brandywine and Ashley Sabo in Red Clay.

Delaware State News
New school board members elected in state
Delaware’s counties collectively elected a total of 13 new school board members on Tuesday. The polls closed at 8 p.m. The Delaware Department of Elections released “unofficial” poll results shortly afterward. New Castle and Kent counties had contested elections in five public school districts and Sussex County had elections in two.

Delaware Public News
Colonial School District says over 100 jobs at stake in second referendum vote
133 Colonial School District staff members stand to lose their jobs if voters reject a second tax referendum next month. The district’s school board announced Tuesday night notices will start going out to those on the chopping block this Friday. Teachers make up 11 percent of the cuts. Another 29 percent are district paraeducators.

Smyrna-Clayton Sun-Times
Evans-Gunter wins Smyrna Board of Education election
Incumbent Vetra Evans-Gunter won today’s Smyrna Board of Education election over challenger Karin Sweeney, according to unofficial results from the Kent County Department of Elections. Here are the totals from the voting that ended at 8 p.m.: Evans-Gunter received 292 votes or 90.4 percent; Sweeney received 31 votes or 9.6 percent.

The Harrington Journal
Thomas wins Lake Forest School Board seat
Phillip Thomas, a Felton Police Officer, won the at-large seat on the Lake Forest School Board in today’s election, according to the Department of Election’s unofficial tallies. Mr. Thomas brought in 51.31 percent of the votes in the election today against Stephanie Justiniano Johnson and Austin Auen who brought in 220 and 59 votes respectively. Mr. Thomas took home 294 votes.

National News

Chalkbeat
Two Colorado educators spent months crafting a piece of legislation. Now it’s about to become state law.
Teachers show up at the statehouse all the time while Colorado lawmakers are debating education policy. Rarely do they have a piece of legislation they crafted themselves in hand. Elaine Menardi, education program coordinator for Wings Aerospace Academy in Denver, and Jess Buller, principal of West Grand Elementary and Middle School in Kremmling, are changing that. The two educators helped develop this year’s House Bill 1201.

WABE 90.1
Bill aims to create more space for pre-k in Georgia
The Georgia lottery provides money for about 84,000 4 year olds to attend the state’s pre-kindergarten program. But only 81,000 children are served, due to a lack of space. The lottery pays for teacher salaries and materials, but public schools can’t spend money from the capital outlay fund to build pre-K classrooms. State Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta, came across the problem when she met with state officials last year to find out why so many school districts have lengthy pre-K waiting lists.

Education Dive
To develop teachers, look to other teachers
Teacher training was one of the areas of the FY2017 budget measure passed by Congress this week that saw significant cuts, precisely at a time during which education advocates agree professional development for teachers is more important than ever. Researchers from Michigan State University this week presented the findings of a study that indicated half of early career teachers leave their schools by their fifth year, and one in four leave the profession altogether.

Business Insiders
7 reasons Finland’s education system puts the US model to shame
For as small and homogeneous as Finland may be, its repeated success in national education rankings means there are at least a few lessons the US can learn. For one, the tiny Nordic country places considerable weight on early education. Before Finnish kids learn their times tables, they learn simply how to be kids — how to play with one another, how to mend emotional wounds.

Deseret News
U.S. education secretary says choice needed in ‘antiquated’ system
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos called for breaking out of the “confines of the federal government’s approach for education” during a brief visit to Salt Lake City Tuesday where she was met by protesters. DeVos told an audience of more than 1,000 technology and education leaders gathered for Arizona State University’s Global Silicon Valley conference that the backlash against her push for more school choice comes from fear.