April 27, 2016
Delaware
The Milford Beacon
Future environmentalists show off nature knowledge
Matthew Erickson’s been a fan of Animal Planet ever since he was a child. Eventually, the Polytech High School senior’s passion for wildlife drove him to challenge other nature-minded students head-on. On Thursday, students from schools across the state will gather at Brecknock Park for the 21st annual Envirothon, a competition testing knowledge of environmental science. Envirothon chairman Rick Micowski said competitors will be asked in-depth questions about a range of topics from air quality control to invasive species.
The Sussex Countian
Self-advocacy key for college-bound special education students
A lifelong disability isn’t enough to stop Samantha Wierney’s college dreams. But like any special education student, she faces additional hurdles. Wierney, 18, remains enthusiastic about attending Delaware Technical Community College in the fall. But the Dover High School senior wasn’t always this confident about furthering her education. “My freshman year I didn’t really think I was going to go to college,” Wierney said. “I was like, ‘What am I going to do?’ I knew my grades weren’t that good.”
National
Associated Press
Michelle Obama encourages New York students to reach higher
High school seniors on their way to college were feted by U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and a host of celebrities on Tuesday as she encouraged them to make the most of their college experiences, get involved in campus life and ask for help when they need it. “We are so proud of everything you’ve achieved, and we don’t take the struggle for granted,” Obama told a roaring crowd of young people in attendance at an event in Harlem.
Education Week
A vision for the K-12 urban school district
Commentary by Paul Kihn, former deputy superintendent of the Philadelphia public schools
Spending time in the shiny white halls of the education reform manse, you could be forgiven for believing that urban school districts are on the way out, something garish and anachronistic—the Betamax at a digital-streamers convention. Similarly, time spent in the halls of many district central administrations (and teachers’ union offices) might leave you wondering when this annoying and ungodly charter-privatization-corporate-reform fad will pass so we can all just get on with public districts’ work. Both positions miss the point.
The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio legislators hope to pin down ‘value added’ rating for student progress
Ohio’s value-added measure is a major part of its system for evaluating student progress and teacher effectiveness, but some lawmakers admit they have too little understanding of how it works. They hope to change that soon. Reps. Ryan Smith and Bob Cupp, two of the more influential House Republicans on education issues, introduced a one-paragraph bill last week that calls for a review of the value-added system. Each said there is no plan right now for changes, but they want an in-depth discussion about it.
The New York Times
Test scores show a decline in math among high school seniors
The average performance of the nation’s high school seniors dropped in math from 2013 to 2015, but held steady in reading, according to results of a biennial test released Wednesday. The results, from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also showed a drop in the percentage of students in private and public schools who are considered prepared for college-level work in reading and math.
The Washington Post
New technology education program aims to recruit minority middle school boys
A new technology education program at the University of the District of Columbia will help 100 minority middle school boys learn 3-D modeling and app development and will expose them to future career opportunities in the tech sector. The Verizon Minority Male Makers Program will bring a free, four-week summer boot camp to Washington, aiming to give rising sixth- through eighth-graders in the District’s schools a chance to get a boost in areas in which they are widely underrepresented.