June 2, 2016
Delaware
Delaware Public Media
Education takes brunt of JFC cuts
State lawmakers made mincemeat out of Gov. Jack Markell’s (D) proposed new spending for the upcoming fiscal year Wednesday. It was a bloodbath for new initiatives Markell floated earlier this year after the Joint Finance Committee slashed about $21 million from his budget plan. Education took much of the hit, with millions of dollars cut that he set aside for a new after school tutoring program, a new teacher salary system and early childhood education.
The Milford Beacon
Finding an identity: 25 years of Polytech
There are only three teachers left from the birth of Polytech High School—and Mike Sampere is one. He’s retiring this year and the social studies teacher said he is going to miss the school. His timing coincides with Polytech’s 25th anniversary. In 1991 Polytech switched from a vocational school to a high school.
Middle school revamps backyard for outdoor classroom
Starting in the fall Sarah Tull will take her class outside to dig up soil samples, observe pollinators and discover the mysteries of photosynthesis at the Central Middle School outdoor classroom. “I already have a greenhouse,” she said. “So for me to have two options to take them outdoors to learn about agriculture and natural resources is wonderful.”
Newsmaker: Mary Beth Robbins
Mary Beth Robbins sees herself saving old buildings on the verge of being demolished. She wants to prove architecture and construction aren’t reserved for men. “Exposing this [career] to women is engaging their creative minds and definitely opening them up to what they want to do with their life,” she said.
The News Journal
Chess gives local kids exposure, learning
On a recent sweltering morning in downtown Wilmington, 46 chess players took refuge under a large white tent in Rodney Square to compete against one another at the second annual Chess on the Square tournament.
Town Square Delaware
TSD Q&A: Nicole Poore on Creating the Pathway to Jobs for Delaware Grads
Balancing tasks and keeping focused. These qualities are key to the success of both State Senator Nicole Poore and the statewide organization she leads, Jobs for Delaware Graduates (JDG). The nonprofit’s ambitious mission is to “enable students to achieve academic, career, personal and social success.”
Sussex County Post
Ivy League’s Cornell next challenge for Sussex Central valedictorian
Like many classmates, Sussex Central High School Class of 2016 valedictorian Miranda Arnold is continuing her education. From rural Sussex County, Delaware, the 18-year-old rural Georgetown resident is bound for the gorgeous gorges of Ithaca in the Finger Lakes region of central New York state. Her collegiate destination: Cornell University – as in Ivy League.
‘IR Pride’ rides high for Class of 2016
Proud mom Carmeca Chandler wrapped son David Chandler with a bear hug that would have made Smokey the Bear proud. “He’s going to Delaware State,” said Ms. Chandler. “He wants to be a doctor.” As an Indian River High School Class of 2016 member Cameron Goff is bound for the University of Delaware to pursue his longtime passion: meteorology. His predictable future hope is to someday be the next Jim Cantore.
WDEL
Joint Finance Committee cuts expanding school internet access, police body cameras from Markell’s proposed budget
Two major initiatives cut from the governor’s proposed budget include body cameras for Delaware State Police and the expansion of internet access in public schools. The Joint Finance Committee slashed $3 million which had been earmarked for internet expansion, $500,000 for the state rental assistance program, $350,000 for body cameras, and $120,000 for new libraries.
National
EdSource
Many Dream Act scholarships for undocumented students go unused
Undocumented college students are leaving a wealth of unspent aid money on the table five years after the passage of the landmark California law that provides those immigrants grants for higher education. The California Dream Act made them eligible for several kinds of grants to attend community colleges, California State Universities, the University of California and some private campuses.
Education Week
Vt. high school takes student voice to heart
At Harwood Union High School, students help shape every aspect of school life, including instruction. On a winding road in rural New England, students are pushing the boundaries of their power to shape the way they learn and how their school runs. Unlike most American high schools, student leadership at Harwood Union High School isn’t limited to campaigns for cleaner bathrooms or better cafeteria food.
NPR
High school suspensions cost the country $35 billion annually, report estimates
When students get suspended from school for a few days, they may not be the only ones who miss out. A report released today by UCLA’s Civil Rights Project tries for the first time to quantify the full social cost of so-called “exclusionary discipline.” The authors calculate that suspensions in just one year of school — 10th grade — contributed to 67,000 students eventually dropping out of high school.
The Atlantic
The benefits of teaching in two languages
From New York to Utah, U.S. schools have seen a steady rise in bilingual education. Dual-language immersion programs first appeared in the U.S. in the 1960s to serve Spanish-speaking students in Florida. Since then, the demand—and controversy—surrounding these programs has been widespread, and they now address the needs of more than 5 million students who are English-language learners in the country’s public-school system.
The Hechinger Report
What a blended learning classroom really looks like: An urban teacher’s reboot
Opinion by Brandon Johnson, fifth grade math and science teacher at Browne Education Campus
Can we teach all students? In an increasingly diverse nation, I want you to consider the question. If you are not sure, it’s o.k. Now I want you to imagine a world where you would not have to do this — a world where everyone ate the same food, did the same job, drove the same car, lived in the same type of house and had all the same beliefs. Are you thinking what I am thinking, that this would be a horrible world?