June 9, 2016

Delaware

Newark Post
Christiana grads bid high school adieu
Classmates Rashid Anderson, Ethan Aguilar and Syed Ali are heading off to different schools for college, but they’ll always be bonded by their good times at Christiana High School. From their first day as freshmen awkwardly walking the halls while upperclassman clapped and cheered, to their senior prom and graduation Wednesday at the Bob Carpenter Center, the three friends didn’t know it, but they have been making memories all along.

Technical.ly Delaware
Delaware STEM Academy could lose its charter before it even opens
Two years after granting a charter to Delaware STEM Academy (DSA), the Delaware Charter School Accountability Committee (CSAC) is moving to reverse its decision due to what it says are the overwhelming number of risk-factors besieging the school — including low enrollment, faculty recruiting troubles and unreliable funding.

The Middletown Transcript
Students from Middletown-Odessa-Townsend area win art contest
Sixteen area children from eight schools have been selected for awards for creating art work to be included in the 2016-2017 PSEG Nuclear Emergency Plan Information Brochure for Delaware and New Jersey.  The honorees were chosen from among hundreds of elementary school students who submitted entries.

The News Journal
Editorial: Call for more police in schools short-sighted
There are certainly merits to the notion that more Delaware public schools could benefit from having police officers assigned to their buildings. Sen. Bob Marshall, a Democratic candidate in Wilmington mayor’s race, intends to propose legislation and seek funding for so-called school resource officers in elementary and middle schools.

WDEL
Sussex Central student helps fight crime by designing Delaware Crime Stoppers new logo
Delaware Crime Stoppers has a new logo for the first time in more than two decades.  The logo was designed by Sussex Central High School student Shyniece Bullock, 17. She used her graphic design skills to completely remake the non-profit’s logo that dated back to 1983. Bullock’s design was chosen from 70 submissions up and down the state.

National

Education Week
Debate flares up: Was the first federal education law a civil rights statute?
If you’ve been following our coverage of Secretary of Education John B. King Jr., you’ve read his remarks that the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 was “a civil rights law.” And so is that law’s latest version, the Every Student Succeeds Act, King says. He’s used that civil-rights language often to support how the U.S. Department of Education has approached spending and accountability issues, among other things.

Governing
To prevent schools shutdown, Kansas legislature will be back in session
Gov. Sam Brownback will call Kansas lawmakers back to Topeka later this month in an effort to prevent the closure of the state’s schools. The Legislature faces an order from the Kansas Supreme Court to fix inequities in school funding by June 30. If lawmakers fail to do so, the court could put a hold on education funding on July 1, triggering a shutdown of the state’s school districts.

NPR
Apps that aim to give parents ‘superpowers’
I’m hanging out with my 4-year-old daughter in the early evening, trying to keep her entertained and pull dinner together, when my phone buzzes. Normally I’d feel guilty for checking it immediately, and distracted even if I didn’t. But this time it’s not a Twitter mention or an email from my editor. It’s a timely suggestion from an app called Muse.

The Seattle Times
Washington’s school superintendent says it’s time to consider closing public schools
Randy Dorn says it could be time to close Washington state’s K-12 public schools. You wouldn’t expect the state superintendent of public instruction to say that. But Dorn, who isn’t seeking re-election, argues in a court brief filed Wednesday that the state Supreme Court needs to get serious about enforcing its 2012 ruling that the state was violating its constitution in underfunding K-12 schools.

The Washington Post
‘Toxic stress’ in the classroom: How a public health approach could help
Children living in poverty often are exposed to high levels of constant stress that can be debilitating, not only in terms of their physical health but also their ability to learn. So what are schools to do?  Below, two writers argue — in their own voices, first, and then together with one voice — that schools and health providers must join forces to make sure children are getting the help they need.