June 23, 2016

Delaware

Delaware 105.9
House votes to support Wilmington school redistricting
House lawmakers have passed legislation endorsing a proposed school redistricting plan for Wilmington while not committing any funding for the effort. The measures cleared the Democrat-led House with no Republican support Wednesday. Wilmington is currently served by four school districts.

Department of Education
More families receiving access to high quality early childhood centers
A federal Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership grant is helping Delaware build upon the state’s record investments in high-quality early learning and raise the quality of infant and toddler care for children in low-income families. Delaware was one of only seven states to win the grant.

Newsworks
Historic school redistricting plan passes Delaware House, attention turns to Senate
The Delaware House approved a measure Wednesday to redraw school district lines in Wilmington for the first time in more than three decades. There are still many hurdles to clear before the redistricting plan can take effect, but Wednesday’s vote guarantees the complicated and politically fractious proposal will live another day.

The News Journal
Getting the (very) young in school
Preschool hasn’t always been front and center when it comes to education spending. But Delaware is gaining ground, Gov. Jack Markell said Wednesday in visiting a Georgetown preschool center that’s been helped by a sought-after federal grant. The governor spent time at a Parents and Children Together at Tech United Cerebral Palsy of Delaware, or PACTT, child care center at Sussex Technical High School.

WDEL
Delaware House passes Wilmington redistricting proposal
A redistricting plan for Wilmington schools passed in the House without any approval of funding.  The Wilmington Education Improvement Commission proposal didn’t receive any Republican support. The measure authorizes the Delaware State Board of Education to proceed with a redistricting process that will move city students from the Christina School District into the Red Clay Consolidated School District.

Kids Count: In Delaware, graduation rates rise and less teen births, but proficiency levels are low
Delaware ranks in the middle of the pack when it comes to overall children’s health, according to the annual Kids County report released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The report said teens growing up in this generation are more likely to graduate from high school–but 23 percent of students aren’t graduating on time, and proficiency levels before they get to that point were shockingly low.

Red Clay’s Project SEARCH connects students with disabilities to careers
Young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, who’ve graduated from high school, are getting out of the classroom and spending a year learning the inner-workings of Christiana Hospital–getting job training–and oftentimes hired. “Some have not ever experience any kind of vocational training,” said Angela Hansen, a teacher with Project SEARCH in the Red Clay Consolidated School District.

WMDT 47
Pilot federal grant assists Del. early childhood centers
A key aspect of community revitalization, according to Delaware officials, is investing in the state’s youngest citizens and learners through early childhood education. Through the Early Head Start Child Care Partnership grant, Delaware is expected to get more than seven million dollars over the next five years. Governor Jack Markell says Delaware is one of seven states that received this grant.

National

Argus Leader
Tech school instructors to see ‘market value’ salaries
South Dakota’s technical schools now have more money to entice instructors from private industry jobs. The state Board of Education approved new rules Monday aimed at increasing instructor salaries to “market value,” meaning that a welding instructor should make a wage comparable to someone working in the welding industry.

Chalkbeat
Why some districts are putting new emphasis on easing the transition to kindergarten
Will my kindergartener sit at a desk all day? Do elementary schools open their doors to parents? When will my child’s school contact me? Those were some of the questions that preschool parents sitting around a table at Aurora’s Laredo Child Development Center asked this May during a conversation about their hopes and fears as their children move on to elementary school.

Education Week
5 Schools of Education making ed tech a top priority
In December, the U.S. Department of Education released the fifth iteration of its National Education Technology Plan, a sweeping vision of how technology should be used in schools. The plan criticizes the current state of teacher-preparation programs, saying that across the board, they are failing to prepare teachers to use technology effectively.

NPR
The problem with teaching preschool teachers
The U.S. spends a lot of money on preschool — billions of dollars each year. When invested wisely, research suggests the costs are justified by significant returns to society, including savings from crimes not committed, welfare dollars not distributed, and taxes on higher earnings. But a new report suggests many preschool programs aren’t as good as they could (or should) be — because their teachers arrived on the job poorly trained.

The Atlantic
Where are all the principals of color?
Nancy Gutierrez was primed to shine. As the new principal at Fischer Middle School in East San Jose, California, it was more than a new job for Gutierrez, it was a homecoming. She was a product of the heavily Mexican American, working-class, and immigrant community, and her mom still lived just a few blocks from the school in Northern California.