July 8, 2016

Delaware News

Costal Point
IRSD dress code policy gets some updates
The Indian River School District’s new dress code policy is using broader terms and leaving some wiggle room for the beach’s favorite footwear: flip-flops. Footwear has been a mild cause for consternation among students. For about a decade, flip-flops had been prohibited, due to safety concerns (such as gym class activities, chemistry lab dangers or a sudden evacuation), as had bedroom slippers and improperly fastened shoes.

Delaware Public Media
Over $30,000 in student scholarships distributed from Wilmington mayoral fund
Mayor Dennis Williams honored 31 of Wilmington’s top high school students, and presented more than $30,000 in scholarships during the Office of the Mayor Scholarship Awards Ceremony Tuesday night. The scholarship program recognizes and celebrates the academic achievement of youths throughout the City of Wilmington.

Delaware 105.9
Scholarship program aids immigrants facing restrictions
The first 85 students are slated to start classes this fall under a new scholarship program that assists immigrants in states where they face hurdles in attending public universities. Eastern Connecticut State University and Delaware State University are partnering with TheDream.US, a national scholarship fund, to host the selected students.

National News

NPR
School’s out, and for many students, so is lunch
Summer break for many students is a time to kick back, play outside, and hang out with friends. For a significant portion of public school students in the United States, however, the end of school also brings a familiar question—what’s for lunch? During the school year, about 30.3 million children receive free or reduced-price lunches at their public schools. But in the summer, only 2.6 million of those students receive a free or reduced lunch.

The Hechinger Report
Where special education students are succeeding under Common Core
On a Tuesday afternoon at PS 172 in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, Yulizabeth Ramirez, 8, uses her hands to determine how to differentiate between the letters b and d. To do this, she gives herself two thumbs up. “The b has a belly and the d has a tushy,” says Yulizabeth, who, because of a speech and language disability, has an Individualized Education Program, or IEP.

The New York Times
Small steps, but no major push, to integrate New York’s schools
For all its kaleidoscopic diversity, New York City has one of the most segregated school systems in the country, with divisions created and reinforced by decades of policy decisions. But over the past year, some areas of the system have begun experimenting with ways to desegregate, if not by the color of children’s skin, at least by their families’ wealth. A middle school in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, hopes to set aside seats for poor children in fall 2017.

The Philadelphia Inquirer
Philadelphia School District withholds money from Del Val Charter; charter calls move ‘catastrophic’
The Philadelphia School District told the troubled Delaware Valley Charter High School in Logan on Thursday that the school will not receive any payments this month for students and only a partial payment in August – a loss of more than $820,000 that threatens the operation’s payroll.

U.S. News & World Report
Education Department Continues to Prod States to Rethink Testing
The Department of Education is continuing to press states and school districts to rethink their testing regimens, unveiling Wednesday a set of proposed assessment regulations under the new federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act.