September 30, 2016
Delaware News
Rodel Foundation Blog
Key questions and valuable resources on ESSA
Blog post by Mamie Doyle Mannella
On Dec. 10, President Barack Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) into law. ESSA is the most recent version of the federal government’s biggest K-12 law, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The Rodel team has developed a series of short summary briefs that spell out the info you need to know, and the questions you should be asking.
Cape Gazette
Pathways to Success seeks sponsors by Oct. 10 for Sussex County Girls Summit set Nov. 10
Pathways to Success Inc. is accepting sponsorships for the Second Annual Sussex County Girls Summit set for Thursday, Nov. 10, at Atlantic Sands Hotel and Conference Center. The event will support young ladies in ninth through 12th grades in building their self-esteem, self-awareness and skills to make good life decisions.
Coastal Point
The 49-cent question: IRSD plans referendum for expenses
Bunting said the average taxpayer would pay an extra $95.41 annually, or about 26 cents per day. “We have the lowest tax rate in Sussex County, and even with the increases that we’re requiring, or requesting, right now, we’ll still be the lowest in Sussex County,” Bunting said. These are operating funds, not debt relief or tuition for special-educational programs. However, the money will free up other funds to pay for the IRSD’s other needs.
SMS student flies high (virtually) at National Flight camp
For one week this summer, Drew Szlasa was flying airplanes, or controlling them from an aircraft carrier ship. But this Selbyville Middle School eighth-grader wasn’t really up the air or at sea. She was in an immersive National Flight Academy summer camp, with hints of virtual reality, at Pensacola, Fla.
Sussex County Post
IRSD maps out game-plan in current expense referendum pitch
This week, the district set in motion its game-plan for a Nov. 22 current expense referendum that in specified amounts targets categorical needs for school safety, enrollment growth, technology, textbooks and student organizations and programs. Indian River’s Board of Education approved a 49-cent increase in the current expense tax rate at the Sept. 26 board meeting. If approved, the referendum would generate $7,350,000 in revenue for proposed expenditures.
U.S. Department of Education
Press release
U.S. Department of Education awards more than $6.5 million in grants to help schools and communities promote equity in education
The U.S. Department of Education is awarding more than $6.5 million in grants to fund four regional Equity Assistance Centers to support schools and communities creating equitable education opportunities for all students. These centers, authorized under Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, will provide technical assistance in the preparation and implementation of plans for the desegregation of public schools and in the development of effective methods for coping with special educational problems caused by desegregation. The centers will also provide resources and training to combat issues such as hate crimes, implicit bias, racial prejudice, and bullying. Region, which includes Delaware, will be served by the Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium, Inc., located in Bethesda, Maryland.
National News
Chalkbeat Tennessee
Number of Tennessee students taking college-credit classes ticks up
More Tennessee students are getting a taste of college-level work in high school — something officials hope will help more of them reach real college classes. Nearly 30,000 students took at least one Advanced Placement exam last year, an increase of nearly 9 percent over last year, Department of Education Commissioner Candice McQueen announced Tuesday. The state also saw a small uptick in the number of students passing an exam
Education Week
ESSA: Ed. Dept. releases English-language-learner guidance
States and school districts that get federal funding to support students who are English-language learners can use that money to support long-term ELLs and ELLs in special education, as well as to help figure out how those students are progressing, according to new Every Student Succeeds Act guidance released by the U.S. Department of Education Friday.
Study highlights importance of principals in teacher-retention efforts
What’s new about this study is that it suggests that a teacher’s perception of working conditions is closely related to his or her perception of the principal. That is, the way a teacher sees her principal can shape the way she perceives conditions in the school, even before any changes are made, and regardless of what else is going on in the school or district.
Inside Higher Education
Study: Remedial Education Costs Students $1.3B
A new report from Generation Progress and the Center for American Progress finds remedial education can cost students approximately $1.3 billion annually. The report details that students enrolled in these courses typically don’t receive college credit and are less likely to graduate. In 30 states, the remediation rate for English, math or both is between 40 percent and 60 percent for first-year college students. Other highlights from the report break down the cost and rate of remediation in each state.
Las Vegas Sun
Nevada high court blocks funding for school choice program
The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s voucher-style Education Savings Accounts program — seen as the broadest school choice initiative in the country — has an unconstitutional funding mechanism that should remain blocked. Justices issued a ruling on Thursday against the money source for the program — which has been on hold since the winter and never disbursed funds to families as it
intended — but upholding some of the major tenets underlying the school voucher concept.