October 3, 2016
Delaware News
Cape Gazette
Bayhealth staff donates school supplies to Milton Elementary
The staff at Bayhealth has so much to be thankful for, which is why they’re constantly finding ways to give back to the community. The Bayhealth Care Management Department recently donated more than $300 worth of school supplies to Milton Elementary School The donation, which included backpacks, was made as part of Care Management’s Caring and Sharing program.
Coastal Point
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.
Delaware 105.9
ZIKA: Back-to-school and new Delaware cases
School is in full swing but the official end of summer does not mean the end of mosquito season. Mosquitoes can breed and bite for another several weeks in Delaware. To prevent the spread of Zika and any mosquito-borne illness, the Division of Public Health (DPH) and Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) reminds you that stopping the mosquito bite is still the best protection against disease.
Delaware Public Media
Republicans call for education reform in weekly message
Delaware’s Republican party is calling on the state’s next governor to make education reform a priority. In the latest GOP message, state party chair Charlie Copeland said the state needs to create a better school system if it wants to create meaningful jobs.
The Milford Beacon
Device use policy less severe at CR
Caesar Rodney School District wants to cut back on student suspensions resulting from cell phone use in class. “We want to decrease the number of students being suspended for a minor infraction,” said Tamara Toles Torain, assistant to the superintendent. “We definitely don’t want kids missing time out of class for minor infractions and it gives administration an opportunity to be more focused on instruction.”
The News Journal
Delaware teen who missed graduation to illness gets his ceremony
When Jenny Colon received the call that she would get to see her son graduate from high school, after all, she broke down in tears. Christian Caba, who has been battling muscular dystrophy, had completed the necessary courses for graduation.
Rodel Blog
Key questions and valuable resources on ESSA
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, which came into effect in 1965. ESSA contains a number of meaningful requirements that education leaders, parents, and community members should know about and discuss as the state develops its plan to implement the new law. 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.
National News
Education Week
School inspections offer a diagnostic look at quality
Educators have gotten used to poring over spreadsheets filled with test scores to get a sense of their students’—and schools’—strengths and weaknesses. What they don’t often see: feedback from other teachers, administrators, and students who can offer a fresh perspective on where a school stands when it comes to instruction, resources, climate, financial efficiency, and more.
Las Vegas Review – Journal
Nevada Supreme Court strikes down school choice funding method
The Nevada Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the state’s education savings account law, ruling that while the premise of using taxpayer money for private education was constitutional, the method used to fund the ESA program was not. The high court ordered a permanent injunction against the law — viewed as the most sweeping school choice legislation in the country — that was passed last year on a party-line vote by the Republican-controlled Legislature.
PBS
FAFSA makes changes, hoping more students will utilize funds
For high school seniors around the country and their families, it’s the season to think about college applications and costs. A key to all of it, of course, is, what kind of financial aid can they receive? It’s even more crucial for low- and middle-income students who may be leaving thousands of potential dollars on the table each year.
The Hechinger Report
What happens when two separate and unequal school districts merge?
When the news first broke that two neighboring school districts in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi had to consolidate, parents, teachers, and students on both sides of the district lines buzzed with anxiety. “Those kids are so bad. They’re going to be mean to my kid. We’re going to have rivalries — county kids against city kids and East and West kids from the county schools against one another,” said David Baggett, Assistant Superintendent for the new district, reciting common fears.
The Washington Post
Graduation rates climb to an all-time high at D.C. Public Schools
The number of students finishing high school on time in D.C. Public Schools reached an all-time high with the Class of 2016, inching the school system closer to meeting an ambitious graduation goal it set nearly five years ago. The District’s most recent graduating class saw 69 percent of seniors earn diplomas within four years, a five-point increase from the previous class.