February 2, 2017
Delaware News
Cape Gazette
Cape High students named ambassadors to school board
Eight Cape High students have been selected to report on high school activities to Cape Henlopen school board. As ambassadors, the students are expected to keep the board apprised of school activities and offer input if needed. “A member of the group will attend the monthly school board meeting and introduce a speaker who will talk about a school club or activity,” said Angela Thompson, high school guidance counselor.
Delaware Business Times
Legislative committee begins series agency budget hearings
Delaware lawmakers began delving into the state’s budget challenges Tuesday with the first in a series of committee hearings. The legislature’s Joint Finance Committee is reviewing state agency budgets and spending requests as lawmakers begin to fashion a budget for the fiscal year starting July 1. Committee members also asked about unspent fund balances being held by state agencies, and spending on public education.
Delaware State News
Lawmakers discuss merging school districts, pay hike for new teachers
Budget-writing lawmakers broached the possibility of consolidating some of the state’s 19 school districts Wednesday, but top education officials said it wouldn’t save much money Department of Education officials appeared before the Joint Finance Committee for the second day in the month-long series of budget hearings.
Sussex County Post
Applications now being accepted for IRHSAA scholarships
Applications are now being accepted for Indian River High School Alumni Association scholarships for 2017. The IRHSAA offers the IR Pride Scholarship for graduating students. It isn’t about academics or financial aid, but school spirit at Indian River High School. Whether you’re a scholar, captain, club leader or just genuinely proud of IRHS, the alumni association wants to hear about it.
The Milford Beacon
Teaching boys to be men at Lulu Ross
A paraprofessional at Lulu Ross Elementary School has created a program to help mold boys into men. Lamar Shorts is jumpstarting the League of Gentlemen, a program designed to teach fourth- and fifth-graders how to act. “We want to cultivate and grow the young men into success stories,” Shorts said. The students meet twice a month after school on Fridays.
Milford schools to shiver together
Leaping into the cold waters off Rehoboth Beach is a new experience for Lulu Ross Elementary students and staff. Teacher Michele Davis said this is the second year Ross has taken the Polar Bear Plunge to raise money for Special Olympics Delaware. Davis, the primary organizer at the school, said Ross’s involvement was due to fifth grader Matthew Sacks.
The News Journal
February declared Teen Dating Violence Awareness month
The state can’t just wait until another teen is killed in a violent domestic assault before it tries to make a difference, the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence said Wednesday. The governor signs a proclamation each February declaring it Teen Dating Violence Awareness & Prevention Month, but statistics — such as the fact that 23 percent of female victims first experience intimate partner violence between the ages of 11 and 17 — aren’t always mentioned.
National News
Education Week
Faster internet, lower bandwidth costs for schools, study shows
More than 10 million students gained access to high-speed internet at school over the past year, and the cost of bandwidth for schools continues to fall, according to a new analysis from the broadband-advocacy group EducationSuperHighway. All told, 88 percent of public school districts now meet minimum internet-connectivity targets established by the Federal Communications Commission.
Governing
Can school buses close the digital gap?
Take an evening drive through some of the towns that make up the Coachella Valley Unified School District, a largely rural area near the Salton Sea in Riverside County, Calif., and you might be surprised to see yellow school buses parked in odd, uncharacteristic locations. But rest assured, they have a purpose.
Journal-News
Ohio could ban schools from expelling youngest students
State Sen. Peggy Lehner said she will push for new law this year preventing Ohio schools from expelling or suspending their youngest students. Lehner, chair of the Ohio Senate Education Committee, told a group of Dayton-area education leaders last week that 36,000 Ohio students in kindergarten through fourth grade were expelled from school last year.
Politico
DeVos nomination stands at 50-50
Betsy DeVos has no votes to spare heading into a looming confirmation vote next week. Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski said Wednesday they will vote against the Education Department nominee. That could very well mean a 50-50 standoff on the Senate floor — and Vice President Mike Pence being called in to put DeVos over the top.
WRAL
More than 240 schools to participate in voucher program
Wisconsin education officials say 241 private schools have signed up to participate in at least one of Wisconsin’s three voucher programs next school year. State Department of Public Instruction officials said Tuesday that 163 schools registered to participate in the statewide program by the Jan. 10 deadline, including 11 schools that had previously participated in the Milwaukee or Racine voucher programs and 31 first-time applicant schools.