May 15, 2017
Delaware News
Cape Gazette
Cape ninth-graders earn scholarships from Give Something Back program
Two ninth-graders from Cape Henlopen High School, Sierra Gloria and Brianne Simmons, have been selected to receive scholarships to the University of Delaware through Give Something Back, a national organization devoted to mentoring and college scholarships for students facing economic adversity.
Technical.ly Delaware
How this Wilmington elementary school teacher is getting kids excited about STEM
“There’s a lot of people who say there are no talented and gifted kids in a Title I school,” said Michelle Suchyj, “or kids in an upside-down tier.” In a school considered “upside-down,” 90 percent of the kids are achieving below grade level, she said. Suchyj is a teacher for Christina School District’s Talented and Gifted Program. She works at Elbert-Palmer Elementary, Pulaski Elementary and Bayard Middle School – all Title I schools – and she doesn’t agree with those conclusions.
The News Journal
Wave of pink slips floods Delaware schools
With a state deadline looming, several of Delaware’s school districts have recently laid off staff and decided not to fill vacant positions as they await the final verdict on statewide education cuts. In Appoquinimink, the 22 layoffs happened in quiet, private conversations between each building’s principal and the selected members of their staff.
Delaware Public Media
Delaware seriously lacking in diverse public school teachers
For black students, having a teacher who looks like them can significantly improve the student’s chances of going to college, and not dropping out. Just one black teacher – for black boys in grades 3, 4 or 5 – reduces the probability those students drop out by nearly 40 percent. And just one black teacher in high school increases black students’ expectations of going to college.
WDEL
Delaware school districts brace for deep cuts
School districts statewide are continuing on a path that’s resulting in forced pink slips and belt tightening ahead of Gov. John Carney’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget proposal, which–as is–cuts $37 million from public education. In the Christina District, at least 77 staffing positions face elimination; about three dozen of those will be eliminated through early retirements, while the remaining 42 staffers will be fired, a move, which would likely lead to larger class sizes throughout the district.
National News
The Hechinger Report
California’s new effort to fix remedial education
Last week more than 100 City University of New York faculty members, staffers, and administrators gathered for a conference in Manhattan to discuss how to improve results for students considered academically unprepared for college. There has been substantial research suggesting that “remedial” classes act as more of a barrier than a passageway to earning a college degree.
Education Week
Boston program supports male educators of color
Early on in his 40-year career in Boston Public Schools, Chuck McAfee learned a critical lesson. He was a young black teacher, sitting with his white colleagues and the parent of a black student they all taught. One by one, McAfee recalled, the teachers explained why the kid was a “pain in the butt.” Then it was McAfee’s turn.
New York Post
School turns away immigration agent looking for fourth grader
An immigration agent tried to search for a fourth-grader at Queens school — but was sent packing by staff, according to city officials. “Mayor’s been briefed on a fed immig agent showing up at Queens’ PS58 Thurs. asking about a 4th grader. School turned him away,” Mayor de Blasio’s press secretary Eric Phillips tweeted.
The New York Times
How Google took over the classroom
The sixth graders at Newton Bateman, a public elementary school here with a classic red brick facade, know the Google drill. In a social-science class last year, the students each grabbed a Google-powered laptop. They opened Google Classroom, an app where teachers make assignments. Then they clicked on Google Docs, a writing program, and began composing essays.
The Atlantic
How Indiana holds private schools accountable
When Indiana gave out school ratings last fall, Central Christian Academy’s board called an emergency meeting. The school had gotten another D, and once again it would not be able to receive new vouchers, the public money that Indiana gives many families to help pay private-school tuition.