June 13, 2017
Delaware News
Hockessin Community News
Delaware gains Youth Advocacy Council to increase student voice in education policy
Nineteen Delaware high school students were selected to join the inaugural cohort of the Youth Advocacy Council training program. The Delaware Youth Advocacy Council is the first statewide forum for high school students to engage in education policy by leading their own campaigns to improve Delaware schools. This initiative is led by TeenSharp Site Manager Gabrielle Thomas and DelawareCan Executive Director Atnre Alleyne.
WDEL
Poverty, education concerns highlighted in 2017 Kids Count Delaware Fact Book
Delaware is making strides in its efforts to provide children with a better education, and it’s reducing the rate of children who are going without health insurance; however, the 2017 Kids Count state rankings found that childhood poverty in the First State has been on the rise. The Annie E. Casey Foundation funds the annual research study, which examines the well-being of children based on health, economic, education and family and community.
The News Journal
Delaware college scholars named
Delaware College Scholars, a tuition-free, residential college preparatory program for high-achieving 10th-, 11th- and 12th-graders, has announced its newest cohort. Students will spend three weeks at St. Andrew’s School in Middletown where they will live and study together for each of the next three summers. Students, who are selected through a rigorous application process, come from low-income households and will often be first-generation college students.
$1M grant to target nontraditional students
Delaware State University will use a new five-year, $1 million grant to help get nontraditional college students — who don’t always go to college right away or attend full-time — into increasingly popular STEM programs. STEM refers to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Careers in those fields are on the rise, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, with some STEM occupations expected to grow by as much as 28 percent by 2024.
Brandywine settlement could change school weapons policies
A settlement between Brandywine School District and Joseph Wahl, a student suspended for five days after a knife was found in his backpack in 2015, has the potential to change not only how the school district conducts student searches, but a state law concerning weapons in schools.
National News
89.3 KPCC
Want to teach science or special ed? California may soon have a scholarship for you
California public schools are facing a shortage of teachers — specifically, a shortage of teachers qualified to teach math, science, bilingual, or special education. So state lawmakers are considering making an offer to prospective teachers: commit to teach in these high-need subjects and we’ll take a bite out of your tuition costs.
Education Week
Should schools test the ‘career’ half of ‘college and career’?
As states move to adopt college- and career-ready accountability systems under the Every Student Succeeds Act, many educators, and researchers argue that assessments will not be able to adequately measure the “career” part of that equation.
Inside Higher Ed
Bipartisan bill on competency-based education
A bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives last week would create a demonstration project for competency-based education programs. The project would grant statutory and regulatory flexibility to participants, such as in the application of federal financial aid rules, while also creating new requirements aimed at accountability and transparency.
Lexington Herald Leader
Kentucky schools would get one to five stars in proposed rating system
Frankfort Kentucky schools, including charter schools, would be rated from one to five stars, with five being the highest, under a proposed new accountability system discussed Wednesday at the Kentucky Board of Education meeting. Under the current system, schools are rated with designations such as “needs improvement,” “proficient” or “distinguished.” Those would be eliminated.
The Hechinger Report
The future of proficiency-based education
Abi Thornton, Olivia Feeley and Jack Romano were considering every angle as they worked through a diagnosis of their patient, Mr. Krabs. The 65-year-old Krabs presented with chest pain and excessive sweating. Those symptoms, combined with his weight and high blood pressure, put him at risk of heart disease.