November 14, 2012
Local News
WDEL
Communities in Schools gets $300K to fight dropout rate
Communities in Schools received a $300,000 grant from AT&T to help lower the high school dropout rate. Through this generous grant, Jim Purcell President of Communities in Schools plans to expand their presence to improve graduation rates at William Penn, Newark, Dickinson, and McKean high schools.
Cape Gazette
Cape graduation requirements under review
Cape school board members are discussing raising high school graduation requirements to keep the district competitive in the region. “Our proposal is to add one additional science credit and one additional social studies credit for the Class of 2017, next year’s freshmen. That would bring the total for Cape to 26, two above the 24 required by (state) regulation,” said Michael Kelley, director of curriculum and instruction.
The News Journal
Union names next leader
The state’s largest union representing public school employees announced its new executive director Tuesday. Jeff Taschner, who was DSEA general counsel, succeeds Howard Weinberg leader of the organization. Taschner has begun work in his new role, according to the DSEA. “I will miss having Howard as my very own partner and the knowledge that he always had my back,” DSEA President Frederika Jenner said in a statement. “Jeff Taschner is lucky to have the legacy of Howard’s leadership to build upon.”
DDOE
Lake Forest, Smyrna high schools to host pilot College Application Week
Lake Forest and Smyrna high schools will work with their seniors during College Application Week to encourage every student to complete and submit at least one college application. Volunteers from the state’s universities and colleges will be on hand to help students complete and submit applications. State and federal dignitaries also have been invited to stop by throughout the week to encourage students. The Delaware Department of Education, which is sponsoring the event as part of the state’s College Access Grant Challenge initiative, brought together college admission and financial aid administrators, school counselors, community outreach members, superintendents, congressional educational advisors and DOE staff to support this pilot project at the two schools.
Top mathematics, science teachers to be recognized
The Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) is the highest recognition that a K-12 mathematics or science teacher may receive for outstanding teaching in the United States. Delaware’s finalists are: Lori Cabatingan, third grade, MOT Charter School; Kristin Gray, math specialist, Rehoboth Elementary, Cape Henlopen School District; Jeanine Moore, fourth grade math/social studies, Long Neck Elementary, Indian River School District; Timothy Dalby, Lower School science, Wilmington Friends School; and Ann Marie Fitzgerald, (formerly) second grade, Mount Pleasant Elementary, Brandywine School District.
National News
Seattle Times
Charter schools narrowly win approval in Washington
By a slim margin, Washington voters approved Initiative 1240, which will allow up to 40 charter schools to open over the next five years. Washington is now the 42nd state to allow charters. A new state commission will review and approve charter-school applications. The state board of education will decide how it will handle applications from school boards that might want to authorize charters.
Des Moines Register
Price tag for Branstad’s schools plan: $177.5 million
Nearly a fifth of Iowa’s $1 billion budget surplus would go toward education reform under a proposal Governor Terry Branstad will pitch to lawmakers in January. Higher teacher pay, tuition reimbursement for prospective educators, and expanded career options for classroom teachers are key components of the estimated $177.5 million package.
Inside Higher Ed
New momentum for old idea
The granting of college credit for learning that occurs outside of the academic setting has become an increasingly visible part of the college completion push, with broad efforts under way in several states to ramp up prior-learning assessment. The Council on Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) and HCM Strategists created a guide for state policymakers on prior-learning assessment.
Education Week
Research traces impacts of childhood adversity
While educators and psychologists have said for decades that the effects of poverty interfere with student achievement, new evidence from cognitive and neuroscience is showing exactly how adversity in childhood damages students’ long-term learning and health. Those studies show that stress forms the link between childhood adversity and poor academic achievement, but that not all adversity is bad for students.
Huffington Post
Teach For America launches a veterans recruitment initiative
After pledging to expand outreach efforts, Teach For America has announced its first veterans recruitment initiative. “You Served For America, Now Teach For America” aims to bring top military professionals into the country’s highest-need classrooms by partnering with branches of the military and veterans’ organizations.
Related Topics: Achievement Gap, Graduation Rate, Teach For America