July 26, 2013

Local News

The News Journal
Bible class denied on Cape Henlopen Board of Education split
A deadlocked Cape Henlopen Board of Education did not approve an elective academic Bible class Thursday night, though it’s possible the issue could be considered at a future meeting. The board split 3-3 on whether to allow a class created by the Bible Literacy Project designed to teach the Bible’s influence on history, art and literature.

The Sussex Countian
Public invited to meetings to learn about NGSS
The Delaware Department of Education will host a series of community events next month to introduce the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which the State Board of Education will consider for adoption this fall.

SCSunTimes
Smyrna School Board to make school choice policy changes
The Smyrna School Board approved the first reading of a school choice policy revision at the July 11 reorganization meeting. The policy change comes as a result of the Delaware General Assembly passing House Bill 90, which amends the Delaware Code relating to school choice. According to the bill, it is the goal of the Delaware General Assembly to “increase access to educational opportunity for all children throughout the State regardless of where they live.”

The Milford Beacon
Milford School District elementary DCAS scores impress; Improvements needed at high school level
While the Milford School District spring 2013 Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System (DCAS) scores did not surpass those of spring 2012, the district is impressed with its growth during the 2012-2013 school year and elementary reading proficiency rates surpassing state averages. With the public release of the most recent DCAS results for the state and individual school districts last week, educators are now looking for trends in improvements and areas in need of curriculum development.

National News

Education Week
Charters struggle in search for affordable space
Before Le Monde French Immersion Public Charter School opened its doors last fall in Portland, Ore., it had already overcome one of the biggest challenges facing charter schools: finding and financing its facility. “It was a traumatic experience,” said Shouka Rezvani, the board president for the independent public school. “We all know what our academic models are, but as a startup, you have no financial history that you can fall back on with respect to getting money.” Unlike regular public school systems, which can seek taxpayer-backed bonds for school construction and renovation, many charter schools have no mechanism in place to offset their facilities costs.

Providence Journal
New R.I. law allows school districts to restructure their schedules
A new law allows Rhode Island districts to create flexible schedules, although they are required to meet the minimum 5.5-hour school day required by the state. A number of states, including Delaware, Idaho, Montana, and Missouri, have abandoned the minimum school day requirement in favor of an established number of hours per grade level.

The New York Times
College enrollment falls as economy recovers
The long enrollment boom that swelled American colleges — and helped drive up their prices — is over, with grim implications for many schools. College enrollment fell 2 percent in 2012-13, the first significant decline since the 1990s, but nearly all of that drop hit for-profit and community colleges; now, signs point to 2013-14 being the year when traditional four-year, nonprofit colleges begin a contraction that will last for several years. The college-age population is dropping after more than a decade of sharp growth, and many adults who opted out of a forbidding job market and went back to school during the recession have been drawn back to work by the economic recovery.

Education News
Brilliant.org offers challenging environment to math, science
Technology is changing the way we learn, and Khan Academy, MIT Open CourseWare, and Coursera are some of the most widely-used websites that bring high-quality online education to your desk for free. Those pioneers have paved the way for other education entrepreneurs to fill niches in the education market.

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