August 23, 2013

Local News

The News Journal
Carney, school leaders meet in hopes of making college more affordable
Leaders from all of Delaware’s colleges met this morning at Conrad School of Science near Newport to brainstorm ways to make higher education more affordable. The meeting was part of a series that U.S. Rep. John Carney is hosting to help gather information about the growing cost of attending college. The congressman intends to use the information to help inform legislative proposals. Incidentally, the roundtable discussion in the high school library came the same day President Barack Obama announced a set of higher education policy proposals. Most at the meeting said they had read that morning about the suggestions, and offered Carney some other ideas on what they are attempting to do locally to keep costs down.

Delaware parents worried about rising cost of college tuition
The rising cost of tuition at the nation’s colleges and universities is escalating, and some say more must be done to ensure it is not out of reach at a time when higher education is a prerequisite for earning more money. Across the street from the Sullivan’s home, state higher education leaders were discussing that issue at Conrad School of Science. Earlier that morning, President Barack Obama weighed in with his own proposal. Calling higher education an “economic imperative,” Obama pushed for an ambitious new government rating system for colleges that would judge schools on affordability and performance and ultimately determine how federal financial aid is distributed. The rating system, which the president wants implemented before the 2015 school year, would evaluate colleges on several criteria, including average tuition and student loan debt, graduation rates and the average earning of graduates.

Middletown Transcript
Appoquinimink welcomes nearly 50 new teachers this year
Students won’t be the only ones a little nervous when the 2013-2014 school year begins on Monday. Several of the nearly 50 teachers hired by the Appoquinimink School District this summer said they also had some first-day butterflies. “I’m excited and looking forward to it, but it’s also stressful,” said Anthony Greenstine, a 2012 Ursinus College graduate from Cheltenham, Pa., who is starting his career as an English teacher at Appoquinimink High School last week. “It’s going to require a lot of time management – being able to figure out how to grade, when to grade, how much to grade and when to fit in planning, sleeping, eating and living on top of all that.” Greenstine and the 48 other teachers new to the district this year got a taste of what they’ve signed on for during a three-day orientation last week.

Hockessin Community News
Charter School of Wilmington team takes seventh place at Envirothon
A five-member team of high school students from Charter School of Wilmington took seventh place in the North American Envirothon, the continent’s largest high school environmental competition held Aug. 4-9 in Bozeman, Montana. “I congratulate the Charter School of Wilmington team on their outstanding performance,” said Governor Jack Markell. “Their hard work and commitment to protecting our environment sets a wonderful example for all of us.”

National News

The New York Times
On bus tour, Obama seeks to shame colleges into easing costs
Speaking at the University at Buffalo, where tuition and fees now total about $8,000 per year for New York residents, Mr. Obama said the middle class and those struggling to rise out of persistent financial troubles were being unfairly priced out of American higher education. President Obama deplored the rising costs of college on Thursday as he tried to shame universities into holding down prices. He held out the prospect of more federal student aid if they did

Education Week
Siblings’ disabilities linked to academic troubles for brothers, sisters
While schools are required academic support for students with disabilities, a new study suggests the nondisabled siblings of disabled students may also be academically at risk. Those brothers and sisters are 60 percent more likely to drop out of school than students without disabled siblings, according to a University of California, Riverside, study, presented at the annual American Sociological Association conference here. Moreover, sisters of disabled students are particularly disadvantaged. They complete one-plus years less schooling than girls with nondisabled siblings.

Bangor Daily News
Petition drive begins to pull Maine out of 45-state Common Core education collaborative
The Maine Equal Rights Center and No Common Core Maine announced that they will launch a citizens’ petition campaign to repeal the state’s reliance on the Common Core standards. The ballot question, which would go to a November 2014 referendum if petitioners gather enough valid signatures, is the first of its kind in the country.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch
State Education Board plans more oversight in failing schools
The Missouri state board approved plans for increased oversight of failing schools, while praising efforts to transfer students out of unaccredited districts made possible under recent legislation. The board also agreed to hire an organization to perform a study of the Kansas City Public Schools, which lost accreditation last year but have not started transferring students because of a separate ongoing lawsuit.

Charlotte Observer
Big test days away for N.C. schools’ computer system
The return of North Carolina’s students to school provides the first massive test of PowerSchool, a data system that controls everything from bus routes to attendance records to grades. The statewide rollout is a first for the Pearson product. While it’s been successful around the nation, the system has never been used for larger districts.

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