November 7, 2014

Local News

The News Journal
Schools, families should keep improving
An editorial
The elaborate “turnaround” process set by the Race to the Top education program saw progress this week. Nine Delaware schools were taken off what amounts to a watch list. The schools showed enough improvement in student scores to be taken off that list.

Delaware lets nine schools out of turnaround plans
Nine schools have improved enough to exit from state turnaround plans, the state Department of Education announced Wednesday. “I applaud the administrators, educators, students and families of these schools who have worked hard to make progress for our students,” said Gov. Jack Markell.

Why is Delaware downplaying certified teacher?
An op-ed by Melissa Blair Tracy, Teacher, Conrad School of Science
By de-prioritizing National Board Certification, I believe our state is sending the wrong message to future teachers. It saddens me that only a small number of future teachers will be eligible for teacher leadership positions and that an even fewer number of future teachers will seriously consider National Board Certification unless the state offers a financial incentive. Rather than fixate on creating short-term opportunities for novice teachers, shouldn’t we think about how to truly empower the next generation of teachers to perfect their craft?

Bulletproof whiteboards will protect students, teachers
An op-ed by Nicole Poore, Delaware State Senator
This bullet-proof pilot program has cost Delaware taxpayers nothing. House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst and I were able to reach out to the business community and, through a partnership with Delmarva Power, the Delaware City Refinery, the DuPont Co. and Monroe Energy, we have been able to purchase 140 of these whiteboards for use as a pilot project at Gunning Bedford Middle School and Pleasantville Elementary School.

WDDE
Gov. Markell gets glimpse of programs developed at A.I. du Pont
Gov. Jack Markell got a first hand update on some educational initiatives in the Red Clay School District Wednesday. Administrators at A.I. du Pont High School outlined progress in the school’s three year old distance learning program with Conrad Schools of Science and McKean High School, while showing off its renovated school store run by students in A.I.’s business and marketing program and discussing plans to open a bank branch in conjunction with its banking career pathway program.

National News

Chicago Public Radio
Half of all public school students in Illinois now considered low-income
Numbers released by the Illinois State Board of Education show that — for the first time ever — low-income children now outnumber middle-class students in the state’s schools.

U.S. News and World Report
What the GOP’s win means for education
The final midterm election results are still being tallied, but Rick Hess and Mike McShane attempt to discern the outlines of what the results mean for education.

Education Week
Study gauges ‘risk load’ for high-poverty schools
In a study released today, researchers at the Center for New York City Affairs linked data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, the school district, and the municipal housing, homeless services, and children’s services agencies, and matched the data with 748 elementary schools (which, unlike the districtwide enrollment system for secondary school, use geographic attendance areas.)

Principal turnover takes costly toll on students and districts, report says
The report, “Churn: The High Cost of Principal Turnover,” which was released last month, examines the financial toll of principal turnover and calculates what students and districts lose when effective principals leave schools. A quarter of the country’s principals quit their schools each year, according to the report, and nearly 50 percent leave in their third year.

WANE
Indiana board approve schools’ key ‘A-F’ grades
The State Board of Education approved “A-F” school grades showing that more than half of Indiana’s 2,000-plus schools earned an A under the key school rating system.

Sun Herald
Missouri voters reject teacher tenure measure
Missouri voters rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to limit state teacher-tenure protections and tie educator evaluations to student performance data.