April 1, 2015
Delaware News
The News Journal
Wilmington school committee issues final report
After months of conversations with parents, educators and community leaders, the Wilmington Education Advisory Council says there is broad support for the major changes it has proposed and that state leaders should not delay in implementing them. In a final report issued Tuesday, the group re-affirmed its previous recommendations.
Appo culinary arts teacher shows commitment to students, restaurant industry
Ernest Hudson is one of more than 30 educators from across the country who received ProStart Educator of Excellence Awards. ProStart is a nationwide, two-year industry-written curriculum for high school students. It is designed to teach students culinary and management skills needed for careers in the restaurant and food service industry.
WHYY
Delaware politicians highlight employment needs in the First State
“This new era – this Second Machine Age – requires public policies to evolve with our technology. The demands of today’s job market mean we must change the way we prepare our people for success,” said Delaware’s Gov. Markell.
WDEL
Students learn skills to enter Delaware’s booming IT sector
Students in the ITWorks program have a solid shot at breaking into the information technology sector, getting good-paying jobs. Facilitated by Sen. Chris Coons (D-Delaware), the students met with representatives from Capital One, Barclays and JPMorgan Chase Tuesday at the ITWorks learning lab in Wilmington.
Newark Post
Christina sets rate for second referendum
The Christina School District is asking voters to go back to the polls in May to approve a tax increase that is less than half of what district officials asked for, and voters ultimately rejected, in February.
National News
The New York Times
Cuomo gets deals on tenure and evaluations of teachers
A hostile winter of speeches, rallies and barbs between Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and teachers’ unions ended in compromise on a variety of fronts, with the governor winning some changes in the way teachers are evaluated and granted tenure, and in how the state deals with chronically struggling schools.
Education Week
ESEA’s 50-year legacy a blend of idealism, policy tensions
Fifty years ago this month, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Elementary and Secondary Education Act outside the former one-room schoolhouse in rural Texas he’d once attended. The new law dramatically ramped up Washington’s investment in K-12 education, carving out a role for the federal government in educating the nation’s poorest children.
Report gives states poor grades on serving low-income, advanced students
Bright students from high-income families are more likely to succeed in school than their equally gifted low-income peers, who often backslide as they progress through school. A lack of state policies supporting students who have the academic potential but lack financial means is contributing to this “excellence gap,” a new report concludes.
Bay Area News Group
Music training narrows the achievement gap
From time immemorial, parents have been happy when children’s music lessons yielded piano keys plunked in some semblance of “Greensleeves.” So news last year of research showing that schools with graduation rates hovering around 50 percent raised those rates to 93 percent with something so simple as music lessons was just more music to their ears.
The Associated Press
Amended bill would delay Tennessee school voucher plan
A proposal that seeks to create a school voucher program in Tennessee was amended Tuesday to delay the plan for a year, even though the measure’s sponsor says it would hurt efforts to help children get a better education.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Many Teach Grants turn into loans; Report asks department to find out why
A third of the more than 112,000 students who have received federal Teach Grants have had their grants changed to loans, according to a report. College officials suggested that recipients may have difficulty finding and keeping eligible teaching positions and may find annual certification requirements confusing