April 24, 2015

Delaware News

The News Journal
More students taking, passing AP courses
The number of students taking Advanced Placement courses in Delaware continues to grow, as does the number of students who are earning passing grades on the tough exams that come at the end of the class.“Students who challenge themselves in high school have the best chance of succeeding in college,” Gov. Jack Markell said Thursday. “We need to make sure students have access to the courses that best prepare them for the future and give them opportunities to earn college credit.”

Delaware making college more accessible
Too many students — especially low-income and minority students — are academically ready for the challenges of college, but are not applying to college. “For many [students], college is not part of their family’s experience or they are unable to overcome financial concerns. We can remove these barriers,” Gov. Jack Markell said in a statement. “Our public schools and teachers are focusing on getting our high school graduates ready to be successful in college or their careers.”

Delaware students, teachers piling up big wins
An editorial
Education has been in the news a lot lately. Unfortunately, many of the news stories dealt with controversies over testing or finances. Important as those issues may be, Delaware students have been hitting some milestones that the public should recognize and applaud.

WHYY
The calm before the score: Delaware districts ramp up Common Core outreach
“Folks get worried that multiplication and division are going away or that kids can’t add and subtract with fluency,” says Appoquinimink School District curriculum advisor Debbie Panchisin to a computer lab full of parents. “That’s not true.” Panchisin explains that the new Smarter Balanced test is designed to gauge whether students understand the why behind various mathematical operations taught in the Common Core curriculum, not merely how to get the right answer using some formula or “trick,” as Panchisin calls it.

Delaware Public Media
More first state students taking, excelling on AP exams
Most notable were recent gains in AP Biology -where the number of students who passed that exam increased by 22% in the last three years. Scores also improved in World History, Literature and AB Calculus.

Delaware Department of Education
Three Delaware schools receive 2015 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools award
A press release
Three Delaware schools were honored by the U.S. Department of Education today for their dedication to the health and wellness of our environment. Linden Hill Elementary School in Wilmington, Mt. Pleasant Elementary School in Wilmington, and Kirk Middle School in Newark each received the 2015 Green Ribbon Schools Award, marking the first time three Delaware schools have been selected in the same year.

More Delaware high school students taking and passing college-level Advanced Placement tests
A press release
The percentage of Delaware’s public high school graduates taking and passing college-level Advanced Placement classes rose considerably in recent years, according to new data from the College Board. Eighteen percent of the graduating class of 2014 passed at least one AP test with a score of 3 or better, up from 10.6 percent a decade earlier. The number of graduates who took an AP exam sometime during high school doubled between 2004 and 2014 as did the number of students earning a score of 3 or better on a 5-point scale.

Cape Gazette
Redistricting, state standards at heart of school board forum
The continuing racial and socio-economic imbalances in Milton’s two elementary schools were at the core of a Cape Henlopen school board candidates’ forum hosted by the Sussex County League of Women Voters April 22.

Delaware State News
Sussex Tech tax debate close to compromise
After two years of debate, it appears the Sussex Technical High School tax issue may be in line to be solved. Sponsored mostly by Sussex County legislators, House Bill 100 would raise the area’s property tax rate for two years, setting it to 29 cents in fiscal year 2016 beginning July 1 and 30 cents the following year before it sunsets down to 23.5 cents. The enrollment cap for the ensuing years also would be lowered, and admission standards would be altered.

Capital district to hold special election
After Brian Lewis was elected to Dover city council, the Capital school board voted Wednesday to hold a special election to fill his seat.

Sussex County Post
Seaford High School senior Gates Millennium honoree
Seaford High School is beaming with pride and proud to announce that senior Richard Lamontagne is one of the 1,000 Gates Millennium Scholars for the Class of 2015.Richard was selected for this prestigious award from over 57,000 applicants. This prestigious award will cover all unmet needs for Richard’s undergraduate and graduate studies.

National News

Education Week
Charter operators pull back from Memphis turnaround effort
Three national charter school networks have scaled back plans to take over failing schools in Memphis through Tennessee’s state-run district, underscoring the challenges and risks involved in the high-stakes, politically charged endeavor of school turnarounds.

Chalkbeat Colorado
Ex-governors have Hick’s back, defend standards and testing
As the legislature prepares for floor debate on key testing bills, two former governors urged lawmakers not to tinker too much with standards and assessments. Former Govs. Roy Romer and Bill Owens joined current chief executive John Hickenlooper to defend 30 years of Colorado education reform, including standards and testing begun on Romer’s watch and expanded under Owens.

The Hechinger Report
Parents become supporters of Common Core when they see it in action
Column by Jayne Ellspermann, principal of West Port High School in Ocala, Florida and National Principal of the Year in 2015
The objections voiced are in protest to high stakes testing, the loss of instructional time, and against using the test results to evaluate teachers. But where is the evidence that Common Core is responsible for all this?

Inside Higher Ed
Promising results for new approach to remedial math
Since 2012, community colleges in Texas have experimented with an alternative approach to remedial math. The program is showing promising returns, according to a new study from MDRC, a nonprofit education research group.