July 2, 2015
Delaware News
The News Journal
Delaware special education needs more work
After slapping Delaware with some of the worst ratings in the country last year, federal officials say the state is doing a better job serving students with special needs, but still has a long way to go. The U.S. Department of Education in 2014 named Delaware one of three states that “needs intervention” in special education. This year, the feds bumped the state up one level, to “needs assistance.”
Longtime teacher named to Delaware Board of Education
A 13-year member of the Indian River school board is joining the state Board of Education. “I think I always brought the viewpoint of the educator to the board and, hopefully, the decisions I made were made not necessarily from my perspective but from what the community was interested in,” said Nina Lou Bunting, 72, a teacher for 39 years.
Bruising education battles mark legislative session
The legislative session that closed in the wee hours of Wednesday had some of the fiercest education policy debates Delaware has seen in years. Some of the highest-profile debates regarding education were over parent opt-out, Wilmington redistricting, charter schools, and the Department of Education.
Newsworks
Big talk, subtle change: how education played out in the 2015 Delaware General Assembly
Few issues loomed larger during Delaware’s 2015 General Assembly than education. But for all the headlines and bold ink, it’s hard to find a bill that truly transformed education policy in the state. In fact, 2015 may go down as the year of big talk and subtle change.
Cape Gazette
Cape Henlopen Educational Foundation announces new board members
Cape Henlopen Educational Foundation recently announced the election of five community leaders to its board of directors. Since 2007, CHEF has funded over 150 teacher grant requests, as well as performing arts scholarships, character development and homelessness programs totaling over $100,000 to the seven Cape schools.
Dover Post
Capital’s new superintendent ready to get started
“I have to make sure that I understand why and what it is that we’ve been doing here at Capital that helped us to turn the tide and really see student successes,” he said. “I don’t plan to come in and be a major change agent. What I plan to do is come in and make sure that we’re continuing the things that are working really well and fine-tuning them.”
National News
Education Week
Supreme Court case poses threat to teachers’ union financing
The U.S. Supreme Court this week agreed to hear a challenge to its 40-year-old precedent permitting public-sector unions to compel nonmembers to pay service fees, a move that threatens to further undercut the already weakened labor organizations, including in K-12 education.
Chicago district makes $634 million pension payment, but at a cost: 1,400 jobs
Blog post by Denisa R. Superville
Interim Schools CEO Jesse Ruiz announced Tuesday night that the district borrowed money to make the payment by that day’s deadline, but that because it had borrowed money, the district would now have to make approximately $200 million in cuts and 1,400 positions would be “impacted,” starting Wednesday.
CBS Philly
Philadelphia’s new universal pre-k commission gets down to business
A new commission charged with recommending a plan for universal pre-kindergarten in the city of Philadelphia has begun its work. The new commission’s job: to recommend ways the city can pay for high-quality pre-K for 40,000 eligible three- and four-year-olds.
The Seattle Times
Schools chief Dorn blasts Legislature, says budget unconstitutional
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn is urging the state Supreme Court to reject the Legislature’s $38.2 billion budget deal, arguing lawmakers have again failed in their constitutional duty to fund schools.
Computer-science education funding approved by state
Washington state has allocated the funding necessary to begin a computer science education training program in high schools in the state.
The Hechinger Report
Even vocational high schools are pushing kids to go to college
Once viewed as an educational backwater or a dumping ground for poor students, it is now “career and technical education,” or CTE — aimed at giving all types of students the training they’ll need for technology-driven jobs and to meet employers’ needs for skilled workers. To succeed in these fields, proponents of CTE say, many, if not most, students will need to continue their educations after 12th grade.