September 8, 2015

Delaware News

Education Week
Delaware increases access to arts through transportation grants
Blog post by Jackie Zubrzycki
A new grant program in Delaware is aimed at breaking down a common barrier for teachers who want to expose their students to real-life arts performances and events: the cost of transportation. TranspARTation, run through the State of Delaware’s Division of Arts, is one of a growing number of state programs that fund transportation for schools. The TranspARTation grant program offers $300 to Delaware teachers to help support transportation costs to an arts event in the state.

Delaware Public Media
Delaware Division of the Arts offers new grant program for schools
Many cultural institutions offer free programming to Delaware schools but often attending events is still cost prohibitive. Now, First State schools can request funding to cover travel expenses to arts events to include fuel, parking, and tolls with TranspARTation Grants.

DCCA exec. director makes the case for STEAM over STEM
The arts have long been recognized as an important part of a well-rounded education but when it comes to budget priorities, school arts programs are often the first to be cut. As Delaware embarks on a new school year, arts advocates are urging educators to promote critical thinking through art.

Cape Gazette
New school tests require thinking, writing
Editorial
Just as students in Cape Henlopen schools head back to class, state education officials released the results of the first statewide tests based on the latest educational standards. In a time when politics find a way to divide us over nearly everything, Common Core standards have been attacked as too much federal interference in state and local decision-making. Yet parents whose children are faced with meeting Common Core standards are applauding at least one aspect of the test: It is not all multiple choice.

The News Journal
Del. union numbers, not influence, down
“I’m proud to say we are the largest union in the entire state of Delaware,” said Frederika Jenner, president of the Delaware State Education Association (DSEA). Jenner said public-sector unions like the DSEA have been able to grow even as private-sector unions have struggled because they’ve been able to clearly demonstrate their value to prospective members.

Amazon in Middletown opens classroom for workers
Delaware Tech partners with other Delaware companies to provide on-site training, but Amazon’s program is different, said Paul Morris Jr., the school’s assistant vice president of workforce development and community education.

DSU aviation program will get major renovations
Delaware State University’s blossoming aviation program will be able to give students more flight time, additional training and a safer environment thanks to a $5.9 million grant to improve the Delaware Airpark in Dover.

Delaware’s job future is in science
Opinion by Steven J. Stanhope is director of the Delaware INBRE Program and Professor of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology at the University of Delaware
Delaware INBRE (IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence) builds the academic and research pipeline in Delaware by creating undergraduate research opportunities along with education and mentorship for early and junior-level scientists. This Delaware-focused pipeline provides a talented, educated workforce, which is critical to growing our strong bioscience niche here in the state.

National News

Seattle Times
State Supreme Court: Charter schools are unconstitutional
After nearly a year of deliberation, the state Supreme Court ruled 6-3 late Friday afternoon that charter schools are unconstitutional, creating chaos for hundreds of families whose children have already started classes.

The Washington Post
Renowned Stanford professor launches new education think tank
Renowned Stanford education professor Linda Darling-Hammond is launching a new think tank aimed at shaping education policies nationwide. With offices in Palo Alto, Calif., and Washington, the new Learning Policy Institute will seek to link research and policy, two worlds that are too often disconnected, Darling-Hammond said.

Montgomery County schools see more than 1,100 international enrollments
Maryland’s largest and fastest-growing school system has registered more than 1,100 international students in recent weeks, according to newly released data that shows a drop in such enrollments compared with a year ago.

The Los Angeles Times
Black and Latino students in California score better on AP tests than peers elsewhere
Black and Latino students in California who passed Advanced Placement exams outperformed their peers elsewhere, but a gap persists between them and their white and Asian counterparts, according to new test score results.

The new face of Democrats who support education reform
Shavar Jeffries, an attorney who lost his bid to be mayor of Newark, N.J., is the new president of Democrats for Education Reform. Jeffries, who confirmed the news on Thursday, is black. His appointment comes as the self-titled education reform movement tries to look more like the children it aims to uplift.

WBEZ
CPS deploys street teams for back-to-school reminder
On a balmy morning this week Marcus Petty knocks on doors in the South Chicago neighborhood. He’s armed with a clipboard and flyers. His task is to make sure Chicago Public Schools parents know where their child is enrolled for the fall.