October 1, 2015

Delaware News

The News Journal
State auditor: two charter schools broke spending rules
The state auditor’s office has dinged two charter schools for not following rules for spending taxpayer money. The audits released Wednesday says Delaware College Preparatory Academy could not sufficiently justify almost $23,000 in reimbursements made to its board president and executive director. It also chastises Kuumba Academy for contract payments its head of school, assistant head of school and custodian received on top of their salaries without following the state’s public bid process.

Newsworks
Delaware auditor finds irregularities at two charters, clears two others
Two Delaware charter schools made questionable purchases with state funds, according to a new report by the state auditor’s office. Kuumba Academy Charter School and Delaware College Preparatory Academy–both located in Wilmington–failed to properly document various expenditures, calling into question their legitimacy, according to the auditor’s report. The auditor’s office also cleared two other charters of wrongdoing. The report found that MOT Charter School in Middletown, Delaware and Thomas Edison Charter School in Wilmington could account for all purchases and that those purchases were made for school purposes.

Delaware Public Media
Auditor’s report finds financial missteps at two charters
A new inspection report from the state Auditor’s office found two charters -Kuumba Academy and Delaware College Preparatory Academy – to have questionable purchase and reimbursement practices.

WDEL
Achievement center reconnects ex-offenders to their kids through books
A Wilmington facility for ex-offenders seeks to strengthen the bond between father and child by reading. “Reconnection is often difficult, because, in some cases the child is still damaged by the fact that their parent was not there or left their lives abruptly,” explained Charles Madden, Executive Director of the Wilmington HOPE Commission, which runs the Achievement Center on Vandever Avenue.

Milford Beacon
School referendum seeks money to address shortfall
The Milford School District will be going to a referendum vote for the third time in two years on Oct. 6.

UDaily
Stay in school: Applied research by UD alumnus reduces high school dropout rate
Jeffrey D. Menzer, as a doctoral student at University of Delaware, Menzer was alarmed by the dropout rate of his senior students at William Penn, the largest high school in Delaware, where he served as principal. He focused his research on studying the characteristics of non-graduating seniors in order to address the problem. Menzer offered recommendations for supporting these students, and William Penn implemented several initiatives.

WRDE
Woodbridge High reaches for one million acts of kindness
One school. One-million acts of kindness. That is the goal of Woodbridge High School this year. School Counselor Su Chafin launched a new program to crack down on bullying. The program is called Students for One-Million Acts of Kindness, or S.M.A.K for short. The goal is to track students’ acts of kindness online in hopes of hitting the one-million mark by the end of the year.

National News

The Wall Street Journal
News Corp sells its Amplify education businesses
News Corp said Wednesday that it had sold its money-losing Amplify education businesses to members of its management team supported by a group of private investors. The deal’s financial terms weren’t disclosed.

EdSource
Teachers say critical thinking key to college and career readiness
California teachers say critical thinking skills, not scores on standardized tests, are the best way to assess whether students are prepared for success in college and the workplace, according to an online survey by EdSource in partnership with the California Teachers Association.

U.S. News & World Report
Tests can be golden
California recognizes that Common Core tests prepare students for college work and save money, too.

Inside Higher Ed
Report questions free community college
A new report argues that community colleges aren’t ready for the consequences of providing “free” tuition until they provide intensive counseling and “emulate” the for-profit college sector with relevant course work and internships.

Education Week
The Common Core explained
With all the developments and debate around the common-core standards, and the release of test results tied to them, here are the background, definitions, research, and other resources you need to get you up to speed.