January 11, 2016
Delaware
NewsWorks
The science of change: How Delaware is transitioning to new science standards
You’ve probably heard a lot in the last five years about Common Core, the set of math and reading standards most states have adopted to determine what students should know. Unless you’re a policy wonk or a school teacher, you probably don’t know there’s a similar effort afoot in the world of science education. In 2013, Delaware became the seventh state to adopt the Next Generation Science Standards. Since then it has gradually and quietly implemented them. By 2018-19, this shift to a new way of learning science should be nearly complete.
Sussex County Post
IRSD administers 5Essentials survey to improve student learning
The Indian River School District will soon join the Delaware Department of Education to administer the 5Essentials Survey, which is part of DOE’s new Delaware School Success Framework. The 5Essentials Survey is an opportunity for teachers, students and families across the district to share their voice and have a role in improving their schools. Between Jan. 19 and March 18 teachers, students and families will be asked to take a 20-minute survey to help identify strengths and weaknesses in their school’s climate and learning conditions.
The Milford Beacon
Elementary students eager to promote safety at schools
There’s certainly no shortage of students in the Milford School District who are willing to try to make their schools a safer learning environment. In fact, a total of 60 fifth-grade students – including 20 each from Banneker, Lulu M. Ross and Mispillion Elementary – were sworn in to be new AAA Safety Patrol members at a special ceremony at Milford High School on Jan. 6.The event marked a milestone for AAA and the Mid-Atlantic Foundation in Delaware, as it was the first time that three elementary schools had Safety Patrols sworn in at the same place and time.
The News Journal
Education law firm opens Sussex office
A law firm that specializes in representing parents grappling with schools over special education issues has set up a second Delaware office, this one in Georgetown. Attorney Caitlin McAndrews, the lawyer in the new office, says the firm, founded in 1983, was seeing an increasing number of clients living in southern Delaware who drove to the firm’s Wilmington office. The firm’s clients, McAndrews said, are often parents of children with behavioral disabilities, emotional disabilities, autism or other factors that give rise to individual education plans agreed to by school districts.
Opt-out veto override is vote for students, teachers
For the last six years, students and educators in Delaware have fallen victim to education policies that have put them last and put business interests and dubious education reform schemes first. Race to the Top has dragged our morale to the bottom. The hallmark of Gov. Jack Markell’s education agenda has been to place an unbearable emphasis on standardized testing. In laying out his plans and in his first six years in office, he stacked the leadership of the Department of Education with ideologues whose biggest goals have been to test, label, punish, and “turnaround” schools.
The Washington Post
Delaware should not make it okay for parents to opt their kids out of testing
ONE OF the most troubling developments in the debate over educational testing has been the push to get parents to opt their children out of tests. This undermines the collection of needed data while sending students a message that it’s okay to sit out if something seems too hard. Credit to Delaware Gov. Jack Markell (D), then, for standing up for accountability in vetoing a bill that would encourage parents to exempt their children from state tests. The story isn’t over in Delaware. The state’s parent-teacher association and teachers unions are urging legislators to override the governor’s veto when they convene next week.
WDEL 101.7
Brandywine to seek referendum in March
The Brandywine School District will hold a series of meetings this week to inform residents about a proposal to hike taxes. Brandywine School District Superintendent Mark Holodick said the operating and capital referendum the district is seeking would cost the average homeowner an added $270 a year. He said the $49.6 million capital request, of which $19.3 million is local funding, would pay for major improvements at several schools, including a redesign to upgrade security at Carrcroft Elementary School.
National
Albuquerque Journal
Now is the time to invest in early childhood education
Opinion by Rep. Javier Martinez/ Democrat, Albuquerque
Our proposed constitutional amendment to invest an additional amount from the land grant permanent fund, also known as the permanent school fund, for a quality, early education system is a vetted, evidence-based proposal targeted at New Mexico’s crisis in child well-being. Our initiative will help lift people out of poverty, create jobs, combat crime and position New Mexicans to successfully compete in the 21st-century economy. In short, we recommend significant expansion of home visitation programs throughout New Mexico. We recommend expansion of quality child care and pre-kindergarten services for all children. Furthermore, through increased funding, we can grow and improve the quality of early education centers, and provide higher pay for early education professionals.
Education World
79 percent of school leaders use online learning as alternative for struggling students
A survey of school leaders throughout the nation has revealed some key findings about how and why they implement online and blended learning in their schools and districts. The fourth annual study, committed by Fuel Education and conducted by MDR’s EdNET Insight service, “polled school leaders across the country, including superintendents, assistant superintendents, curriculum and instructional coordinators, principals, and teachers who have direct experience with online and blended learning programs.”
NPR
Why Kindergarten is the new first grade
If you have young kids in school, or talk with teachers of young children, you’ve likely heard the refrain — that something’s changed in the early grades. Schools seem to expect more of their youngest students academically, while giving them less time to spend in self-directed and creative play. A big new study provides the first national, empirical data to back up the anecdotes. University of Virginia researchers Daphna Bassok, Scott Latham and Anna Rorem analyzed the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, which includes a nationally representative annual sample of roughly 2,500 teachers of kindergarten and first grade who answer detailed questions. Their answers can tell us a lot about what they believe and expect of their students and what they actually do in their classrooms.
The Atlantic
Where are all the high-school grads going?
The latest national data shows that more students are getting their high-school diplomas than ever before. Just over 82 percent of the students who were high-school seniors during the 2013-14 year graduated, up from 81 percent the year before. The rate has inched up annually over the last few years, largely because of strides made by disadvantaged students—an accomplishment President Obama is likely to highlight in his State of the Union address Tuesday. But that doesn’t mean more kids are going to college. Quite the opposite.
The New York Times
Principals’ union says Mayor de Blasio has lost focus on students
When Mayor Bill de Blasio took office, it seemed like the start of a bright new day in the relationship between City Hall and the people who run New York City’s schools. Rather than close struggling schools, as his predecessor Michael R. Bloomberg had done, Mr. de Blasio promised to support them. In November 2014, he and his schools chancellor, Carmen Fariña, announced a program to funnel resources, training and social services into 94 of the lowest-performing schools. At the time, Ernest A. Logan, the president of the union that represents the city’s principals and assistant principals, lauded Mr. de Blasio, saying that the initiative demonstrated a “philosophy of collaboration over competition” and reflected “the deeply held values of most of our school leaders.”