January 22, 2016

Delaware

Delaware Public Media
State Board of Ed. puts off vote on Wilmington redistricting plan
The State Board of Education on Thursday deferred action on the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission’s plan for redistricting public schools in Wilmington, telling the commission that it should return an improved plan to the board within 60 days. The vote followed a discussion of nearly 30 minutes in which board members said they would like to see more details and clarifications of numerous topics covered in the plan, which would transfer operation of the Christina School District’s five schools within the city to the Red Clay Consolidated School District.

Newark Post
Students, tutoring centers prepare for new version of SAT
As they have done for decades, students in Newark are busily preparing for the March SAT, now just six weeks away. However, the test these students are studying for is unlike any SAT that’s been given before. Gone are the obscure SAT vocabulary words and the penalty for guessing answers. The test has been reduced from three sections to two, with the previously mandatory essay now optional (though some colleges may still require it).

NewsWorks
Delaware state board rejects Wilmington redistricting plan
An ambitious attempt to redraw district lines in Wilmington and map the city’s educational future hit a snag Thursday. The State Board of Education declined to approve the Wilmington Education Improvement Committee’s redistricting plan, directing WEIC to make changes before a potential re-vote. Board members argued the plan didn’t focus enough on educational outcomes and worried the state wouldn’t be able to fund it. WEIC—a 23-person assemblage of politicians, parents, and advocates—now has 60 days to review and revise the plan.

Gov. Markell gives last State of the State address
Gov. Jack Markell reflected on Delaware’s economy and job growth, and the importance of creating opportunities for individuals of all backgrounds to succeed, during his State of the State address Thursday. It was Markell’s final State of the State, delivered from Legislative Hall in Dover, since he took office in 2009. He said the key to a successful economy is improved education and training. Markell called for an increase in starting salaries for teachers, continued efforts in training for those less fortunate and reforming the criminal justice system so inmates can reintegrate into the community.

Office of the Governor
Governor Markell lays out vision to position Delaware for success in years to come
Last year, Markell announced the Delaware Promise, a partnership among the General Assembly, business community, and Delaware schools and colleges, to help ensure that 65 percent of our workforce will earn a college degree or professional certificate by 2025. Today he celebrated the progress of this initiative and announced its expansion. Expand the availability of SEED higher education scholarships by expanding their benefits to part-time students and those who must take a break from their studies.

Smyrna-Clayton Sun-Times
American Legion Post 14 donates $2,000 to Clayton Elementary PTO
David C. Harrison American Legion Post 14 in Smyrna recently donated $2,000 to the Clayton Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization. The money will be used for new playground equipment at the school. American Legion Executive Officer Mike Schroeder, Adjutant Owen Cole and Commander Scott Holmes presented the donation which was accepted Clayton Elementary PTO Secretary Heather Jones and Principal Stephanie McGuire.

The Dover Post
Capital chooses Newark firm for strategic plan
Capital School District has chosen Newark based Demosophia to help it formulate a new strategic plan. The decision was made at the Jan. 20 regular board of education meeting. Business Manager Sean Sokolowski said the district chose the problem solving firm based on its reputation and ability to enhance community involvement. The district has budgeted $45,000 to the pay the firm, which will start gathering important data on the district once contract negotiations are complete.

The News Journal
School redistricting, funding plan hits roadblock
A sweeping proposal to redistrict Wilmington schools and overhaul the state’s education funding system stalled Thursday morning when the State Board of Education voted to send the plan back to the commission that created it.”There’s no question of the urgency of the situation and no question that the work was sincere,” said education board member Barbara Rutt, who made the motion to return the proposal to the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission.

National

Education Week
Teachers PD drives school growth, and other countries offer models
Blog post by Ross Brenneman of Education Week Teacher
A new pair of reports uses international comparisons to show how any accountability system that fails to take professional development into consideration might be fighting a losing battle. The studies, funded by the National Center on Education and the Economy, were led by researchers Ben Jensen and Minxuan Zhang. Both researchers presented on their work at a forum held here Thursday, and both reports boil down to a single point: School accountability needs to factor in the quality of teacher professional development. “School improvement equals professional learning,” Jensen said.

Forbes
The higher education highway needs more off-ramps
Opinion by Ryan Craig, managing director of University Ventures
Over the holiday I took my family on a road trip. Like most drivers trying to make time, we took the Interstate for the most part. Then somewhere around Barstow, CA we got off the highway and drove old Route 66. Higher education used to be more like Route 66. Stop wherever, whenever. No big deal. A degree was the destination, but no sweat if you didn’t get there; there were plenty of interesting places to stop. And so what? You hadn’t spent that much on the journey to begin with. Today’s bachelor’s degree is an Interstate Highway.

Governing
Nikki Haley wants South Carolina to invest in K-12, Not ‘bloated higher education’
Gov. Nikki Haley asked S.C lawmakers to put more attention on fixing K-12 schools, rather than spending more money on the state’s colleges, during her State of the State address Wednesday. Haley advocated borrowing $200 million to repair K-12 schools, a year after opposing borrowing for a number of other projects, including, she said, “hundreds of millions of dollars to fill a wish list for our already bloated higher education system.” “No one can look at the tuition hikes parents and students have seen over the last decade and tell me that higher education doesn’t have enough money,” the Republican governor told the GOP-controlled Legislature.

The Philadelphia Inquirer
Wrong time to slumber
Opinion by The Inquirer Editorial Board
Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agree that starting school a little later would reduce teenage sleep deprivation, which can lead to depression, tardiness, poor grades, obesity, and even suicide. So why more school aren’t districts changing when classes begin? One problem is the complex school bus schedules that districts say would cost a fortune to change. In the West Chester Area School District, Superintendent James Scanlon said, it could cost $36 million to reroute transportation for public, parochial, and charter schools.

U.S. News & World Report
Education department to prioritize college completion
The Obama administration has one year until it hands over the keys to the White House to the 45th president. And until then, the Department of Education plans to make increasing college completion its top priority, especially for the most underserved students. “We continue to be very troubled by the completion numbers,” Undersecretary of Education Ted Mitchell said Thursday while on a panel at the Association of American Colleges and Universities’ annual conference in Washington. “We know we have a completion problem,” he said.