April 22, 2014
Local News
Dover Post
Capital Board of Education votes to accept Race to The Top extension, revises Component Five policy
During its regular monthly meeting the Capital School District Board of Education moved to accept a no-cost Race to the Top extension, followed by a vote to maintain specific Race to the Top-funded positions. The board also unanimously voted to revise teacher evaluation policy to give administrators the power to change unsatisfactory ratings for those who had achieved the 35 to 49 percent growth targets in order to come into compliance with Delaware law. Board president Matthew Lindell also made the suggestion that the board add a revision to aid teachers that fall below that 35 percent growth mark.
The News Journal
Capital School Board gets high marks for meeting
A letter to the editor
I went to the Capital School Board meeting last Wednesday night and was pleasantly surprised to see the school board so engaged. I came away feeling hopeful.
Making the case for Delaware charter schools
An op-ed by Ron Russo, former president of the Charter School of Wilmington and the former principal of St. Mark’s High School
Currently we are developing a parallel public school system and that can be divisive. Some folks are looking to limit the number of charter schools by limiting the issuance of new charters. We should be implementing successful ideas in all public schools thereby reducing the demand for new charter schools. At the April 4 Rodel-sponsored program, “Global Education Event – International Lessons for Delaware,” the power point presentation showed that the greatest gains in public education took place when schools had greater autonomy and there was collaborative sharing among them. Maybe Delaware should take a trip “back to the future.”
National News
Education Week
Study: N.C. pre-K program shows greater gains than expected
North Carolina’s state-funded pre-K program for 4-year-olds has produced better-than-expected positive outcomes for participants, new research says. Significant gains were seen across all areas of learning.
Associated Press
Indiana works toward adoption of testing replacement
As the first state to drop the national Common Core learning standards, Indiana is rushing to approve new state-crafted benchmarks in time for teachers to use them this fall, and education leaders from across the nation are closely watching.
Louisiana education chief challenges testing critics
Louisiana Superintendent of Education John White said critics of the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Career, or PARCC, don’t have a viable option for what standardized tests they’d use instead.
Mississippi Dept. of Education eyes expanded outreach
Mississippi appears ready to add 27 contract employees to help local schools improve teaching through a $2.8 million initiative.
Economic Policy Institute
Report views Brown v. Board as a disappointment
With the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling approaching, a new paper says the decision failed its mission. School segregation is still a problem, and initial school integration gains stalled shortly after the ruling.
Inside Higher Education
White House wants to put community colleges to work
The White House rolled out two job-training grant programs that focus on the community college sector. Both push for closer ties between colleges and employers.