April 22, 2015

Delaware News

The News Journal
15 Delaware schools to receive workforce training grants
Gov. Jack Markell on Wednesday will announce the 15 high schools slated to receive the first round of workforce training grants under the new Pathways to Prosperity program. The funding will allow students at those schools to earn college credits through specialized instruction and hands-on training for job opportunities in high-demand fields.

Phys.org
Science of learning can help parents, developers grade educational apps
A new report co-authored by Roberta Michnick Golinkoff of the University of Delaware provides an evidence-based guide that parents, educators, and app designers alike can use to evaluate the quality of so-called “educational” apps.

Hockessin Community News
Rodel Teacher Council announces inaugural class of graduates
“The thing I’ll never forget about this experience is how I could learn something from a charter school teacher, or a vo-tech teacher—that we’re not in competition—because every kid in Delaware is our kid,” said Robyn Howton, a Mount Pleasant High School English teacher.

Delaware Department of Education
Who are Delaware’s teacher leaders?
Data brief
84 percent of Delaware educators responding to a 2013 teaching conditions survey reported that “teachers are encouraged to participate in school leadership roles.” This data brief considers the important leadership roles in which educators serve outside of the classroom through an analysis of four statewide teacher leader groups*in Delaware: Teachers of the Year, Lead Mentors, Delaware Talent Co-Op teachers, and the LearnZillion Dream Team.

National News

Education Week
Chicago school designed with blended learning in mind
Education leaders and architects have for years touted the benefits of designing schools to mesh with their academic missions—and to create healthy environments for students. The new Intrinsic campus, located in the working class Belmont-Cragin neighborhood, reflects that same philosophy, and one school’s interest in using blended learning and technology to support teaching and learning.

Traction limited in rolling back Common Core
Foes of the Common Core State Standards hoped this would be their year in state legislatures, but so far they have little to boast about.

The New York Times
Is improving schools all about money?
Opponents of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan to improve struggling schools in New York by closely tying teacher evaluations to student test scores say what’s needed is more funding, not more reliance on testing. But in his State of the State speech in January, Governor Andrew Cuomo disagreed: “Don’t tell me that if we only had more money, it would change,” he said. “We have been putting more money into this system every year for a decade and it hasn’t.” Is spending more on education the best way to improve schools and teaching?

Why American workers without much education are being hammered
In short, they face a double whammy. Less-educated Americans, especially men, are shifting away from manufacturing and other jobs that once offered higher pay, and a higher share are now working in lower-paying food service, cleaning and groundskeeping jobs. Simultaneously, pay levels are declining in almost all of the fields that employ less-educated workers, so even those who have held onto jobs as manufacturers, operators and laborers are making less than they would have a generation ago.

Chalkbeat Tennessee
Tennessee House unanimously approves Common Core compromise
The bill would add an additional step — vetting by a panel appointed and approved by the legislature — to the current year-long standards review initiated last fall by the governor.