April 24, 2014
Local News
Data Quality Campaign
Delaware uses data to make the best decisions for kids
A video
Like many states, Delaware has been collecting a broad range of education data for quite some time, data that could be used to conduct robust analyses and inform policy and practice. Now, with the help of a data strategist, Delaware is using its data to make well-informed policy decisions.
The News Journal
Red Clay wins national award for going green
Red Clay School District is one of only nine districts and 48 schools in the country to win national recognition for environmental sustainability. The White House Council on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Department of Education gave Red Clay its “Green Ribbon” award, which honors districts on the cutting edge of reducing environmental impact and utility costs while promoting better health and environmental education.
Cape Gazette
Teacher voice no confidence in Common Core implementation
Delaware’s teachers’ union is supporting a group of its members who recently launched a vote of no confidence on implementing national Common Core standards. Cape Henlopen Education Association members Sarah Ross and Amanda Jester attended the DSEA assembly meeting. When the Cape Gazette asked whether any action was taken on Common Core, Ross said in an email, “You were misinformed. There was no action taken on Common Core.” A second request for clarification of CHEA’s position drew an email response of “no further comment.”
Delaware Department of Education
Schools to celebrate successes in Common Core implementation
A press release
Guiding teams from about 100 Delaware public schools will gather in Dover the evening of May 1st to share best practices and lessons learned during their first year in Common Ground for the Common Core. Joined by their superintendents, local school board presidents, PTA representatives, State Board of Education members and legislators, they will highlight exemplary work across Delaware.
Sussex Countian
Clarissa Stevenson named Indian River’s Teacher of the Year
Millsboro Middle School social studies teacher Clarissa Stevenson had been chosen to represent Indian River as the district’s 2014-2015 Teacher of the Year. Stevenson has been teaching for the district for 10 years.
National News
NPR
More Americans are earning a college degree
The proportion of Americans with a two- or four-year college degree is rising and the numbers look better for black and Hispanic college-going students, too, according to a new report released by the Lumina Foundation.
Associated Press
South Carolina nixes high school exit exam
South Carolina is replacing its high school exit exam with tests considered more useful to students’ future success, with scores that could go on resumes or college applications.
Education chief: Testing critics don’t have plan
Gov. Bobby Jindal supports legislation — so far defeated — that would jettison Louisiana’s use of standardized testing from the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Career, or PARCC, a consortium of states that developed the tests. Jindal said this week if lawmakers don’t scrap the tests, he’d consider trying to remove Louisiana from the PARCC consortium himself.
Indiana panel approves new school standards
A panel of Indiana business and education voted in support of new math and English standards to replace the Common Core in state classrooms this fall.
New York Times
Republicans see political wedge in Common Core
The health care law may be Republicans’ favorite weapon against Democrats this year, but there is another issue roiling their party and shaping the establishment-versus-grass-roots divide ahead of the 2016 presidential primaries: the Common Core.
Gates-funded student data repository to close
InBloom, a non-profit corporation offering to warehouse and manage student data for public school districts across the country, announced that it has planned to shut its doors.