April 27, 2017
Delaware News
UDaily
Workshop to help UD community engage with public schools
University of Delaware faculty, staff and graduate students who are interested in developing partnerships with public education can attend a workshop on the subject from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday, May 22, in Trabant University Center’s Multipurpose Rooms B and C. The workshop, titled Education Partnership Academy, is designed to help UD community members become more engaged with the public schools.
DNREC
Delaware students to compete in state Envirothon Thursday, April 27 in Newark
Students from around the state will meet Thursday, April 27 at the University of Delaware’s Webb Farm in Newark to compete in the 22nd annual Delaware Envirothon – sponsored by the Delaware Association of Conservation Districts (DACD). This year, 120 students representing nine high schools and one 4-H Club will compete for more than $5,000 in college scholarships and cash awards.
Delaware 105.9
Millsboro Middle School reading teacher named IRSD Teacher of the Year
Millsboro Middle School teacher Lisa Richardson has been selected as the Teacher of the Year for 2017-2018 in the Indian River School District. The announcement was made at the district’s annual Teacher of the Year celebration on April 26. Richardson was chosen as the district’s overall winner from a pool of 16 candidates, one from each school.
The News Journal
Statewide event ‘launches’ students into STEM
Ethan Anders watched anxiously as his balsa wood glider circled up, almost brushing the tall ceiling of the Delaware State Fair building, and then back down, almost vertically, toward the ground. “My goal is 13 seconds in the air,” he said minutes before, using glue to attach a small, rectangular piece of wood to the model plane’s tail. He retrieved his plane from the ground after his test launch, then hurried back to his worktable to make some last-minute adjustments.
Rodel Blog
The link between career/technical education and student success
Blog post by Jenna Bucsak, senior program officer at the Rodel Foundation of Delaware
Just one career and technical education course above the average can boost a student’s odds of graduating high school and enrolling in a two-year college, according to a study by the Fordham Institute. It can also lead to a higher likelihood of college enrollment, employment, and better wages.
Digging Deeper: Why graduation rates don’t tell the whole story
Blog post by Jenna Bucsak, senior program officer at the Rodel Foundation of Delaware
It may be stating the obvious, but a high school diploma is not the sole determinant of student success. Instead, we usually need to examine a student’s entire academic career—from kindergarten through 12th grade—to get a picture of how well prepared they are to pursue their interests after high school. Likewise, disparities in academic achievement can offer insight into why low-income and minority students fall often behind their peers—and expose areas for intervention so all students have the best chance to pursue whichever options they choose after high school.
National News
U.S. News & World Report
Education accountability bill clears panel, prospects dim
A proposal designed to give the Republican-controlled Legislature more of a voice in the crafting of a Wisconsin state education accountability plan required by the federal government won Assembly committee approval on Wednesday, but it appears to be doomed in the Senate. The Assembly Education Committee approved the bill on a party-line 8-6 vote, with all Republicans in support and Democrats against.
Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Early ESSA plans don’t do enough to signal that all students are important
By next week, sixteen states and the District of Columbia will have submitted plans to the U.S. Department of Education to meet their obligations under the Every Student Succeeds Act. These publicly available documents describe how states will satisfy a number of ESSA’s requirements, including those concerning testing, school improvement, and accountability.
Real Clear Education
Planning for ESSA shows state shortcomings
Turnover at the top levels of state government and a lack of relational infrastructure appear to be hampering some states in their efforts to develop plans to comply with the new federal law governing American education. Both Indiana and West Virginia recently welcomed new state education superintendents.
The Hechinger Report
One possible solution for the future of career and technical education
Sometimes, students need a little nudge – and some freedom – to finally understand how to succeed in school. That was the case for one teenager in Hamilton County, Tennessee. She was encouraged to enroll in a program that allowed her to take classes at her own pace. She had a 1.6 GPA when she entered the program last fall, in her junior year of high school. Then she made honor roll for the first time in her life.
The Washington Post
Is there really a link between test scores and America’s economic future?
For years now, some economists and policymakers have tried to make the case that there is an important link between student standardized test scores and economic growth in the United States. They do this with complex mathematical formulas that most people can’t even pretend to follow. Critics have argued repeatedly that the link doesn’t really exist, but the debate continues, especially when new scores from the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, are released.