April 28, 2014

Local News

WDDE
Some new Delaware charter schools face enrollment challenges
Two charter schools due to open in Wilmington for the 2014-15 academic year face significant enrollment shortfalls that jeopardize their chances of opening on schedule. In Delaware’s two-decade experience with charter schools, the cases are unique, Jennifer Nagourney, director of the Charter Schools Office in the State Department of Education, says, because these charter schools have not yet opened and they “posted the lowest enrollment percentages” in the history of Delaware charter schools, “which raises even more questions about financial viability.”

The News Journal
Feds to offer grants for job-training programs
There are about $450 million available in grants from the U.S. Department of Labor for the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training initiative. The final round of money will prioritize partnerships with industry and employers, developing relationships to build a “career pathways system,” improving how data on employment and education are used.

Raise the bar carefully in teacher education
An op-ed by Frank Murray, School of Education professor, University of Delaware
Calls to “raise the bar” for admission to Delaware’s teacher education programs, like those that will take effect this July from Delaware’s Senate Bill 51, are based on a reasonable assumption that the bar and the quality it represents are related so that raising one would lead to increases in the other. When that relationship is weak (the typical case) or non-linear, it is likely, however, that raising the bar will have no effect on quality and may in fact lower it.

Inmates step up to help others avoid same fate
An opinion by Rhonda Graham
During the recent opening of Wilmington’s Achievement Center – designed to help newly released inmates stay out of prison – local and national versions of “My Brother’s Keeper” programs kept coming to mind. Which brings to mind Angela Duckworth, a University of Pennsylvania psychology professor and guru of grit – that definable passion for perseverance to reach your goals. Not just by vision alone, but with the courage to tackle self-discipline, by taking account of your personal weaknesses. It would be interesting to see how the DCI inmates benefit from learning about her.

STEMfest: Teaching science with a show
The Independence School has been known for its communication arts programs, Yazus said, but has not traditionally been known for its STEM programs. A group of school officials and parents put together a STEM committee that has done things like create an “innovation station.” As Lt. Gov. Matt Denn said Thursday, the school is one of many across Delaware trying to bolster science and math teaching and encourage more kids to think about technical careers, as companies across the world seek highly-specialized scientific workers.

Cape Gazette
Residents question appointment of Sussex Tech board
Sussex Tech officials are taking no stand on a bill that would require elections for the school boards at the state’s vocational-technical schools. Sen. Brian Pettyjohn, R-Georgetown, and Rep. Ruth Briggs King, R-Georgetown, sponsored the bill following Sussex Tech’s announcement that without a tax increase, 24 teaching, administrative and support positions would be cut.

LWV coordinates Common Core Standards presentation to Millsboro Chamber
The League of Women Voters has been coordinating presentations on the Common Core Standards throughout Sussex County as part of its mission to facilitate public awareness of this significant topic.

National News

Anchorage Daily News
Alaska goes into overtime to reach compromise
The House-Senate free conference committee announced a compromise on the education bill that will provide $100 million a year for local schools in each of the next three years.

New York Times
With Philadelphia shortfall, schools face renewed cuts
A $216-million budget shortfall could force Philadelphia’s public schools to make further staffing cuts next year, school officials said on Friday. The superintendent of schools, William R. Hite Jr., said the 131,000-student district would not have the money it needed to maintain existing levels of education that he said were already “wholly insufficient” after a $304-million budget cut at the start of the 2013-14 school year.

Connecticut Mirror
Connecticut panel wants multiple measures
A Connecticut panel responsible for crafting the requirements on how districts evaluate their teachers unanimously approved changes that restrict districts from using a single standardized test when grading their teachers.

Associated Press
Legislative panel: End Common Core in NC
Republican lawmakers sound ready to separate North Carolina from the nationally developed K-12 academic standards after complaints from parents, think tanks and other groups that Common Core requirements are controlling curriculum and classrooms.

Education Week
Standards pose teacher-prep challenge
Progress at readying new teachers for vastly different K-12 content expectations can probably best be described by one adjective: inconsistent.

Politico
White House wants improved teacher training
The Obama administration plans to use tens of millions in federal financial aid as leverage to reward teacher training programs that produce teachers who routinely raise student test scores — and to drive the rest out of business.