April 28, 2015
Delaware News
Newsworks
Just how big is opt out in Delaware?
NewsWorks/WHYY asked each of Delaware’s 19 school districts for two pieces of information: 1.) The number of students who have been formally opted out of the Smarter Balance assessment. 2.) The number of test-eligible students in the district. So far, 14 of the 19 districts have responded.
Delaware Public Media
GOP lawmaker seeks method to collect unpaid school taxes
Local districts across the state have $32.4 million in uncollected property tax over the past five years and a new bill from state lawmakers would garnish state tax refunds to try and recoup it by including them in the state’s intercept program.
Cape Gazette
Parents, legislators concerned with test fatigue
State tests are underway across the state, but some parents don’t want their children tested. A group of Delaware parents, officials and legislators are joining others nationwide who say they’ve had enough of state and national testing.
Sussex Tech bill sails through House
House Bill 100, which would give Sussex Tech a two-year tax rate increase while downsizing student enrollment over three years, passed the Delaware House of Representatives by 36 votes, with one no vote, three not voting and one absent.
Delaware State News
Jefferson Award winners honored at council meeting
Students from Central Middle, Dover High and Holy Cross schools received the prestigious Jefferson Award for outstanding service in the community through Phase 1 of the LEAD360 Challenge, a platform that empowers youths to be leaders, problem-solvers and entrepreneurs.
National News
The New York Times
Teachers’ unions reasserting themselves with push against standardized testing
After several years in which teachers’ unions have been hammered on the issue of tenure, have lost collective bargaining rights in some states and have seen their evaluations increasingly tied to student scores, they have begun, with some success, to reassert themselves using a bread-and-butter issue: the annual tests given to elementary and middle school students in every state.
Education Week
My favorite teachers use social media: A student perspective
Commentary by Katie Benmar, a freshman at Roosevelt High School in Seattle
I hope that educators will consider experimenting more with technology and social media in their classrooms in a way that will be intellectually challenging to students. Believe me, your students will appreciate it, even if not every attempt is successful.
Indianapolis Star
GOP changes plan to dilute Ritz’s power
A Republican plan to restructure the Indiana State Board of Education announced Monday would allow Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz, a Democrat, to continue to chair the board until the end of her term while limiting her agency’s authority over education policy.
Wausau Daily Herald
Technical education can boost our workforce
Opinion by Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Senator from Wisconsin
One thing both parties should be able to agree on is the need to create economic growth by investing in workforce readiness and manufacturing — making us more competitive as a state and a nation.
Providence Journal
Public school students get leg up on college
In its first meeting with Barbara Cottam as chairwoman, the Rhode Island Board of Education unanimously approved new regulations expanding a program that allows qualified public school students to take college courses while they’re still in high school.