April 29, 2014

Local News

WDDE
Delaware graduation rate matches national average
A new nationwide report on the four-year high school graduation rates shows Delaware is exactly at the national average. The annual GradNation study released Monday says 80 percent of Delaware students graduated in the 2011-2012 school year. The national average also inched up one percent in that year from 79 percent.

The News Journal
Lawmakers want more consideration of charters’ impact
As Delaware’s charter school footprint grows, some lawmakers want state officials to be able to reject new charters based solely on the impacts they would have on existing schools. “Right now we just have this process where charter after charter after charter is opening, but we’re not really looking at what this means for the larger system,” said Sen. Bryan Townsend, D-Newark. “This is not about being anti-charter at all. It’s just that we’ve got to have some coordination of our resources, and we’ve got to make sure we’re being as efficient as possible.”

Delaware Department of Education
Secretary of Education to honor 79 seniors for outstanding academic achievement
A press release
Delaware public high schools’ top students will be honored Monday as exemplary scholars of the graduating Class of 2014 at the annual Secretary of Education’s Scholars Dinner. The state’s political and education leaders will gather to celebrate the students’ achievements and wish them well as they enter careers or continue their education at some of the nation’s top colleges and universities. Nominated by their principals, the scholars were selected for their academic excellence and community service.

State extends scholarship deadlines
A press release
Due to technical issues with the state’s scholarship website that may have prevented some students from accessing the site, the Delaware Department of Education is extending the deadlines for some state-sponsored professional incentive and private scholarships administered by the Delaware Higher Education Office.

Seven Delaware seniors named U.S. Presidential Scholar semifinalists
A press release
Seven Delaware students are semifinalists in the 2014 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. From nearly 3.2 million graduating high school seniors, more than 4,000 students were identified as candidates for the program and 565 were named semifinalists. Up to 141 students will be chosen as 2014 U.S. Presidential Scholars, one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students.

Cape Gazette
Lt. Gov. Denn visits Rehoboth Elementary
Lt. Gov. Matt Denn visited Rehoboth Elementary School April 2 to celebrate the school’s second recognition as a School of Continued Excellence. Denn, Cape Henlopen School Superintendent Robert Fulton and Sen. Ernie Lopez, R-Lewes, shook hands with teachers and students as Denn presented teachers with an etched crystal and students with a medal.

National News

Indianapolis Star
Indiana board approves new K-12 standards
The State Board of Education gave final approval to new K-12 education standards despite some objections that the guidelines are a warmed-over version of Common Core.

Seattle Times
Washington state first in country to lose waiver from No Child law
Washington has become the first state in the country to lose its waiver from many requirements of the federal education law known as No Child Left Behind. The U.S. Department of Education posted a letter regarding the status of Washington’s waiver Thursday. Gov. Jay Inslee called the news ”disappointing but not unexpected.”

Inside Higher Education
Calls for college leaders to defend Common Core
An op-ed by Dan Greenstein and Vicki Phillips, Gates Foundation
We must ensure this essential work is not derailed. To be successful, we need higher education leaders to engage directly, to learn about the Common Core State Standards, and join the debate. Why? Because they are in the best position to help Americans understand that rigorous standards like these are needed for our students so they succeed in high school, through college, and into their careers.

Education Week
U.S. graduation rates up, achievement gaps remain
The four-year graduation rate in the United States ticked upward slightly during the 2011-12 school year to a historical high of 80 percent, up from 79 percent the year before, according to a report.

Four state education chiefs rally behind Common Core implementation
Four state education commissioners sounded their version of that battle cry today as they described, for a Washington audience, the work they’re doing to implement the Common Core State Standards, despite pushback from teachers unions, lawmakers, parents, and activists on the right and the left. Sponsored by the Council of Chief State School Officers to counterbalance the accumulating newspaper headlines about botched common-core implementation, the forum featured education leaders who have been among the standards’ strongest backers: North Carolina’s June Atkinson, Maryland’s Lillian Lowery, Tennessee’s Kevin S. Huffman, and New Mexico’s Hanna Skandera.

New York Times
Fewer U.S. graduates opt for college after high school
The proportion of new American high school graduates who go on to college — a figure that rose regularly for decades — now appears to be declining. Last October, just 65.9 percent of high school graduates enrolled in college.