August 18, 2017
Delaware News
Cape Gazette
Indian River School District open houses begin Aug. 24
Schools in the Indian River School District will host a series of open houses to allow students and parents to meet teachers and staff, view class lists, and tour school buildings. A number of schools will host multiple sessions during a three-day period, with each session catering to a different grade level. Consult the list below for dates and times.
Delaware 105.9
School property tax increase mostly result of State budget, not IRSD referendum
The Indian River School District wants to set the record straight as their offices have been inundated with calls from residents concerned over the large increase in school property tax bills, which is mostly the result of the actions taken by the Delaware General Assembly in balancing the budget for Fiscal Year 2018.
Delaware Public Media
Red Clay to begin work on racial equity plan in October
The Red Clay School Board voted unanimously Wednesday night to launch a new committee focused on issues of racial inequity. School board member Adriana Bohm introduced the resolution, and in an impassioned speech said last weekend’s events in Charlottesville underscore the importance of racial equity work in schools.
Delaware State News
Give kids the best start to the school year
When summer winds down, the thought of children returning to school can be stressful on the entire family. Getting back into a routine can have its challenges. Pediatrician Parul Singh, M.D., offers the following tips to help your children get the best possible start to the school year. 1. Stick to a routine. Start incorporating school-year eating habits into your schedule.
Newark Post
Shue-Medill Middle School turns field into wildflower meadow
The wildflower meadow in front of Shue-Medill Middle School isn’t exactly a field of dreams, but the school still has plenty of plans for the meadow — big plans. What was once a grass field is now filled with black-Eyed Susans, partridge peas, purple cone flowers and native grasses. And with the first flowers in bloom, Principal Michele Savage is already thinking about the next steps.
Newsworks
Delaware preschoolers have fun learning about safety
For 33 years, kids in New Castle County have learned things like how to dial 911 and stop, drop and roll through a beloved program called “Safety Town.” At the center of the week-long program is a miniature town with child-sized buildings, crosswalks, and streets. In the town, 4-, 5- and 6-year-olds learn the rules of the road while driving around in battery-operated cars.
The Dover Post
School to guide autistic children toward interacting with society
Special kids require special schooling, and that’s what Tyler Anaya is proposing for Kent County. Anaya is president of the board and a founding member of the Central Delaware School of Arts for the Exceptional for children on the autism spectrum. The school initially will serve fourth-graders through 21-year-olds, she said.
The News Journal
Delaware Institute for the Arts in Education appoints artistic director
The Delaware Institute for the Arts in Education recently named a new artistic director. Ashley SK Davis is a dancer, choreographer, actor, and a teacher, and has served as a teaching artist for DIAE since 2008.
Innovation is Delaware’s path to jobs and prosperity
Opinion by John Carney, 74th Governor of Delaware
Incyte near Alapocas. Avalanche Industries in Selbyville. Fair Square Financial in Wilmington. ILC Dover in Frederica. These Delaware-based companies all have this in common: they are relying on innovation to compete in their industries, and create jobs right here in our state. And that’s something we need more of.
National News
Education Week
Betsy DeVos Rebukes ‘Racist Bigots’ After Recent Violence, But Not Trump’s Rhetoric
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos sent a letter to agency staff Thursday decrying racist, anti-Semitic demonstrators in Charlottesville, Va., in the wake of last weekend’s violent protests. “The views of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and other racist bigots are totally abhorrent to the American ideal.” DeVos wrote to department employees.
NPR
High-Achieving, Low-Income Students: Where Elite Colleges Are Falling Short
When Anna Neuman was applying to college, there weren’t a lot of people around to help her. Students from her high school in Maryland rarely went on to competitive colleges, the school counselor worked at several schools and was hard to pin down for meetings and neither of her parents had been through the application process before.
The Atlantic
The High-Speed Preschool Experiment
When they arrived, many of the soon-to-be kindergarteners in Miami Elementary School’s summer preschool program in Lafayette, Indiana, could not spell their names or grip a pencil. They hadn’t learned to line up silently or raise their hands. At lunch, a few tried slurping their applesauce through straws.
The Daily Signal
Put Parents in Charge of Education, Not Government
Commentary by Dan Schwartz, Nevada state treasurer
After three court battles, two legislative sessions, and an outside legal bill of over $500,000, we have yet to achieve what parents in Nevada want: the right, and financial ability, to oversee their children’s education. The lesson is one for the entire country. What went wrong?
Tulsa World
OKC schools threatens lawsuit against lawmakers for underfunding education
Oklahoma City Public Schools is threatening legal action against the state Legislature for failing its “constitutional” and “moral” responsibilities to educate children, district leaders said Thursday. The school board is expected to decide Monday night whether to begin interviewing law firms for the purpose of suing the Legislature, specifically, the speaker of the House and the Senate president pro tem.