August 31, 2017
Delaware News
Coastal Point
IRSD citizens group debates the issues, reviews new budget
The Indian River School District has found some new eyes to look at the budget, and they’ve got some ideas. The Citizens Budget Oversight Committee convened on Aug. 21 for their first look at the IRSD’s proposed $151 million preliminary budget for the 2018 fiscal year. Their mission is to meet quarterly to review and provide input on district finances, as part of Superintendent Mark Steele’s mission for better public transparency.
Dover Post
Bright Rock Christian Academy ordered to stop offering diplomas
In the summer of 2016, the Consumer Protection Unit received complaints from former students of Bright Rock and its affiliates that high school diplomas obtained from those organizations were not accepted by employers or institutions of higher education. The CPU commenced an investigation in August 2016 and served Bright Rock, its principals and affiliates with a subpoena, which Bright Rock ignored.
Hoy en Delaware
Original founder visits Sussex Academy
On his recent visit from Chile, one of Sussex Academy of Arts and Science founders, Gonzalo Martinez, visited Sussex Academy. Mr. Martinez became involved in Sussex Academy of Arts and Sciences one year prior to its opening. His goal was to encourage attendance from the Hispanic community. He worked with local Hispanic families and when the school opened in 2000, the student population was 2.6% Hispanic population.
Newark Post
First day of school brings excitement, nerves for students in Newark
For the Anoje family, Monday brought more than the usual first day of school jitters. The family moved to the Newark area this summer and on Monday morning, Joy Anoje was trying to juggle getting her three children off to three different schools. One of her sons is attending a charter school in Wilmington, one is starting his first day of middle school and her daughter is starting third grade at McVey Elementary School. “We’re all emotionally wrapped up,” she said as she dropped her daughter, Crystal, off at McVey. “Everything was new — three different experiences this morning.”
The News Journal
Dover ‘diploma mill’ Bright Rock Christian Academy ordered to cease operations
Bright Rock Christian Academy, under investigation by the Delaware Department of Justice’s consumer fraud unit, has been ordered by a Superior Court judge to stop offering diplomas and other educational services until it cooperates with investigators.
Newsworks
Reputed Delaware diploma mill ordered to halt offers, cooperate with investigation
A Superior Court judge has ordered a Dover organization that reportedly has charged adults $500 for a “fully-accredited high school diploma in as little as five weeks” to cease operations until it cooperates with investigators from the Attorney General’s Office. The reputed diploma mill, which uses the name Bright Rock Christian Academy, was also fined a total of $234,000 and ordered to pay attorney’s fees of $5,221. The fines were $1,000 apiece on behalf of 229 “consumer victims” and $5,000 for filing five years of false filings to the Delaware Department of Education since 2012.
Milford Chronicle
Back to school child health, safety tips
While new school clothes, backpacks and school supplies can dominate parents’ back-to-school lists, the Division of Public Health (DPH) shares these tips to keep your child healthier and safer during the new school year.
Smyrna-Clayton Sun-Times
New superintendent begins new school year in Smyrna
Patrik Williams is starting his first school year as superintendent of the Smyrna School District on a positive note after facing a dilemma this summer. After Williams started his new job in June, he and the district were immediately dealt a blow when the Delaware legislature cut about $1 million in funding from Smyrna schools as part of budget cuts affecting all school districts.
Town Square Delaware
Hollywood Invades Delaware’s Teen Summit
Wilmington’s next generation of young leaders held their own Delaware Teen Summit this month, addressing issues that affect today’s teens and taking aim at perceptions about body image, the negative effects of peer pressure and the threat of drug and alcohol abuse. The prevention-themed weekend was filled with as many fun and uplifting activities as serious ones, and the hundreds of teens who participated remarked that many made new friends and all learned a lot.
University of Delaware College of Education and Human Development
Improving ELA instruction in DE classrooms
UD literacy professors Josh Wilson and Charles MacArthur received an IES grant to study the effect PEG Writing software has on nearly 3,000 students from Red Clay School District in grades 3-5. Wilson’s preliminary research in Red Clay and Colonial School District has found that the use of the software helps teachers identify struggling writers early in the school year, allowing them to offer support to those students sooner.
National News
Pew Research
4 charts on how people around the world see education
Publics around the world disagree about which is more important to emphasize in school: creative thinking or basic academic skills and discipline. Here are four key findings about educational preferences from a 2016 Pew Research Center survey of 19 countries.
Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Diversifying our selective colleges begins in kindergarten
Opinion by Chester E. Finn, Jr. Distinguished Senior Fellow and President Emeritus
A recent New York Times analysis suggests that a generation of policies meant to bring racial proportionality to our selective colleges has failed. “Even after decades of affirmative action, black and Hispanic students are more underrepresented at the nation’s top colleges and universities than they were 35 years ago,” declared the authors. In 2015, black and Hispanic students made up 15 and 22 percent of the U.S. college age population, respectively, but just 8 and 14 percent of the enrollments at top universities. Fortunately, this is a treatable malady, so long as schools and school systems grasp the urgency of creating more opportunities for black and Hispanic students who show strong academic potential.
Hechinger Report
Nonwhite students slow to seek mental health counseling for which they’re more in need
Seeking psychological help is “culturally unacceptable in the African-American and Latino communities,” said Terri Wright, executive director of the Steve Fund, a nonprofit established by the family of a black graduate student named Stephen Rose who committed suicide. The organization advocates for mental and emotional well-being for black, Hispanic, Native American and Asian college students.
Education Week
The Next Generation of Teacher Prep?
The University of North Carolina in Charlotte has launched an on-campus high school for aspiring teachers. The Charlotte Teacher Early College High School opened its doors to 50 9th graders in the second week of August. Students will spend their first two years completing high school requirements, and in the remaining three years tackle general-education college requirements while training to lead classes of their own