August 6, 2014
Local News
The News Journal
EastSide Charter’s shrinking minority achievement gap
An commentary by Charles S. McDowell, Board Chair of EastSide Charter School
EastSide Charter School, where 90 percent of the students are from low-income environments, is focused on closing that gap, and this year saw test scores in reading and math proficiency rise to the level of state averages, after testing about 30 points behind three years ago. How are we doing this? By employing a talented staff, working with and empowering our students and their families, and effectively implementing outside-the-box and innovative best practices.
Odyssey Charter eyes Barley Mill for K-12 campus
Odyssey Charter School has filed plans to create a K-12 campus that would consume more than 35 acres of the Barley Mill Plaza Office Park, which would reduce land available for development there by more than a third.
WDEL
Struggling Wilmington charter school eyed
State officials put Moyer on formal review last month, noting that it turned in the lowest standardized test scores of any charter school in Delaware for the 2013-2014 school year. The latest test results were even worse than the previous year, when less than half of Moyer students demonstrated proficiency in reading and math. Officials also noted a host of other concerns involving academics, school discipline and attendance, and low enrollment.
WDDE
State seeking support for its Adopt-A-Student program
Back to school gear is in and summer items are out at area retail stores and Delaware’s Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) is asking for help filling shopping carts for kids in need. DHSS is asking for donations in the form of gift cards to support the agency’s Adopt-A Student program which allows families to purchase school supplies and clothing.
Dover Post
Capital School District to host back-to-school bus tour
Capital School District officials will spend Thursday evening getting children and parents excited and ready for the coming school year, with the help of some bright yellow school buses and the Dover High School drum line.
National News
Miami Herald
Living & Learning: Combination schools booming, blurring lines in South Florida
Schools combining elementary and middle grades, and even high school grades, are increasingly popular with parents and researchers who say students perform better.
Hartford Courant
Education scandals could hurt reform efforts, advocates say
The leader of Connecticut’s largest teachers’ union sees the recent education scandals in Hartford and New London as evidence that nontraditional school-reform efforts are unraveling and could collapse under their own weight.
New York Times
De Blasio’s prekindergarten expansion collides with church-state divide
A one-page document issued by New York City officials to religious schools weighing whether to host full-day prekindergarten classes raised concerns. Rather than state that all religious instruction is prohibited, the city’s guidelines say that religious texts may be taught if they are “presented objectively as part of a secular program of instruction.”
Education Week
Born amid tumult, Head Start deeply rooted in Mississippi
Community connections forged during the civil rights era have helped sustain Head Start as a powerful presence for generations of Mississippians.
Missouri ballot to feature teacher evaluation plan
An initiative proposing a new teacher evaluation method has won approval to appear on the November ballot in Missouri. The secretary of state’s office confirmed Tuesday that supporters had gathered enough petition signatures of registered voters to qualify the proposed constitutional amendment for the fall election.
Texas’ 2013 on-time graduation rate 88 percent
Texas’ education commissioner says a record 88 percent of the state’s high school students graduated on time last year. That’s up from 87.7 percent from the class of 2012 and marks the sixth straight year of gains.