October 23, 2013

Local News

The News Journal
Delaware’s College Night draws crowd of parents, students
A throng of college-bound students and their parents swarmed the Bob Carpenter Center at the University of Delaware on Tuesday night to gather information from officials and participating institutions. “The goal is to give our students as many choices and options as they could want,” said Shirine Skovronski, a counselor at Newark High School.

The UD Review
GED testing revamped for current high school rigor
As of Jan. 2, 2014, the tests of General Education Development exam is changing in both format and price. The GED is the only high school equivalency credential recognized by all U.S. states, according to the test website. Julie Bieber, the education coordinator of the Education and Employment Department at the West End Neighborhood House, a no-cost community center in Wilmington, said she believes the biggest issue for students will be being able to afford the cost of the new test. With new and more complex material covered, it may take individuals longer to prepare for the test, she said. “We are constantly adapting to new needs of the students and community and educational needs,” Bieber said. “The Delaware Department of Education gives us the support we need.”

WDDE
Gov. Markell educates Delaware State students on teacher prep legislation
Governor Jack Markell visited with education majors at Delaware State University Tuesday to discuss recent educator preparation legislation, expectations for future teachers, and state initiatives to support teachers. After explaining why the state has raised the standards and efforts to connect future educators to teaching jobs, Markell fielded questions from the students on standardized testing, student-teaching requirements and family engagement.

Cape Gazette
State approves new school
State officials have unofficially approved a new Cape Henlopen elementary school and middle school additions. “This is great news for us. We received an unofficial phone call from the state on Tuesday,” said Superintendent Robert Fulton. Capital improvement projects require state approval; by approving, the state agrees to fund 60 percent of the total project cost – about $20 million per recent estimates. Taxpayers would have to approve paying the remaining 40 percent – or about $10 million – in a referendum.

National News

Education Week
16 states, D.C. vie for slice of Race to Top Early Learning Challenge
Sixteen states, plus the District of Columbia, have thrown their hats in the ring for a piece of the Education Department’s $280 million Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge fund. The applicants will be eligible for grants ranging from $37.5 million to $75 million. The grant size will depend on the state’s share of the national population of children from low-income families, as well as their proposed plans.

Common-Core study: teachers aiming too low with reading assignments
A new survey shows that most teachers are still gearing class reading assignments to students’ skill level, rather than–as the common-core standards envision–to their grade level.

Juneau Empire
Native science program expands, focuses on rural education
The University of Alaska’s acclaimed Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program known as ANSEP is embarked on an ambitious course that could remake rural education if it could be expanded. The strategy is to begin in middle school to build interest and encourage young people to take science and math courses. This continues into high school. The goal is to set high expectations for students but also to provide support.

The New York Times
Language-gap study bolsters a push for pre-K
Nearly two decades ago, a landmark study found that by age 3, the children of wealthier professionals have heard words millions more times than those of less educated parents, giving them a distinct advantage in school and suggesting the need for increased investment in prekindergarten programs.

The United States, falling behind
An editorial
Researchers have been warning for more than a decade that the United States was losing ground to its economic competitors abroad and would eventually fall behind them unless it provided more of its citizens with the high-level math, science and literacy skills necessary for the new economy.

The Shanghai secret
An op-ed by Thomas L. Friedman
Whenever I visit China, I am struck by the sharply divergent predictions of its future one hears. Lately, a number of global investors have been “shorting” China, betting that someday soon its powerful economic engine will sputter, as the real estate boom here turns to a bust. Optimists take another view: that, buckle in, China is just getting started, and that what we’re now about to see is the payoff from China’s 30 years of investment in infrastructure and education.

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