December 5, 2013

Local News

Town Square Delaware
Walking the Halls: Building Momentum
A commentary by Laurisa Schutt, Executive Director of Teach for America – Delaware
Nine years ago I was invited to join the board of EastSide Charter School. At the time, the school was run by a well-respected leader in a small building in the middle of a Wilmington Housing Authority project. Started in 1997, East Side was known for strong achievement with about 100 students grades K- 5. The board met in a crowded classroom with barred windows, water dripping overhead.

WHYY Newsworks
Delaware seeks more college application prep programs
The Delaware Department of Education has released a second round of grant money in an effort to help more high school seniors in the state apply to college. A total of $300,000 in award money is being made available to public schools and districts interested in creating programs to help seniors and their families with the college application process.

Sussex Countian
Indian River School District launches publicity campaign to retain students
In an effort to retain its students, the Indian River School District has invested about $18,000 in a publicity campaign to showcase its programs and accomplishments. “We want to make sure everybody is aware that we’ve got wonderful programs and there’s no need to go somewhere else when you can get the same thing or better right here, in your home district,” said Jim Hudson, member of the Indian River Board of Education.

National News

Education Week
Rollout of new SAT delayed by one year
A newly redesigned SAT that is more closely aligned with the Common Core standards will likely debut in the spring of 2016, a year later than the College Board initially predicted. The College Board said that the delay was in response to feedback from its members that officials decided to adjust the schedule for the release of the revised Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test and the revised SAT.

Legislative advocacy group’s model bill tackles privacy of student data
The American Legislative Exchange Council’s, ALEC, promotion of a model bill meant to protect the privacy of student data sends a signal that the hot-button issue will be debated in statehouses in 2014 legislative sessions. The group’s model legislation mirrors an Oklahoma measure that is widely regarded as the first attempt in the country to comprehensively address growing concern over student data.

New Orleans Times-Picayune
Common Core delay wins BESE approval
The Louisiana state board approved Superintendent John White’s plan to delay many consequences of Common Core’s tougher math and English standards for two years. The committee vote, likely to be ratified by the board today, followed months of anxiety from educators who feared losing their jobs and their schools’ good letter grades, and some criticism that the changes have come too fast.

New York Times
Seeing the tool, schools revise zero tolerance
Faced with mounting evidence that get-tough policies in schools are leading to arrest records, low academic achievement, and high dropout rates that especially affect minority students, districts around the country are rethinking their approach to minor offenses. Districts are choosing to keep lawbreaking students in school, away from trouble on the streets, and offering them counseling and other assistance.

Professors in deal to design online learning for A.P. classes
To ease the way for students grappling with certain key concepts, professors at Davidson College in North Carolina will design online lessons for high school students in Advanced Placement courses in calculus, physics and macroeconomics and make them widely available through the College Board and edX, a nonprofit online education venture.