February 14, 2013
Local News
The News Journal
Lawmakers look to keep $500,000 for AP classes
Taking a cue from President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address, lawmakers on the state’s budget committee Wednesday discussed increased funding for college-level courses in public high schools. At a hearing on the Department of Education’s spending plan, the Joint Finance Committee focused on $500,000 that would be used to pay for high school students’ “dual enrollment” in college classes. The funding was proposed by Secretary of Education Mark Murphy in his initial budget draft last fall, but was not included in Gov. Jack Markell’s recommended budget released last month.
WDDE
Response rate to state teacher survey coming up short
Delaware Secretary of Education Mark Murphy is pushing teachers to do their homework. Murphy and Governor Jack Markell launched the anonymous TELL Survey last month to get an idea of Delaware educators’ work environments. “I’m concerned about any teacher who’s not filling out the survey, absolutely. So we fully intend to push right until that deadline to make sure [we hear from] as many educators as possible,” said Murphy. “The bottom line is that we need to hear from our educators and understand what their needs are and this is an amazing opportunity for them to do that.”
WDEL
Obama to unveil universal preschool plan
President Obama continues his post-State of the Union road show today in Decatur, Ga., where he will unveil details of his plan to expand preschool programs, which he mentioned during his address Tuesday night. “I propose working with states to make high-quality preschool available to every child in America,” Mr. Obama said Tuesday.
National News
Education Week
TFA’s Wendy Kopp transitions into Board role
The founder of the Teach For America program, Wendy Kopp, will step down as the organization’s chief executive officer, but will remain active in the organization by assuming the role of chairwoman of its board of directors. Matt Kramer and Elisa Villanueva Beard will take over as co-CEOs, the organization said today in a press release. Both have long been members of the organization’s senior leadership team.
Hawaii gets partway out of Race to Top doghouse
The U.S. Department of Education has removed part of Hawaii’s $75 million Race to the Top grant from “high-risk status” after the state showed progress hitting milestones in two areas: standards and assessments, and data systems.
The Los Angeles Times
N.Y. mayor gives $1 million to back L.A. school board slate
New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has donated $1 million to help preserve a Los Angeles Board of Education majority that has pushed for several controversial efforts dealing with teachers — including remaking evaluations and speeding the dismissal process — that are supported by the L.A. mayor and the superintendent.
The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah schools get new accountability system
Utah educators are hard at work implementing a new program they’ve named the Utah Comprehensive Accountability System (UCAS). Under UCAS, each school will be graded based on a 600-point system—next year they hope to nix the point system and offer a letter grade—based primarily on two categories: growth and achievement.
Related Topics: dual enrollment, General Assembly, Higher Education, School Boards, Secretary Murphy, Teach For America