July 11, 2012
Local News
Sussex Countian
Fritz, Wright fill Indian River board vacancies
James E. Fritz and Leolga T. Wright have been chosen to fill vacancies on the Indian River Board of Education. Both of their terms will expire in June 2013.
Cape Gazette
Venables secures $350,000 state federal loan for Laurel School District
Sen. Robert L. Venables, D-Laurel announced that the General Assembly’s Joint capital Bond Committee is including a special appropriation of $350,000 in state funding to the Laurel School District in its Fiscal Year 2013 capital bond bill. The funding, to be known as the “Laurel School District Stabilization Fund,” comes in the form of an interest-free loan to be used as a line of credit to pay any unexpected costs during the next school year. It also requires Secretary Murphy to establish a committee to review current financial issues facing “property-poor” school districts, and develop potential solutions.
The News Journal
Charter schools built on freedom of choice
A letter to the editor by Kendall Massett, Executive Director of Delaware Charter Schools Network
The freedom granted to charter schools is what allows parents and students the opportunity to choose the educational model that best meets each student’s needs. But it’s this same autonomy that requires hard work, tireless perseverance, and the ability to learn from experience. The road isn’t always a smooth one, but our charter leaders, educators, and staff are in it for the long haul.
Delaware Department of Education
STEM Institute brings together educators, business leaders
More than 400 elementary, middle and high school teachers will join administrators and business leaders at the first annual STEM Institute in Delaware to work together to better prepare students for college and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Presenters will speak about how Common Core standards in English language arts integrate with STEM education while others will discuss how art education makes STEM into STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math).
National News
Education Week
Study: ‘21st Century Learning’ demands mix of abilities
The modern workplace and lifestyle demand that students balance cognitive, personal and interpersonal abilities, but current education policy discussions have not defined those abilities well, according to a special report released this afternoon by the National Research Council of the National Academies of Science in Washington. The committee found these skills generally fall into three categories: cognitive skills, interpersonal skills, and intrapersonal skills.
USA Today
Hybrid programs aim to stem summer learning loss
Research shows that most students lose two to three months’ worth of math skills each summer, but low-income kids also lose the same amount in reading — even as more privileged peers gain reading skills through ambitious summer reading plans, family field trips and other activities. Many United States cities are offering summer programs that are a new form of hybrid schooling complementing the traditional summer school programming for under-performing students.
Washington Post
New Maryland superintendent aims high for schools
Most recently Delaware’s Secretary of Education, Lillian Lowery started her first week as Maryland’s superintendent of schools of which she said “I want to make it the Finland of the United States.” Amongst her other goals to guide her work, she wants to increase the statewide on-time graduation rate from 83 percent to at least 88 percent and she intends to boost the portion of students who score 3 or higher on Advanced Placement tests.
U.S. News & World Report
Student feedback may be underutilized in high schools
According to a report by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, student feedback is better at predicting classroom success than teacher experience or graduate degrees. While student surveys are standard practice at colleges and universities, most high schools leave this resource untapped. But asking students how their teachers are performing is a no brainer, says Rob Ramsdell, vice president of the consulting group Cambridge Education.
Related Topics: DDOE, next generation learning, School Boards, STEM, Teacher Evaluation