September 19, 2012
Local News
Delaware State News
Sussex Tech receives Platinum award
Sussex Technical High School is one of the 16 high schools in the nation to receive the High Schools That Work Platinum High Achievement Award. Presented by the Southern Regional Education Board, this designation is given to schools that exemplify the progress that can be made when leaders truly embrace change and support improvement efforts.
National News
San Jose Mercury News
Charters balk at California’s new pre-kindergarten law
A California law requires public schools to add a grade level this fall designed to give the very youngest students a boost when they enroll in kindergarten, but charter schools say the law does not apply to them. The state education department says the 2010 Kindergarten Readiness Act requiring transitional kindergarten programs applies to all public schools, including charters.
Education Week
Principals’ associations report: Evaluations should be multifaceted
Principal evaluation should be multifaceted and growth-oriented rather than punitive and reliant on standardized test scores, according to a new report by two principal organizations. The report addresses the current state of principal evaluation and suggests that principals should be evaluated based on six domains.
New York Times
Young, gifted, neglected
An op-ed by Chester Finn Jr.
Public education’s neglect of high-ability students doesn’t just deny individuals opportunities they deserve. It also imperils the country’s future supply of scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs. First, we’re weak at identifying “gifted and talented” children early, particularly if they’re poor or members of minority groups or don’t have savvy, pushy parents. At the primary and middle-school levels, we don’t have enough gifted-education classrooms (with suitable teachers and curriculums) to serve even the existing demand. Many high schools have just a smattering of honors or Advanced Placement classes, sometimes populated by kids who are bright but not truly prepared to succeed in them.
NPR
Do scores go up when teachers return bonuses?
A recent University of Chicago study showed that students of teachers who received a traditional bonus performed no better than students of teachers who received no incentive at all. But students of teachers who were given the bonus upfront, but told it would have to be returned if math performance didn’t improve showed significant improvement in math test scores.
Related Topics: School Leadership, Teacher Compensation, Teacher Effectiveness, teacher evaluations