December 11, 2015

Delaware

The News Journal
Delaware Military Academy seeks funds to expand
Leaders and parents at another well-established charter school, Delaware Military Academy, say a lack of capital funding is hampering their ability to grow and improve. They are the latest to suggest that charters with a strong track record should be able to receive some help from the state with construction and renovation projects, but they face an uphill climb against tight budget circumstances and political opposition.

Students make housing for refugees, disaster relief
Video
Students at Mt. Pleasant High School are working on a project to provide temporary and reusable housing to refugees or to those affected by natural disasters.

NewsWorks
In Delaware, a growing number of principal prep programs
A major change is brewing in Delaware education, and it has to do with the way the state trains its future principals. Just last week, the Delaware branch of Teach for America formally unveiled a new, two-year principal preparation program designed to produce high-quality leaders for Delaware’s high-needs schools. And it will do all that without charging those future leaders a dime.

Newark Post
NHS art students planning fundraising gala
The National Art Honor Society at Newark High School is planning a gala and silent auction next week to raise money for the art program.

Middletown Transcript
School district still working to improve bus service
District administrators are working to make sure student bus service is 100 percent on time, according to Appoquinimink School District Superintendent Matt Burrows. At Tuesday night’s monthly school board meeting, Burrows said that a lot of progress has been made to get buses in the district to pick up students on time after a number of complaints about delays.

Office of Senator Carper
Carper votes to approve bipartisan education reform bill
Press release
Throughout my career, few issues have been more important to me than raising student achievement and improving America’s schools. As Governor of Delaware, I spent eight years focused on ensuring that all students in the First State have access to an education that enables them to reach higher standards.

National

U.S. Department of Education
U.S. Department of Education releases 2016 National Education Technology Plan
Press release
The U.S. Department of Education announced today the release of the 2016 National Education Technology Plan and new commitments to support personalized professional learning for district leaders across the country working to improve teaching and student achievement through the effective use of technology.

Education Week
President signs ESEA rewrite, giving states, districts bigger say on policy
Blog by Alyson Klein
For the past quarter century, federal education policy has been moving in one direction: toward standards-based education redesign, a greater reliance on standardized tests, and bigger role for Washington when it comes to holding schools accountable for student results. President Barack Obama reversed course with the stroke of a pen Thursday, putting states and districts back at the wheel when it comes to teacher evaluation, standards, school turnarounds, and accountability, through a new iteration of the five-decade old Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

The Hechinger Report
Building a high school that bridges inequity in Brownsville, Brooklyn
Opinion by Steve Wilson, Founder and CEO of Ascend Learning
In her affecting three-part account of the launch of our first charter high school in Brownsville, one of the most challenged communities in New York City, The Hechinger Report’s Sara Neufeld asks: Can a liberal arts education fused with a supportive culture equip students – in a way that has proved so difficult for other urban academic initiatives – with the knowledge, confidence, and character to thrive in college and beyond?

U.S. News & World Report
State education funding hasn’t recovered from recession
The Great Recession may be officially over, but state spending on K-12 education hasn’t recovered. In fact, some states are providing even less funding per student than they did prior to the recession, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – money that the report authors argue is needed to hire and retain teachers, reduce class sizes and expand access to high-quality early education.