December 16, 2015

Delaware

Delaware Public Media
Gov. Markell recognized T.E.A.C.H. participants
Gov. Jack Markell recognized participants of the T.E.A.C.H. program Tuesday at a joint meeting of the Delaware Early Childhood Council and Wilmington Early Care and Education Council. The program offers scholarships for professionals working in licensed early care and education programs throughout the state. In particular, the program supports working parents and first-generation students to continue their own education, and complete an Associate’s or Bachelor’s Degree.

Dover Post
Central Middle School mixing athletics and academics
There may be a lack of interest in extracurricular activities among the boys at Central Middle School, says Principal Shan Green. But there’s an overwhelming interest in sports, especially when basketball tryouts come around. It’s an interest she’s hoping to capitalize on. Starting Jan. 5, Green will be partnering with Delaware Multicultural and Civic Organization to start an intramural basketball league. The after-school program is more than just basketball; there will be an academic component. Students will spend half of their time playing basketball and half in a class led by a representative from the Delaware Multicultural and Civic Organization.

Newsworks
Delaware recognizes standout early childhood teachers
Delaware officials honored recipients of a scholarship Tuesday that subsidizes college costs for early childhood educators. Governor Jack Markell and Secretary of Education Steven Godowsky were among those on hand to celebrate more than 200 educators who received a T.E.A.C.H. scholarship in 2015. The awards cover 85 percent of tuition and 90 percent of book costs for those seeking an associate or bachelor’s degree. The program started in North Carolina in 1990 and now offers scholarships in 24 states and the District of Columbia. Delaware first jumped aboard in 2004.

Office of the Governor
Governor Markell Recognizes T.E.A.C.H Early Childhood® Scholars
Press release
Recognizing the commitment early learning professionals across the state have made to increasing their own education and to raising the quality of teaching and care they provide to young children, Governor Jack Markell and Secretary of Education Steven Godowsky joined Delaware Early Childhood Council Chair Mary Kate Mouser and other leaders to celebrate the achievements of the more than 200 early childhood professionals who participated in the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® program in 2015.

Rodel Foundation of Delaware
Delaware students get familiar with the college process
Blog by Haley Qaissaunee, Communications Fellow
The Delaware Goes to College initiative has cracked the code on high school students. The program is woven into the fabric of what every high school student finds most important: their phone! Delaware Goes to College has a texting campaign for Delaware students in grades nine–twelve (parents can participate, too). This statewide texting program is the only one of its kind in the country

The News Journal
Teachers for youngest kids seek more education
State leaders are celebrating more than 200 early childhood educators who have earned or are close to obtaining advanced degrees this year thanks to a statewide scholarship program. TEACH, a program through the Delaware Association for the Education of Young Children, offers financial assistance to those working in child care centers who want to get degrees. The group pays 85 percent of tuition and 90 percent of textbook costs, asking the student and his or her employer to split the rest of the cost.
‘Those kids’ deserve a change at a successful future, too
Opinion by Karen Eller, fourth-grade teacher and member of the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission
Each morning, I and hundreds of other educators travel to Wilmington schools to undertake the daunting task of teaching students whose lives reflect all the traumas of deep poverty and the dysfunctions of communities in turmoil. We are routinely asked why we would ever want to work in some of Delaware’s toughest schools where there is a lack of resources in the classrooms, and where violence is prevalent in the surrounding community. I do it because I believe schools can change lives.

WDEL
Wilmington redistricting plan heads to State Board of Education
After months of planning, the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission is ready to take its redistricting plan to the State Board of Education. WEIC members voted to submit the latest draft of its plan to the State Board of Education on Thursday.

National

NPR
U.S. High School graduation rate hits record high
For the fourth straight year, the U.S. high school graduation rate has improved — reaching an all-time high of 82 percent in the 2013-2014 school year, the Department of Education announced Tuesday. Achievement gaps have narrowed, too, with graduation rates ranging from 89 percent for students classified as Asian/Pacific Islanders to 62.6 percent for English-language learners.

NJ.com
N.J. to allow charter schools lottery favoring low-income students
New Jersey will allow a Hudson County charter school to hold an enrollment lottery that favors students from low-income families — the first time the state has granted permission for a charter school to weight its lottery, according to the New Jersey Charter Schools Association.

The Tennessean
Tennessee council will foster parent voice on education
Tennessee parents will soon have an opportunity to advise the Tennessee Department of Education on school-related matters. The education department has created its first-ever Parent Advisory Council in a bid to get a better understanding of parent voice and is seeking applications from principals statewide for the newly formed council.

The Washington Post
How students reacted when their beloved school librarian was let go
Blog by Valerie Strauss
Students at a public school in Chicago were furious when they learned that their beloved librarian, Sara Sayigh, had to leave because her position was being cut by the school district because of budget problems. Not only was her library a safe place for academic and extra-curricular activities, they also knew that she was one of only three full-time librarians left in Chicago’s more than 45 majority-black high schools.

Philly.com
Philly schools: no cash after Jan 29?
With an ongoing stalemate over the state budget (deadline: June 30) in Harrisburg, finances remain precarious for many agencies that depend on the commonwealth for funding. The cash-flow situation is particularly dire for the Philadelphia School District, which educates about 130,000 students. In a letter sent to staff Tuesday night, Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said the school system could run out of money on January 29 without a new state budget.