December 23, 2015
Delaware
Delaware 105.9
Gospel choir from Cab Calloway School of the Arts performs at White House
Students from the Cab Calloway School of the Arts in Wilmington get the chance of a lifetime….to perform at the White House. 16 Cab Calloway Gospel Choir students spent two hours on Tuesday serenading people touring 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in D.C.
Education Week
Education Department asks 12 states to address low test-participation rates
Twelve states, including Delaware, have received letters from the Education Department in recent months asking them to address lower-than-required participation rates on state exams for groups of students or districts, or statewide. On Tuesday, the department also released guidance for states in which it said that under the Every Student Succeeds Act, states need plans to address situations in which participation rates that dip below the required 95 percent.
News works
Delaware task force suggests big changes to school application processes
Delaware’s charter, magnet, and vo-tech schools should reform their admissions processes to make them simpler, fairer, and more open. That’s according to a report released Monday by the Enrollment Preferences Taskforce, a committee composed of state legislators, education officials, advocates, and parents.
The News Journal
Video: Cab Calloway Gospel Choir sings at the White House
The Cab Calloway Gospel Choir performed at the White House on Tuesday.
National
EdSurge
Connecting the pieces to prepare America’s schools for 21st century learning
Opinion by Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education and Ton Wheeler, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
Today, as never before, schools across the country are harnessing the power of technology. The merit of these efforts will be determined by whether they yield meaningful results to improve teaching and learning. Early indications show that, in the ongoing work to connect our students to 21st century digital learning opportunities, efforts from the federal government and our partners are meeting and even exceeding expectations. In just the past two years, according to a new report from EducationSuperHighway, 20 million more students now have access to high-speed connectivity at school.
Las Vegas Review – Journal
Education savings account expansion to be explored
The state’s top education and political leaders soon will start exploring ways to expand Nevada’s new education savings accounts, which many already consider to be the most aggressive school choice program in the country. At a hearing Monday, the state treasurer’s office adopted regulations that extend early eligibility for the program, which allows parents to use per-pupil state funds on private school tuition and other education services, to children 5 to 7 years old, and active-duty military families.
NPR
What is fair? High school students talk about affirmative action
Now that the Supreme Court is considering the issue of affirmative action in college admissions, all kinds of groups are weighing in. But we’re not hearing from the people who will be most affected by the court’s decision: college-bound teenagers. So here’s the question we asked the students: Should college admissions decisions take race into consideration?
The Philadelphia Inquirer
New leaders, rules help Washington H.S. make the grade
George Washington has earned notoriety this year for its turbulent climate, with frequent fights, widespread community concern, and, most recently, a teacher’s assault grabbing headlines. But those inside say that the full picture is more nuanced, and that it’s shifting, with new leadership and a back-to-basics approach to student discipline in an already-enormous school that enrolled almost 300 new students this fall without staff increases to support them.
The Washington Post
This superintendent has figured out how to make school work for poor kids
School districts don’t usually operate homeless shelters for their students. Nor do they often run food banks or have a system in place to provide whatever clothes kids need. Few offer regular access to pediatricians and mental health counselors, or make washers and dryers available to families desperate to get clean. But the Jennings School District — serving about 3,000 students in a low-income, predominantly African American jurisdiction just north of St. Louis — does all of these things and more.