December 30, 2014
Delaware News
The News Journal
Christina debates priority schools plan
The Christina School Board debated its push to turnaround three schools Monday night while several agreed the district won’t be able to afford such changes. The district’s draft plans differ substantially from the state’s previously stated preferences for the district’s three so-called priority schools by leaving the school’s principals in place and not requiring each educator reapply for their jobs.
Poorer students need lots more help
A letter to the editor by Philip A. Palmer, Newark
Thank you for your comprehensive article on the Delaware schools. It seems primarily centered on the poor communities, which is appropriate. Missing, however, is a discussion of the underlying solution which is the need for meaningful private sector jobs within the minority communities. There is a critical need to find some way to bring good jobs to the people.
WDDE
Priority schools initiative the focus of Christina board meeting
Donato Carmine Rufo is the president of a local teacher’s union, the New Castle County Vocational Technical Education Association. During public comment, he compared the state department of education to “Eastern Europe in 1988.” He called the DOE “a litigious, overbearing monster.”
WDEL
Christina’s priority schools debate remains unresolved
One of the main items at the impasse for both sides is hiring new principals to lead the three schools, whose student body comprises mostly of children from low income families and fractured homes. “It’s not the teachers; it’s not the leaders’ fault,” said State Representative John Kowalko. “That’s a ridiculous attitude to take towards improving the plight of these children.”
WHYY NewsWorks
Audit details financial impropriety at Delaware charter
The co-leaders of Family Foundations Academy, a Delaware-based charter school, spent all that and more between June 2012 and February 2014. They charged each penny to an American Express card that was originally intended for school expenses, according to an independent forensic audit released Monday. In all, Sean Moore and Dr. Tennell Brewington placed more than $94,000 in personal expenses on the school card.
University of Delaware parent-infant bonding program heading overseas
Children who have experienced adversity can develop a host of developmental or behavioral challenges. The same goes for infants. Neglect or maltreatment in infants can make it harder for them to form bonds with adults, regulate their emotional responses and keep up regular sleeping habits.
Middletown Transcript
AHS librarian Christine Payne surprised by national award
Earlier this month, Appoquinimink High School librarian Christine Payne was one of 10 librarians in the United States who received the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the New York Times “I Love My Librarian” award.
National News
New York Times
Cuomo vetoes bill that would have protected teacher from low ratings
In a sharp reversal, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday night vetoed a bill that would have protected teachers and principals from receiving a low rating because of their students’ performance on state tests. The veto was unusual because Mr. Cuomo’s own administration had drafted the bill in response to lobbying from the New York State teachers’ union. In recent days, however, Mr. Cuomo indicated that he no longer supported the bill and wanted to make the teacher evaluation system more rigorous.
Rage against the Common Core
An op-ed by David L. Kirp, Professor of Public Policy, University of California, Berkley
Starting in the mid-1990s, education advocates began making a simple argument: National education standards will level the playing field, assuring that all high school graduates are prepared for first-year college classes or rigorous career training. While there are reasons to doubt that claim — it’s hard to see how Utah, which spends less than one-third as much per student as New York, can offer a comparable education — the movement took off in 2008, when the nation’s governors and education commissioners drove a huge effort to devise “world-class standards,” now known as the Common Core.
Los Angeles Times
For students at L.A.’s Big Picture charter school, downtown is their classroom
Big Picture charter students forge partnerships with local businesses and nonprofits based on their interests L.A. charter high school aims to give students the Big Picture of the world outside the classroom. During geometry, students at Los Angeles Big Picture High School walk outside to study the intricate building facades in downtown’s financial district. Drama classes stroll to the Ahmanson Theatre to catch a play.
Ex-L.A. Unified teacher wins $3.35 million after firing from JROTC job
After a three-week trial, a Superior Court jury found that Gerado Loera had targeted Archie Roundtree for blowing the whistle on problems with the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Polytechnic. The jurors awarded $3.35 million to Roundtree.
Boston Globe
New education chief played key role in charter, MCAS debates
James A. Peyser has been a high-ranking education official under four Republican governors, watching over the rollout of charter schools and the evolution of the MCAS testing system. Now, when Charlie Baker reclaims the state’s top job for his party after eight years of Democratic rule, Peyser will return to a key policymaking role as the state continues to debate some of the same issues he faced in his previous tenure.