December 8, 2016
Delaware News
6ABC
“Pathways to prosperity” program
Some high school kids got a special visitor Monday. Governor Jack Markell came to A.I. Dupont high school to announce that their school won some innovation grants. The money is from the new “pathways to prosperity” program. It lets high school seniors graduate with workplace experience, even college credit to get them started on the right foot.
Coastal Point
Educator recognized for rescuing toddler from roadway
As a result, Ronna Cobb was awarded the Indian River School District’s “Above & Beyond” Award for acting far beyond her job description for the betterment of the community. “We had a bus driver who actually saved a small child’s life,” said Superintendent Susan Bunting. That is no small feat.
Delaware 105.9
Several downstate school programs to benefit from Pathways to Prosperity grants
Downstate programs of note include Milford High School’s academy of finance, environmental and natural resource sciences at Dover High School, Lake Forest High School for manufacturing, engineering and technology, and K-12 teachers academies at Cape Henlopen, Caesar Rodney, Dover, Indian River, Sussex Central, Laurel, Milford and Poly Tech High Schools. Students are able to get advanced coursework and training in several areas that have been identified as having the potential for job creation and expansion.
Delaware Business Now
School career pathway funding announced
The Delaware Department of Education, in partnership with Delaware Business Roundtable Education Committee members, including Bank of America, has awarded more than $450,000 in competitive funding that will support students as they enroll in advanced coursework and training in environmental science, nursing assistant, and teacher preparation programs, raising the number of pathways to 14.
Delaware State News
Grants will fund job training programs for students
Gov. Jack Markell announced on Monday $450,000 in grants to support job training programs for high school students. The grants, coming from public and private sources, will be used to add environmental science, nursing and teacher preparation courses to the Pathways to Prosperity program. With the added funds, there will be 14 different pathways starting in the 2017-2018 school year.
Delaware Today
How do special education programs fulfill students’ needs?
“My kid is a square peg,” Lee Fulton says, “and no matter how big the round hole was, he wasn’t going to fit in comfortably.” Fulton isn’t the only parent who will tell you that her child wasn’t meant to sit in a traditional classroom. About 20,000 students in Delaware public schools—roughly one in seven—and several hundred more in private schools have been classified as qualifying for special education programs.
Wilmington teacher honored for innovative program
Voya Financial, Inc. announced on Sept. 8 that Matthew Farina, a teacher at Mount Pleasant Elementary School in Wilmington, Del., has received a $2,000 grant as part of the company’s 2016 Voya Unsung Heroes awards competition. Through the Voya Unsung Heroes program, Voya Financial awards grants to K–12 educators nationwide to honor their innovative teaching methods, creative educational projects and their ability to positively influence the children they teach. Applications for the 2017 Voya Unsung Heroes awards are currently being accepted through the website until April 30, 2017.
Newsworks
New career paths coming to some Delaware high schools
Currently, 5,800 students are in the Pathways program across 38 high schools in the state. That’s an increase from 2,500 last year, and just one class of 30 students only two years ago. The third round of public/private funding will fund 23 programs at 16 high schools.
Philadelphia Inquirer
Children in foster care: How to address their mental health needs
By W. Douglas Tynan, Ph.D., ABPP, Director of Integrated Health Care for American Psychological Association
A well-trained trauma-informed care team understands that acting out may be a response to what has happened to the child, and does not lead with a diagnosis and possible medication. They ask the question, “what happened to this child?” rather than, “what is wrong with this child?” If you have or know a child in foster case who needs additional support, here are some local Delaware resources.
Townsquare Delaware
Q&A: Wilmington student takes run at Jeopardy crown
Sanford School junior Lily Allingham is a talented young woman. She sings, she dances, she is whip smart. It turns out the Wilmington native is also quite a history buff too – and an expert on pop culture, politics, science, sports … you get the picture. Exactly the qualities that would make her a great contestant on the legendary television quiz show Jeopardy!
WBOC
Indian River District asks judge to toss discrimination suit
Attorneys for the Indian River School District say a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by a Sussex County citizens group should be dismissed. The district filed its answer Monday, denying several of the group’s claims. The district also cited several defenses, saying some of the claims are barred, and that there was no constitutionally protected conduct that was a substantial or motivating factor in its decisions.
WDEL
VP Biden praises new University of Delaware president, shares how UD impacted him
He said people have a responsibility to keep education affordable for everybody in Delaware and the world. “Education is the primary vehicle for upward mobility in society,” said Assanis, “and I believe that our society is only as strong as its weakest link. Education is crucial to bridge socio-economic divides and racial tensions.”
National News
The Atlantic
Where students get two years of college in high school for free
In the last few years, hundreds of schools across the United States have endorsed the idea that giving teens access to college classes while they’re still in the relative cocoon of high school helps ease the transition to higher education. So it wouldn’t be unreasonable for casual onlookers to think of “early college” as a relatively recent invention. Yet Simon’s Rock, a tiny private school nestled in the western Massachusetts town of Great Barrington has been piloting the concept for some 50 years.
Boston Globe
How do you judge a school? MA looks to expand the criteria.
State officials are looking to broaden the way school performances are judged to comply with new federal standards, moving beyond test scores and graduation rates to other measures, such as the atmosphere a school creates and the availability of art, music, and college-level courses.
Education Week
Annual Civil Rights complaints to Ed. Dept. more than doubled since 2008
The number of annual complaints to the U.S. Department of Education’s office for civil rights more than doubled since the start of President Barack Obama’s administration, increasing from 6,364 in fiscal 2009 to 16,720 in fiscal 2016. That’s according to a report released Thursday by the Education Department highlighting the work of the civil rights office during the Obama administration. It also notes the ongoing civil rights issues the department sees in schools, for the office ranging from teacher and staffing inequities in schools, to chronic absenteeism and racial disparities in school discipline policies.
Hechinger Report
Youth aren’t props — they need an actual seat at the policy table
Just one-third of students rate their school culture positively, according to data released this week by the San Francisco-based nonprofit YouthTruth Student. The stat wouldn’t make for a good consumer report, but it’s amazing what we can learn when we consider youths’ perspectives. A positive school climate has been shown to boost academic achievement. So why aren’t there more of these studies?