February 1, 2016
Delaware
Delaware Public Media
Enlighten Me: Helping English language learners
When Holderline Lebreton was given the opportunity to take a world language proficiency test in her native Haitian Creole, she didn’t hesitate to say yes. Like all Delaware students, the Seaford High School senior is required to earn two credits in a world language other than English to graduate. But that can be a major hurdle for students from a non-English speaking home or background. Now, there is a program that offers students an alternative, “The Assessing Native Language Proficiency for English Learners Test.” A $45,000 grant will support seven Delaware school districts to cover test costs. A pilot program was launched last year in Seaford.
House passes school tax intercept bill
Delaware school districts could stand to gain as much as $32 million in back property taxes under legislation moving through the General Assembly. A bill from House Minority Leader Danny Short (R-Seaford) would allow the districts to collect what they’re owed by intercepting state tax return money. Short introduced the legislation in April last year, but it was never brought to the floor until last week, passing 38 to zero. Refund checks can currently be diverted to pay for child support and debts to the state like court fees.
Cape Gazette
Terrorism planning a must for new schools
Editorial
It’s not enough that winter storms have to be anticipated in terms of deploying human and equipment resources at a moment’s notice to maintain and restore our societal infrastructures. Now we have to add terrorism to that mix as clearly evidenced in last week’s buildup to this year’s first serious storm. While DelDOT and power company employees, police officers, National Guard units, hospital and EMT professionals and first-responding volunteers prepared for and responded through the duration of the storm, our school and governmental officials also had to deal with the uncertainty and real disruption caused by terrorist threats.
Smyrna-Clayton Sun-Times
Nearly $250,000 in expenses at Providence reek Academy questioned in state auditor’s report
An anonymous tip to the State Auditor’s Office led to the report this week detailing nearly $250,000 in questionable spending at Providence Creek Academy Charter School in Clayton. State Auditor R. Thomas Wagner Jr. released the report on Wednesday after an inspection of records at the school with an enrollment of about 670 students in kindergarten to eighth grade. The school receives state and local funds based on the annual enrollment count and may also receive federal funding directly or through the state, as well as private gifts and donations.
The Dover Post
Early College High School moves school choice program
The Early College High School at Delaware State University moved its National School Choice Week event to Tuesday Feb. 2 at 5:30 p.m. It was postponed due the winter storm. Principal Evelyn Edney said the day will consist of presentations and speakers who will discuss what ECHS can offer students. Later in the day the school will hold its lottery too choose who will be accepted into the public charter school. Kevin Carson, executive director of the Delaware Association of School Administrators, is attending. Edney said the school received around 180 choice applications.
Politically inclined student o represent CR on Capitol Hill
Laura Wagner has never been one to turn down a good argument. The Caesar Rodney High School senior admits she enjoys being on the winning end of a spirited discussion. Her competitive spirit led her to join the debate team. The 18-year-old’s passion doesn’t end there. Wagner enjoys keeping up with what’s going on in politics. Much of her time is spent tuning into CNN, MSNBC and reading the occasional newspaper. But politics doesn’t occupy all of her time. She’s also interested in the justice system and has a desire to help people. This is why she dreams of someday becoming a lawyer or joining the Supreme Court
The Milford Beacon
Milford Schools: Be on the lookout for strangers
The Milford School District issued a warning to parents today regarding an incident that took place on Wednesday morning. During the morning bus run, a man in a white van approached a Milford student and asked her if she needed a ride to school. The student reported the information to the school’s Resource Officer who then reported the incident to the Delaware State Police. An attempt was made by the police to call every parent at the elementary level and at Milford Central Academy who had a child showing as absent in the morning; there was also an automated attendance call made.
Lulu Ross math teacher living a dream
Tenesha Duffy is one of 45 educators throughout the state on the Department of Education’s 2016 Delaware Dream Team. Dream Team teachers got together at TeachFest Delaware, a two-day professional learning experience Jan. 28-29 in Dover. Duffy, a third-grade teacher at Lulu Ross Elementary School, was there for an intense math and leadership-focused professional learning opportunity that the state hopes will strengthen the Common Core standards in Delaware. The Dream Team has a deep focus on math, which made Duffy a natural fit. Another Milford School District teacher, Tracey Keller, from Morris Early Childhood Center, joined her.
The News Journal
Investing in excellence, education, and energy for Wilmington students
Opinion by Dr. Michael L. Lomax, president and CEO of the United Negro Fund
Seven decades ago we fought to tear down the barriers that stood between young African Americans and a public school education. We won that fight—including a historic Delaware case, Gebhart v. Belton, decided by the Supreme Court with Brown v. Board of Education. Today, we are still fighting for an equal education, for the right of African Americans and other children of color to get an education that prepares them for success in high school, college, and after college. Today’s battle is being fought across the country, including—once again—here in Delaware, led by Gov. Jack Markell, who won a round when the state legislature failed to override his veto of “opt-out” legislation that would have allowed parents to exempt their children from rigorous tests that gauge how much they’re learning.
Gov. Markell cites legacy in education
Opinion by Harry Themal
Jack Allan Markell is not running for a third term – the Delaware Constitution says two is enough for a governor – but he often gives the impression he’s enjoying the challenges of his office so much he’d like to do just that. Mayor Michael Bloomberg had the same third term ambition and succeeded in changing New York City’s laws, but to amend the Delaware Constitution is far more complicated. It takes two consecutive sessions of the two-year General Assemblies. Markell has given absolutely no indication of seeking any such changes but in his state-of-the-state address to the Legislature, in a series of position papers and in his 2016-17 budget message last week.
Bulldog at home in Smyrna elementary school
For students at Sunnyside Elementary School in Smyrna, the reward for good behavior is a puppy. He belongs to Principal Deborah Judy and accompanies her to work almost every day. Maybe not a puppy that they can take home, but the next best thing. They get to spend time with Frank, a 14-month-old bulldog who splits his time at school between a beanbag chair in the counselor’s office and one in the principal’s office. Frank has a calm demeanor, Judy said, and she brought him in to school when he was a young pup at the end of last school year.
National
EDSurge
Seven lessons about making micro-credentials work
More than a decade ago, Linda Darling-Hammond and her colleagues revealed that most professional learning experiences in the U.S. are not adequately preparing teachers to make much-needed changes in their classrooms. And yet, the traditional method of professional development has remained largely unchanged and often relies on short, one-size-fits-all workshops without ongoing and job-embedded aspects that support the impact in the classroom. To answer the call, one option that’s popped up are MOOC-Ed courses—self-directed, peer-supported, project-based courses, that allow for rich blended learning engagements.
EdWeek
Test-participation mandate put states on spot
As states prepare for the transition to the new federal education law passed last month, one of the thornier policy questions is how they’ll consider test-participation rates in their accountability systems, after a year in which the testing opt-out movement rose to national prominence. States are considering various approaches to try to ensure schools meet the requirement under the Every Student Succeeds Act (the newest iteration of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act) that 95 percent of eligible students take state exams in English/language arts and math.
The Hill
Obama: Computer science should be taught as a basic skill
President Obama wants computer science taught as often as reading, writing and arithmetic in American schools. “In the new economy, computer science isn’t an optional skill — it’s a basic skill, right along with the three ‘Rs,’ ” he said Saturday during his weekly address. “Nine out of ten parents want it taught at their children’s schools. Yet right now, only about a quarter of our K-12 schools offer computer science,” the president added. “I’ve got a plan to help make sure all our kids get an opportunity to learn computer science, especially girls and minorities. That’s what this is all about — each of us doing our part to make sure all our young people can compete in a high-tech global economy.”
The Washington Post
Many parents hated Common Core math at first, before figuring it out
I am at that stage in life when I have more time to watch television and yet loathe nearly every bit of entertainment I see in prime time. Instead, I am watching the presidential debates, hoping for some lively exchanges on education. That hasn’t happened. The Republicans dismiss the Common Core State Standards, the hot issue of the moment, in two words or fewer. The standards are “a disaster,” Donald Trump said. The Democrats seem to ignore them entirely, unless I missed something while getting more fiber-fortified water. Much better information has come from Common Core parents and teachers whose help I sought in a December column.
WBUR
Recent college grads help guide Boston students through admissions process
Boston Public Schools is in the middle of an experiment in college counseling.
For the past three years, BPS has been working with the College Advising Corps, a national nonprofit that aims to increase the number of low-income students who apply to college. The program, which this year gained the support of Boston University, places recent college graduates in Boston’s public schools to beef up those schools’ college guidance.