February 10, 2016

Delaware

Cape Gazette
Sussex Academy breaks ground on new wing
Sussex Academy hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on January 21 to celebrate the construction on a new middle school wing. The $6.4 million project is underway and completion is scheduled for August. The 30,000 square foot wing will have 12 classrooms, 3 science labs, offices and a multipurpose room. The multipurpose room will be used for the middle school physical education classes, team expedition showcases and middle school team wide meetings and activities. It will be middle school basketball regulation size and will be suitable for high school volleyball games and practices as needed.

Delaware Public Media
Delaware Higher Ed program could ease cost of college
For many families, college tuition can be a budget buster. That’s why the relative affordability of an in-state education can be so appealing. But the University of Delaware and Delaware State University can’t accommodate every field of study. So does that mean an aspiring Delaware actress would have to switch out drama for say, a business degree? Not according to Shana Payne, Director of Delaware’s Higher Education Office. She says students should check out the Academic Common Market, a tuition-savings agreement among the 15 member states of the Southern Regional Education Board.

UD: SAT and ACT optional for admission
Over the next few years, First State high schoolers won’t have to include standardized test scores when applying to the University of Delaware. UD’s faculty senate approved a four-year pilot program Monday night that allows first-year applicants leave out their SAT or ACT scores, joining about 850 other colleges and universities in the U.S. “When you apply for a job and you put together your resume, nobody requires you to put a negative piece of information on there and we believe the same thing about college admissions,” said Louis Rossi, chair of UD’s Department of Mathematics and part of the committee that drafted the proposal.”

Milford Chronical
Milford students to benefit from immersion program
Kindergartners enrolled at Morris Early Childhood Center in Lincoln next year may have the chance to learn in both Spanish and English, according to Director of Elementary Education Dr. Bridget Amory. “We’re excited to be able to offer something to level the playing field and give more reason why Milford will be the right choice district,” she said. Dr. Amory recently visited immersion programs in Utah before asking permission from the Milford School District Board of Education to file a grant request with the state of Delaware to help fund such a program locally. “The call just came in,” she exclaimed on Thursday afternoon. “We got it.”

Rodel Blog
Make time for the RTC workshop
Time. Ask any teacher what’s in short supply and that is most likely what you’ll hear. We’d love to meet, to collaborate, to learn something new, to reflect, and to capitalize on our own strengths, but finding the time to make that happen feels like a feat of mythical proportions. Yet, an opportunity awaits! The Rodel Teacher Council has created a day dedicated to helping teachers grow in their understanding of personalized learning, and working alongside colleagues who are currently practicing this method. On February 27, the Rodel Teacher Council will host a free Personalized Learning Workshop at St. Georges High School from 8 a.m. til 12 p.m.

Sussex County Post
Sussex Central senior gearing up to ‘wing’ it at U.S. Senate Youth Program
Charles Megginson IV is a senior at Sussex Central High School. He is one of two students from Delaware selected as delegates to the 54th annual United States Senate Youth Program March 5-12, in Washington, D.C. The group of 104 student delegates who will attend the program’s 54th annual Washington Week. At Sussex Central he serves as the vice president of the Delaware Business Professionals of America and has served for two terms as executive president of the Student Council. He is the captain of his school’s Mock Trial Team and plans to follow this career path by studying political science in college and going to law school.

The Dover Post
Del Tech to host education program meeting
Delaware Technical Community College’s Terry Campus will hold an informational meeting about its health care, medical and early childhood education training programs at 1 p.m. Feb. 16 in Building 200 on campus, 100 Campus Drive, Dover. Attendance at the informational meeting is required to enroll in most programs, including certified nursing and clinical medical assistant, pharmacy and polysomnography technician, and home health aide and medical billing and coding courses. For information and a list of programs, call 857-1500.

Public education: Is investment producing results?
Over the past decade, Delaware’s public education has climbed in many national rankings, having some of the safest schools and least bullying, to one of the best high school graduation rates. Many good things happening in the public schools have to do with the state’s investment in education. In 2013-14, it allocated $1.8 billion to fund 60 percent of operating 19 school districts. The rest is funded through local property taxes. Delaware’s spending is among the top 15 states, averaging $15,837 per pupil. The national average is slightly more than $12,400.

The Milford Beacon
Dream Teamer watches learning journey begin
Tracey Keller, a kindergarten teacher at Morris Early Childhood Center in Lincoln, gets to see the wonder and excitement in children’s eyes every day, starting their long educational journey. Keller said it was an added bonus to be among 45 educators throughout the state on the Department of Education’s 2016 Delaware Dream Team. The Dream Team teachers got together at TeachFest Delaware, Jan. 28-29, in Dover. Keller got the chance to dive into a program of highly structured coach and peer collaboration. Keller, who joined Lulu Ross Elementary third-grade teacher Tenesha Duffy as Milford educators on the Dream Team, recently took time to talk about her experience with the group.

The News Journal
Pilot program important test for UD
The University of Delaware will begin a pilot program that allows in-state applicants to request their SAT scores not be considered when the school is evaluating their possible acceptance. We commend the university for joining a growing movement to make college applicant evaluation a more holistic process. Those of us whose high-school years culminated in a seemingly make-or-break test know exactly where critics of the SAT and ACT are coming from. Beyond placing undo pressure on high school kids and their families, the tests spawned a multi-million dollar test prep industry that has helped only those who can afford its services.

National

NPR
How limited internet access can subtract from kid’s education
Can a kid succeed in school with only a mobile device for Internet access at home? Lorena Uribe doesn’t have to think about that one: “Absolutely not,” she says. When her old computer broke down several years ago, she and her teenage daughter found themselves in a bind for about five months: homework to do and no computer or broadband access at home. “I would take her to the mall and have her sit in Panera so she could use the Wi-Fi on her iPad from school,” Uribe says. Now, the Internet connection at their home near San Diego is a cord in the wall, attached to a desktop that they bought through a discount program at school.

The Hechinger Report
U.S. schools have more computers than ever. But what are they doing with all that (expensive) technology?
A show-stopping school of innovation today can quickly devolve into tomorrow’s has-been. Keeping track of who’s doing what in the diverse field of blended learning, which mixes online and in-person education, isn’t easy. There are few sure things in life, but the lightning-fast rate of change in education technology is a given. The Blended Learning Universe and its new website, blendedlearning.org, offer a solution for schools and those who want to track local trends. It has assembled a database of more than 300 profiles (and counting) from 175 schools districts in 38 states.

The Los Angeles Times
L.A. teachers union seeks to raise dues as it fights a charter school push
The Los Angeles teachers union has long been the most powerful player in local education. But with the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and other well-heeled nonprofits pushing hard to fundamentally change the nature of public education in Los Angeles, enrollment in traditional schools is declining and nonunion charter schools are on the rise. The teachers union needs money to fight back. There are, however, far fewer teachers to pay dues to United Teachers Los Angeles.

The Tennessean
Education commissioner loses confidence in TNReady test vendor
Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen said Tuesday she has lost confidence in the vendor hired to operate the state’s new standardized test after glitches Monday forced officials to halt the exam. But no decisions have been made to move on from the vendor, which has a five-year contract with the state. “We have doubts about them going forward,” she said. A technology failure from Measurement Inc. stopped the testing across Tennessee on Monday, the first day students were set to take the TNReady exam on a widespread basis.

U.S. Department of Education
Equity and excellence in the President’s budget for education
Blog post
Anyone in America can succeed, but success doesn’t arrive overnight. More often, it’s the result of countless hours spent studying, of supportive families and communities, of educators preparing inspiring lessons and staying late with students who are struggling. It was education that drew my parents here as students from India, seeking graduate degrees in science and engineering. And education was the greatest gift they would give my brother and me, always believing that if we worked hard, we could achieve even greater things. I see my parents’ reflection in many of the parents I meet at the elementary school where my own two children now go.