February 15, 2017

Delaware News

Cape Gazette
Cape students shine at state DECA competition
Cape students garnered many trophies Feb. 1 at the state competition for DECA, the international association of marketing students. Cape delegates included Nikita Patel, Anna Ives-Michener, MaHadaye LeCounte, Zachary Macfarland, Samantha Frederick, Anna Chojnowski, Saorla Hefferan and Casuandra Mrazeck.  Students had the opportunity to select marketing management topics of interest to compete against other high school students in Delaware.

Delaware 105.9
IRSD referendum to address student enrollment growth
When the Indian River School District hosts a current expense referendum on Thursday, March 2, it will seek additional funding to accommodate a large increase in student enrollment during the past seven years. Since 2010, the district’s total enrollment has grown by 1,681 students and officially stands at 10,467.

Delaware Department of Education
Academic Common Market provides in-state tuition for students to attend out-of-state colleges
This year 123 Delaware students are attending out-of-state colleges and universities at in-state tuition rates thanks to the state’s participation in the Academic Common Market (ACM). More than 100 southern public colleges provide in-state tuition to eligible Delaware residents pursuing majors not offered at the University of Delaware or Delaware State University through the ACM.

The News Journal
Christina votes no on ‘sanctuary’ for undocumented kids
Despite several passionate pleas from the community, Christina school board members on Tuesday voted against a resolution that would have declared the district a “safe haven” or “sanctuary” for students in the country illegally. Three board members voted in favor of the measure, and four voted against it. Concerns about the resolution’s legality were raised by one board member, and another was concerned it stood at odds with other district policies by effectively denying immigration officers access to students.

Rodel Blog
How the “Whole Child” approach is transforming education in Delaware
As concerns about over-testing and overemphasizing test scores persist, the “whole child” approach to education is gaining ground. The non-academic attributes that prepare young people for success in the real world—think character, grit, and growth mindset—are beginning to take a more prominent place in the education reform conversation. A new focus on the whole child could be transformative to K-12 education.

National News

Chalkbeat
Proposed bill that has governor’s blessing would drop PARCC from Colorado high schools
Colorado high school freshmen no longer would be required to take the state’s controversial standardized English and math tests under a bipartisan bill that has the governor’s support. The state House Education Committee gave its unanimous approval Monday to legislation that would eliminate PARCC tests for freshmen, replacing them with tests that measure mastery of those subjects and line up with exams sophomores and juniors take now.

Education Week
Betsy DeVos: I’ll look for unnecessary programs to cut at the Education Dept.
For the third time since she was confirmed as education secretary, Betsy DeVos spoke with a Michigan media outlet to discuss her confirmation process and her priorities. And she made it clear she’s looking for ways to reduce the size and scope of the U.S. Department of Education.

The Atlantic
The glue helping at-risk students stick with school
The percentage of students at Washington, D.C., public schools who graduate from high school in four years is at an all-time high. But at 69 percent, the district’s graduation rate is well below the national average, which is north of 80 percent. So in a move that mirrors a broader national conversation about how to help kids who have more than a few obstacles in front of them succeed, the district this year put what it’s calling “pathway coordinators” into its schools to make sure kids at risk of dropping out get a diploma—and to help students who’ve gotten off track rebound.

The Progress Index
Va. governor continues push to link workforce development and education
A legislative package put forward by Gov. Terry McAuliffe this winter appears to signal the continuation of an increasing emphasis on workforce development in Virginia’s educational policy. McAuliffe’s “number one priority,” Virginia Secretary of Education Dietra Trent told The Progress-Index in a phone call Feb. 8, “has been to build that new Virginia economy.”