February 18, 2015
Delaware News
WHYY
Delaware graduation rates rise
State officials credited Race to the Top initiatives such as ninth grade academies and credit recovery programs for this year’s graduation spike.
The News Journal
Delaware high school dropout rate hits record low
The number of Delaware students dropping out of high school continued to decline last year after reaching a 30-year low the year before, according to figures released Tuesday.
WDDE
Funding to continue Race to the Top programs faces legislative resistance
The governor’s proposed budget calls for $8.5 million to sustain portions of the Race to the Top, which House Education Committee Chair Rep. Earl Jaques says shouldn’t take precedence.
Indian River School District offers pioneering program for immigrant students
Discovering that traditional ESL programs were not effectively serving immigrant teenagers, the Indian River School District created the APELL program, which stands for Accelerating Preliterate English Language Learners.
Cape Gazette
New group gives parents say in education matters
In January, Delaware Parents and Teachers for Public Education turned in a petition to Department of Education officials, state legislators, school board members and other officials with 700 signatures opposing the state plan to close or reorganize priority schools.
Delaware Department of Education
Graduation rate up, drop out rate record low
A press release
A record number of students are staying in school as the number of dropouts continues to decline in Delaware schools. The annual Delaware Department of Education report, which will be presented to the State Board of Education at its monthly meeting Thursday, shows 817 of 38,949 students enrolled in grades 9 to 12 dropped out of school in 2013-14, a rate of 2.1 percent. That is a decrease from the previous year’s rate of 2.9 percent, which was the lowest in 30 years.
National News
Education Week
The dark side of integration: What black kids learn in a white school system
Opinion by Peter Meyer, contributing editor
But as common as the explicit prejudice was, it was the covert kind that was, in many ways, more destructive; made more so by the absence of a rigorous content-rich curriculum and the deeply embedded loyalty to “child-centered” teaching.
States ceding power over classroom materials
States are increasingly giving up a long-standing source of their power over education by allowing school districts to choose the instructional materials they use in the classroom.
NJ.com
Christie’s record: Education
With Gov. Chris Christie appearing on the verge of launching a campaign for the 2016 Republican nomination for president, here is an ongoing look at his record on education issues.
Reuters
Philadelphia could get first new charter schools in seven years
Philadelphia’s financially distressed school district, one of the country’s biggest battlegrounds over the expansion of charter schools, will learn on Wednesday whether new charter schools will be approved for the first time in seven years.
Inside Higher Ed
Moving ahead with competency
Eight Washington State community colleges will offer an online, competency-based business degree, as emerging form of higher education wins fans — and some critics — in the state. Washington’s two-year colleges have joined more than 200 other institutions around the country that are giving competency-based education a whirl.
Komo News
Lawmakers: Fixing Washington education could hit $6 billion
The actual cost of a Washington Supreme Court’s ruling on how the state pays for education could reach as much as $6 billion – double most estimates floating around the Legislature, lawmakers and state officials say.