February 21, 2014

Local News

Delaware Department of Education
Dropout report shows 30-year low in percentage of students leaving school
A press release
The state’s latest high school dropout report, released today, shows a 30-year low in the percentage of students leaving high school before graduation. The annual Delaware Department of Education report, presented to the State Board of Education at its monthly meeting today, shows 1,106 of the 38,613 students enrolled in grades 9 to 12 dropped out of school in 2012-13, a rate of 2.9 percent. That is a 1-point decrease from the previous year’s rate of 3.9 percent.

The News Journal
Dropout rate at 30-year low in Delaware
Class by class and student by student, Delaware educators have ground the state’s dropout rate down to a 30-year low. The improvements are not universal, and teachers and school leaders warn there is no room for complacency. But overall, the state is making strides. “It isn’t easy. It takes the right people putting in a lot of very hard word work,” said Evelyn Edney, principal at Dover High School. “But we are making progress.” Last year, 1,106 students dropped out of high school, or about 2.9 percent of the state’s students. That’s down from 3.9 percent the year before, and it’s half what it was in the 2007-2008 school year.

Recalibrating a new generation of workers
To give a new generation of workers access to high-tech manufacturing jobs, better cooperation between businesses and higher education is needed, some officials say. The United States manufacturing industry has shrunk considerably, and to help rebuild and reband this industry, a proposed federal grant program would encourage cooperation between the business community and higher education.

Hockessin Community News
RCCSD: parents still unhappy with changes to inclusion plan
Parents of special needs students in the Red Clay Consolidated School District are still overwhelmingly dissatisfied with proposed changes to the district’s inclusion model. On Wednesday, Feb. 19, RCCSD deputy superintendent Hugh Broomall said that the district has decided to allow the Meadowood program to continue running, while adding a second elementary cluster school in the 2015-16 school year.

WDDE
Increased public school enrollment brings added strain to state budget
State Department of Education officials say they’re seeing rapid growth in student populations throughout Delaware. Just over 1,80o new kids entered the state school system from a variety of backgrounds, which means a nearly $19 million increase to automatic base school funding next year. Education Secretary Mark Murphy says 1,600 of those students came from private schools, but that’s not the only source.

WHYY
Delaware DSCYF asks for middle school mental health help and juvenile aid funds
Prevention continues to be the main focus among the various divisions of the Delaware Department of Services for Children Youth and their Families. Governor Jack Markell requested the consultants in his FY 2014 budget after the state experienced a spike in the number of youth suicides, particularly among the middle school age group. The state has recruited 23 consultants, which began working in the schools in January. The consultants are responsible for assessing students and connecting them to higher levels of care such as therapy or even hospitalization.

National News

Education Week
States fall short on linking data for youngest children, study says
Only one state — Pennsylvania — currently links its K-12 data system and data from all of five key early-childhood programs, although 30 states now link some of that information with their K-12 systems, a new report says. States could — and should — do far more to provide governmental institutions, teachers and families with a comprehensive view of student populations, according to the Early Childhood Data Collaborative study.

‘Transitional’ courses catch on as college-prep strategy
With many students entering college ill prepared to succeed academically, one remedy states and districts are increasingly bringing to the table is transitional coursework for high schoolers who need extra help. Eight states now offer transitional curricula to high school students, and another 21 states have locally run initiatives, according to a review by the Community College Research Center.

Scrutiny rises on placement of best teachers
The Department of Education is developing a 50-state strategy that may put some teeth into a key part of No Child Left Behind: the inequitable distribution of the nation’s best teachers. Central to the strategy will be a mix of enforcement and bureaucratic levers to prod states into making sure that poor and minority students are not taught by ineffective and unqualified teachers at higher rates than their peers.

Topeka Capital-Journal
Kansas House bill targets student data collection
A proposed Kansas bill, H.B. 2621, which targets the Common Core standards also may require the education department to scrap part of its student data system that incorporates information from the board of regents and the National Student Clearinghouse. Department officials say the system gives districts data on how many of their high school graduates attend college and whether they need remediation.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Wisconsin Senate adopts narrow voucher school accountability bill
Wisconsin would better track the performance of private voucher schools under S.B. 286, which was passed by the Senate. After rejecting a much broader schools measure, the Senate moved forward with a narrow bill that would apply existing state report cards for public schools to voucher institutions but not impose sanctions on schools receiving poor marks. The Assembly plans to proceed with a broader bill that would sanction failing schools.