February 28, 2017

Cape Gazette
Before- and after-school programs offered to Cape students
Cape Henlopen school board has worked out a deal for before- and after-school care, with reduced fees for parents who need them. The Sussex Family YMCA and the Boys & Girls Club, which already provide after-school services throughout the district, will continue to offer those services and also offer before-school care, said Donna Kolakowski, supervisor of elementary education.

Indian River tries again for tax increase
For the second time in three months, Indian River School District residents will decide whether to approve a tax increase to pay for school operating expenses. On Thursday, March 2, district officials are again asking residents to pass a $7.35 million referendum to pay for more teachers, better security and student resources. Residents rejected the same proposal Nov. 22 by 20 votes.

Delaware Public Media
WEIC seeks to move forward despite budgetary roadblock
Members of the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission will meet Tuesday (Feb. 28) to review a study on the financial impact of moving six schools in Wilmington from the Christina School District into the Red Clay Consolidated School District, kicking off the second year of their effort to improve the quality of educational services offered in the city’s fragmented public schools.

Sussex Countian
School climate officers prevent violence at Sussex Tech
A different approach to school safety at Sussex Technical High School is helping to curb violence. In 2010, Sussex Technical School District adopted a unique security plan proposed by former Delaware State Police Master Corporal Brendan Warner. Over the past seven years, the school has experienced an average of less than two incidences of student violence per year.

The News Journal
Protecting transgender students is a federal responsibility
Arne Duncan, U.S. education secretary from 2009 to 2015 and Catherine Lhamon, chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
This week’s decision by the Trump administration to withdraw guidance to school communities about how to protect transgender students reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the federal role in protecting the civil rights of students. Worse yet, it confuses states and school districts, and puts real, live children at greater risk of harm.

WDEL
Voters will hit the polls for the Colonial School District referendum
Taxes may go up for Colonial School District residents, but the superintendent said even if that happens the district will still have the second lowest tax rate in New Castle County. The Colonial School District is holding its capital and operating referendum Tuesday, February 28th. Polls open at 10 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Superintendent Dusty Blakey asks voters to invest in the district.

National News

Education Week
School district leaders weigh how—and whether—to engage DeVos
As Betsy DeVos embarks on her role as the nation’s highest-profile education official, some K-12 leaders are trying to figure out how to engage with a new U.S. education secretary who’s an ardent proponent of school choice and who many believe holds a dim view of traditional public schools. Should they invite DeVos to visit their districts, meet with educators, and see classrooms? Or take a more antagonistic stance to ward off potential policies that some see as a threat to traditional public schools?

The 74
Congress moves to kill ESSA accountability rules, giving states lots of room to do as they please
No one likes to be held accountable. It’s neither comfortable nor fun to take responsibility for ourselves. This is baked into human beings pretty much from the beginning — ask anyone who spends time with the immature. Ask a parent. Ask a teacher. Ask reporters who cover thin-skinned reality stars or presidents (and especially those stuck with amalgamations of the two). Yes, resistance to accountability.

The Washington Post
What happened when one school banned homework — and asked kids to read and play instead
Mark Trifilio, principal of the public pre-K-5th grade Orchard School in Vermont, sat down with the school’s 40 educators last summer to discuss the soon-to-start new school year and homework — how much kids were getting and whether it was helping them learn. Trifilio had been pondering the issue for some time, he said, concerned that there seemed to be an uneven homework load for students in different classrooms within the same grade and that the differences from grade to grade didn’t make sense.

The District’s smart plan for school accountability
Opinion
In its revamp of the No Child Left Behind education law, Congress gave states more flexibility in designing accountability systems to measure school performance. There is no question that the much-maligned old law was far too rigid. But there is a danger of weakening measures to the point of making them meaningless. That fortunately doesn’t seem to be the aim in the District, where officials have developed a proposal that places a muscular emphasis on academic outcomes.

U.S. News & World Report
Thriving state economies support robust public education systems
States with robust education systems tend to have thriving economies with opportunities for advancement, a functioning government and healthier people – to name a few advantages. It’s little wonder then, that when it comes to K-12 education, Massachusetts is king. The state’s success can largely be traced directly to a 1993 overhaul of its education system, which increased funding for districts with many impoverished students, introduced more rigorous academic standards and required students to pass a high-stakes test in order to graduate.