January 10, 2014

Local News

Hockessin Community News
‘Inclusion’ is about improving student achievement, admin says
According to Hugh Broomall, deputy superintendent and head of student services of the Red Clay Consolidated School District, inclusion was first discussed two years ago when the administration embarked on their most recent strategic planning process. Broomall said that during that process, it became clear that the district needed to close the achievement gap discovered with its special needs and English Language Learner students.

The News Journal
City bonding will aid Community Education Building
The Community Education Building took another step forward after the City Council overwhelmingly agreed to help it get a loan Thursday night. Council approved up to $35 million in conduit bond financing for the building. That means the city will use its power to issue tax-free bonds to help the building get a good interest rate, then pass them off to a private bank which the building will pay back over time.

School discipline is broken and in need of a fix
An op-ed by Shannon Griffin, ACLU of Delaware Community/Project Organizer
In Delaware, schools for years have widely used overly punitive “zero tolerance” responses to student misbehavior. The result is students are repeating grades, dropping out of school and being pushed out of the classroom into the juvenile justices system, and students of color are feeling the impact of these policies more than their peers.

WBOC
Delaware educators trying to figure out what to do as Race to the Top money ends in 2014
Race to the Top funding is scheduled to end this year in Delaware. In 2010 the federal government gave Delaware almost $120 million to improve education. The program’s end means tough decisions ahead. The state government and all of Delaware’s school districts are working on their 2015 budget plans right now. Over the past few years, they used the money for a whole host of programs, personnel, technology and much more. Now, it’s time to figure out what to keep and what to let go.

National News

The State
South Carolina Governor Haley proposes $160 million in new school spending
Gov. Nikki Haley wants South Carolina to spend $160 million in mostly new money to educate students living in poverty, hire reading coaches, and expand classroom technology. Under the education reform plan, $29.5 million would go to pay for reading coaches in 300 elementary schools in districts where 20% more of the students fail to meet the basic state reading standards.

Tennessean
Tennessee community college transfers to receive help getting degrees
In an effort to boost graduation rates, Tennessee universities unveiled a reverse transfer program that allows community college students who transfer to four-year colleges without completing their degree to have a chance to finish what they started. The program would allow students to collect an associate degree when requirements are met in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree.

Education Week
New federal school discipline guidance addresses discrimination, suspensions
Leaders of the Departments of Education and Justice issued new guidance on how school leaders can ensure that discipline policies are drafted and applied in a manner that does not discriminate against racial or ethnic groups. School leaders also should seek alternatives to penalties like suspension and expulsion that rob students of valuable classroom time, often for nonviolent offenses, officials said.

Albany Times Union
Cuomo offers education plans, but funding in doubt
In his State of the State address, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo also issued a sweeping agenda for education, including support for full-day prekindergarten programs, a plan to funnel $2 billion to upgrading technology in schools, and rewards for effective teachers. But the governor did not offer an outline for how the state would fund such an expansion of preschool.

Washington Post
Eric Cantor and Bill de Blasio exchange fire over schools
Calling school choice the best route out of poverty, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor took aim at New York City’s new mayor on Wednesday for his cooler stance toward public charter schools and warned that Republicans may hold congressional hearings on the education policies of Democrat Bill de Blasio’s administration.