January 13, 2017

Delaware News

Cape Gazette
Averting a crisis at Delaware Tech necessary
Commentary by Brian DiSabatino at Cape Gazette
As the General Assembly gathers this year, they have a lot of thinking to do. They must decide, by voting with dollars, where their priorities lie. Their investments should be wise and beneficial to our collective futures. And they’ve got to get a bang for their buck!

Indian River elementaries earn state honors
Three Indian River School District schools recently earned state honors for student academic success. The Delaware Department of Education named East Millsboro Elementary School a Reward School for 2016 – a reward given to Title I schools whose students are either the highest performing or show the highest amount of growth in performance.

Middletown Transcript                                                                                            
DSU president recognized, strives to improve
Delaware State University President Harry Williams’ efforts at improving the university’s image have earned him the fifth spot among HBCU Digest’s top 10 most influential college presidents. Williams said he was humbled by the recognition and attributes it to the success of the Historically Black College and University.

Rodel Blog
Ten ways coaching helps in the classroom
Blog post by Jared Lelito, middle school math/special education teacher at Fred Fifer III Middle School
Rodel Teacher Council member Jared Lelito teaches math in an inclusion classroom at Fred Fifer III Middle School in the Caesar Rodney School District. In addition to teaching, Jared coaches football, basketball, and baseball for the Caesar Rodney High School Riders. During his time in the Caesar Rodney School District, Lelito discovered a few ways coaching has helped improve his teaching in the classroom. Here are just a few.

Delaware, The U.S., and the global report card: What it means
Blog post by Liz Hoyt, research associate at the Rodel Foundation of Delaware
An often-unpredictable 2016 came to a close with some status-quo scores and glimmers of promise in science for U.S. students on the Program for International Assessment (PISA), a “global report card” of student achievement. The PISA is administered every three years to 15-year-old students around the world, assessing their knowledge and ability to think critically in math, reading and science.

New State ESSA Draft; Rodel’s Role
Blog post by Matt Amis, Senior Communications officer at Rodel Foundation of Delaware
News broke this week that the Delaware Department of Education is sharing its next draft of the state’s Every Student Succeeds Act plan for public feedback.

National News

New York Daily News
Pro-charter group, parents rally over ‘serious middle school crisis in the city’
A pro-charter group issued a report Thursday that it says shows no zoned neighborhood middle schools met city averages for math and reading proficiency in a quarter of the system’s 32 geographic districts.

The New York Times
An American fault line: high school-only grads left behind
Americans with no more than a high school diploma have fallen so far behind college graduates in their economic lives that the earnings gap between college grads and everyone else has reached its widest point on record. The growing disparity has become a source of frustration for millions of Americans worried that they — and their children — are losing economic ground.

Newsworks
Without a raise since ’11, Chester Upland teachers reject latest contract offer
Years-long gridlock between teachers and management at one of Pennsylvania’s most financially challenged school districts continues. This week, teachers at Chester Upland School District in Delaware County rejected a proposed contract. Union president Michele Paulick said while members want a deal, they are willing to hold out for the right one.

The Washington Post
District’s charter and traditional school principals to work together to solve problems
Principals from the District’s traditional public schools and public charter schools will spend the next 11 months learning how to better manage their schools—working together—as part of a program aimed at improving school leadership across the city.

Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Steps weighed to retain teachers: Recruiting abroad among initiatives
Hawaii needs to think “very differently” about how it addresses its longstanding teacher shortage and should perhaps look at alternative solutions—such as recruiting overseas.