January 17, 2017
Delaware News
Delaware 105.9
Number of DE students earning college credit in H.S. increases
The number of students taking dual enrollment courses was up this fall, compared to the previous year. 44-percent more students participated in dual enrollment courses, meaning more students now have the opportunity to earn college credits while in high school. This marks the third consecutive year Delaware has seen an increase.
Delaware State News
Capital schools’ food truck now delivers: District to keep kids fed when schools are off
Denise Collingwood serves lunch each school day at William Henry Elementary, but Monday she joined coworkers to take the food to the students, even knocking on doors to rouse customers for free meals. The Capital School District’s new food truck drove into Simon Circle Monday to distribute free soup and sandwiches to those 18 years and younger.
Department of Education
Number of high school students taking dual enrollment up 44 percent
This fall, 44 percent more students took dual enrollment courses than last fall, meaning more Delaware public high school students have the opportunity to earn college credits while in high school. This is the third consecutive year the state has seen an impressive increase. Across the state, 33 high schools have offered classes with a combined attendance of more than 3,800 students during the fall semester.
Office of the Governor
Delaware awarded $1.95 million to improve career education
Today, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) announced Delaware as one of 10 states to receive a $2 million grant to strengthen and expand career pathways for the state’s youth and adults. These state grants, which will be distributed over the next three years, are part of the $75 million, five-year New Skills for Youth initiative developed by JPMorgan Chase, in collaboration with CCSSO and Advance CTE.
Rodel Blog
Looking back at major education milestones
Blog post by Janai Garrett, communications fellow at the Rodel Foundation of Delaware
The only constant in the world of public education policy is change. Since 1990, Delaware has undergone a raft of efforts aimed at improving our schools. From programs to coalitions to reports to assessments, we look back at some of the major educational milestones from the past 20 years.
New state ESSA draft; Rodel’s role
Blog post by Matt Amis, senior communications officer at the 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. “Educators, parents, and other community members across the state devoted significant time and thought over the past few months to help us shape our plan.
Sussex County Post
SCHS tops in state in innovative learning app challenge
Sussex Central High School’s Microsoft Engineering Level IV students have been named a Best in State winner for Delaware in the Verizon Innovative Learning App Challenge. Their “Senior Spotlight” project was chosen from more than 1,800 app concept submissions in this highly competitive contest.
The Milford Beacon
Dover hosts two ‘distinguished’ schools
Principal Dale Brown said Booker T. Washington Elementary School has been through an interesting journey since he took the job in 2012. “A lot of people would say it’s impossible to go from focus school status to a Title I Distinguished School,” he said. A focus school is a federal status for schools that are struggling academically and where the achievement gap between low- and high-income students is large.
The News Journal
Christina superintendent finalists make their cases
In three hour-long episodes this week, finalists for the Christina School District superintendent position gave presentations outlining their visions and answered questions from the audience. Held at Gauger-Cobbs Middle School in Newark, each presented their expertise, and also how they would start the process of revitalizing a school district with a controversial reputation.
Town Square Delaware
Inspired by MLK, students soar at essay contest
Seven high school students displayed incredible talent as they leant their voices to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King at Sunday’s MLK Communication Contest at The Baby Grand in Wilmington. The New Castle County students each were identified by their teachers as having an ability to write well and were encouraged to submit essays to this year’s MLK contest.
National News
Education Week
A dispatch from the outgoing U.S. Education Secretary
Education is a ladder. Rung by rung, it helps people reach places that would otherwise be an impossible climb. It is not enough for those already prosperous to prosper. All Americans must have the opportunity to meaningfully participate in our nation’s growth, if it is to succeed. That has always been so but is even truer today, at a time when the fastest-growing occupations require education beyond high school.
NPR
5 things to look for in Betsy DeVos’ confirmation hearing
There hasn’t been a more controversial pick for Secretary of Education, arguably, in recent memory than Donald Trump’s choice of Betsy DeVos. The Senate confirmation hearings for the billionaire Republican fundraiser and activist from Michigan start today. DeVos is a champion of vouchers and expanding charter schools in a broader push for greater school choice — closely aligned with the views of the President-elect.
The Atlantic
How mass incarceration pushes black children further behind in school
In the summer of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the closing remarks at the March on Washington. More than 200,000 people gathered to cast a national spotlight on and mobilize resistance to Jim Crow, racist laws and policies that disenfranchised black Americans and mandated segregated housing, schools, and employment.
The Hechinger Report
Tipping point: Can Summit put personalized learning over the top?
Using small yellow and orange squares of paper and lengths of yarn stretched between tables and chairs, sixth-grade math students made number lines — including everything from fractions to negative decimals — in a classroom at Walsh Middle School. Working in teams, they paper-clipped the squares along the yarn like little pieces of mathematical laundry. Their teacher, Michele O’Connor, had assigned the number lines in previous years, but this year was different.
The New York Times
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative builds political muscle for philanthropic work
The Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, have vowed to put their enormous wealth toward philanthropic causes. Now the couple are putting infrastructure in place to make sure their money and efforts will make an impact on policy as well. Mr. Zuckerberg and Dr. Chan have hired a top political operative to lead the next phase of their philanthropic work at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the limited liability company they set up in 2015 to conduct charitable efforts.