January 18, 2017
Delaware News
Cape Gazette
Sussex Montessori School eyes Georgetown area
A Montessori school is eyeing the Georgetown area for a new charter school. Sussex Montessori School would open in the 2018-19 school year for grades K-5 in a west Georgetown area accessible to Laurel, Seaford and Georgetown, said Jesses Reeves, president of Montessori Works.
Pathways to Success students prepare gifts for Troop 7
As a means of giving back to those who serve local communities, Cape Henlopen High School students attending the Pathways to Success program prepared gifts of candy for Delaware State Police serving at Troop 7 in Lewes. The gifts were delivered just in time for the holidays.
Middletown Transcript
Hetzler wins Middletown Lions Club Peace Poster Contest
Alyssa Hetzler, of the MOT Charter School, has taken the first step to becoming an internationally-recognized artist by winning a local competition sponsored by the Middletown Lions Club. Her poster was selected from the top entries from MOT Charter School and St. Anne’s Episcopal School as the winner of the local Peace Poster Contest, and her poster will advance to the next level of competition.
Technical.ly Delaware
These Delaware students just won $5K in Verizon’s app challenge
Student teams from a Delaware middle school and high school were recently named the Best in State winners for the fifth annual Verizon Innovative Learning app challenge, with each team winning $5,000 in addition to tablets for each member. The app competition tasks middle and high school students all around the country with designing a concept for a mobile app that will improve and solve societal issues in their schools and communities.
The News Journal
Richard Gregg chosen to lead Christina School District
The Christina School Board has decided Richard Gregg should serve as the district’s next superintendent. The choice was made Tuesday night after a closed-door executive session and announced shortly after, the only item on the board’s agenda for the evening. The three finalists for the position spent much of last week touring schools, making public pitches and meeting privately with the board as the decision point neared.
Seeking positivity, a day of unity planned on Inauguration Day
When President-elect Donald Trump officially takes his oath of office on Friday, Jan. 20, before a divided nation, a Newark-area charter school hopes to use the presidential inauguration as a means to celebrate solidarity and diversity among Delaware communities. In the aftermath of the presidential election, Margie Lopez Waite, head of Las Americas ASPIRA Academy, says conversations with students and parents were discouraging.
Town Square Delaware
Inspired by MLK, Students Soar at Communication 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 or poems to this year’s MLK contest.
WDEL
Carney pledges to fix state spending, education, Wilmington in inaugural speech
A sea of umbrellas packed into the capitol in Dover for the inauguration of Delaware’s 74th governor and 26th lieutenant governor Tuesday. After taking the oath of office, administered by Delaware Supreme Court Justice Leo Strine, Carney gave his inaugural remarks that set the tone for his agenda. He said the state must work to create a prosperous future in a changing world. Carney said education is a piece of the puzzle.
National News
Education Week
Five ways to use student choice to improve learning
Between the ages of 13 and 20, teenagers must develop an authentic “person” out of many possible selves derived from peers, cliques, mass media, and role models. The German-born American psychoanalyst Erik Erikson regarded these years as a struggle between “identity formation” and “role confusion,” out of which a teenager will either establish an enduring sense of self or instead continue to search for identity in gangs, ideologies, bad romances, or other societal black holes.
The newest trend in data-driven decisionmaking
Blog post by Woody Dillaha, president and co-founder of Performance Matters, and Jeanette Haren, chief product officer and co-founder of Performance Matters
In recent years, there has been a shift from a focus on summative assessment data, such as state test scores, to formative assessment data, to help improve student learning outcomes across all subjects and grade levels. A key benefit of formative assessment is that it provides the information needed to adjust teaching and learning while they’re happening.
NPR
At DeVos’ senate hearing, questions of choice, charters, ‘other options’
The education philosophy of Betsy DeVos boils down to one word: choice. The billionaire has used her money to support the expansion of public charter schools and private school vouchers. For more than three hours on Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the Education Department handled tough questions on school choice, charters and the future of the nation’s schools from the Senate committee that handles education.
The Washington Post
Six astonishing things Betsy DeVos said — and refused to say — at her confirmation hearing
At her contentious confirmation hearing as Donald Trump’s nominee to be education secretary on Tuesday, Betsy DeVos was asked a question by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) about an important education debate involving how student progress should be measured. The query essentially rendered her speechless as she appeared not to know how to answer.