July 25, 2014
Local News
WDDE
First State takes small steps back in latest report on kids’ well-being
The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2014 Kids Count index ranked the First State as 23 overall, one place back from last year’s survey. Delaware took the biggest hit in economic indicators, with 17 percent of kids living in poverty according to 2012 figures. Children with parents without job security also rose.
WITN22
Window on Wilmington
This episode features Delaware Secretary of Education Mark Murphy speaking about DCAS, Common Core, and the Delaware Talent Co-op.
The News Journal
Hoy bows out; DelTech board now talking to Brainard
After naming outsider Dr. Murray Hoy its new president earlier this month, the Delaware Technical Community College board abruptly changed course, and is now negotiating with the school’s number two, Mark Brainard, to take the job.
National News
The Oklahoman
Oklahoma state Board of Education votes to delay adopting formal plan to replace Common Core standards, prompting Janet Barresi to lose her cool
Oklahoma State Board of Education members said they need more time to gather information before approving the framework for developing new standards in math and English, voting to again delay adopting a formal plan to replace Common Core.
Inside Higher Ed
Baby steps for Higher Ed Act
The U.S. House unanimously passed legislation boosting competency-based education and overwhelmingly approved an overhaul of how the Education Department discloses college data. The votes marked the first time that a body of Congress has formally weighed in on the ongoing efforts to reauthorize the Higher Education Act.
Fresno Bee
California seeks final ruling on teacher tenure
California Gov. Jerry Brown did not say if he plans to appeal a Los Angeles judge’s decision to strike down tenure and other job protections for the state’s teachers. Republican lawmakers and Democratic school reform advocates have been lobbying the governor to resist union pressure to challenge the ruling.
Education Week
AFT, NEA agendas converge amid external, internal pressure
At their meetings, both the NEA and the AFT passed resolutions targeting U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Both attacked the prominence of standardized-test scores in judging both students and teachers. And in recent weeks, both unions have qualified their support for the Common Core State Standards, especially as it pertains to implementation.
The winners, and losers, in E-rate modernization
The E-rate modernization order, officially released on Wednesday, will boost E-rate payments to schools and libraries for Wi-Fi, with $1 billion in years one and two, and an annual “funding target” for $1 billion for years beyond that. The order was approved by the Federal Communications Commission by a 3-2 vote on July 11.
Can states make student data useful for schools?
The nation’s more than 13,000 school districts produce mountains of student data each year, but the National Center for Education Statistics estimates that less than 2 percent of them have the “capacity and resources” to turn it into real, usable information for educators.