July 7, 2016

Delaware News

Delmarva Now
Indian River teachers join fellows program
Two Indian River School District teachers have been working as part of the Delaware Department of Education Summer Fellows program. Chantalle Ashford, a chorus and English language arts and special education teacher at Indian River High School, and Michael Williams, a math and AVID teacher at Georgetown Middle School, have both been named fellows for this summer.

Delaware State News
Capital to hire three armed constables for Dover High School
Hiring three armed constables for Dover High School next year is worth the added cost, school district staff and board members said Wednesday. Citing the benefit of enhanced safety provided by well-trained law enforcement officers, the Capital School District school board voted 5-0 on Tuesday night to switch from a private security company contracted in the past.

Delaware 105.9
Beau Biden Foundation to provide child abuse prevention training to IRSD administrators today
Administrators and teachers in the Indian River School District will receive child sexual abuse prevention training today (Thursday) through a special program sponsored by the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children. Stewards of Children, the flagship program of the nonprofit organization Darkness to Light, teaches adults to prevent, recognize and react responsibly to child sexual abuse.

The Milford Beacon
Student questions Capital board on adding constables
Barry Jones represented the entire student body when he questioned Dover High School’s plan to increase security at the school.  Last night, at a special meeting, the Dover High School senior class president stood before the Capital School District Board of Education and told them how he felt about hiring armed constables.  He was skeptical at first.

The News Journal
University of Delaware raises tuition 2.5 percent
The University of Delaware is raising tuition and fees by more than 2 percent for the upcoming school year, a move that comes as the cost of higher education has become a central part of a national political debate. School officials Tuesday announced annual base tuition and fees are going up 2.4 percent, or $310, for undergraduate resident students, to $12,830 a year. Nonresidents will pay 2.6 percent more, to $32,250, or an $830 increase.

National News

Chalkbeat
Colorado is rethinking all of its major education policies. And everyone is jockeying for influence.
As Colorado prepares to adopt a new plan that will set the course for the state’s schools for the foreseeable future, competing priorities have emerged spotlighting familiar divides. The state’s direction — and points of tension — will become clearer Thursday when Colorado Department of Education officials brief the State Board of Education on decisions it likely faces in developing a blueprint required under the nation’s new federal law.

Las Vegas Review – Journal
New education law will shift control to states and schools
The coming overhaul of the nation’s education law is not a “federal mandate,” State Superintendent Steve Canavero told the Clark County School Board on Wednesday. He’s urging Nevadans to get involved as schools make plans to operate under the Every Student Succeeds Act during the yearlong transition in 2016-17. The federal law is a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

The Atlanta Journal – Constitution
New Duke study: Early attention skills most consistent predictor of academic success
A new Duke University study suggests problems paying attention in school in early childhood can foreshadow academic challenges later, including graduating from high school. Such students are 40 percent less likely to graduate, according to the study. The study also found likability — as reported by peers — has a small impact on academic performance.

The Hechinger Report
Schools in the poorest state become even poorer
This fall, students at Enterprise Attendance Center in the small city of Brookhaven may get to draw, paint and make crafts in an elementary art class — the first the school has had in 12 years. But the opportunity comes at a cost: larger class sizes for third-graders. Principal Shannon Eubanks sees the trade-off, which involves reshuffling staff, as the best way to provide an art teacher for all elementary grades.

WREG Memphis
TN Department of Education picks new assessment testing company
After a disastrous attempt at online state education assessment testing, the Tennessee Department of Education has chosen a new company with which to partner. Questar has been awarded a two-year contract to develop and administer Tennessee’s annual state assessment tests for the 2016-2017 school year.