June 1, 2016

Delaware

Newark Post
Newark Charter student reaches national spelling bee finals
A Newark Charter School sixth-grader was a finalist in the Scripps National Spelling Bee last week. Raphael Kim, 12, correctly spelled “almoner” and “Moroccan” in the preliminary rounds of the bee, held May 25-26 near Washington, D.C., and nationally televised on ESPN.

Sussex County Post
Pomp & Circumstance: IRHS valedictorian John Douds
This evening, John Douds takes the podium as valedictorian of Indian River High School’s Class of 2016. The 18-year-old resident of Selbyville simply wants to be remembered as “a kid who is always working hard, devoted himself to his academics and pushed all four years without stopping until the end.”

National

Chron
As charters grow, public schools see sharp enrollment drop
Standing before the Los Angeles Unified School Board, Susan Zoller delivered a startling assessment: More than 100,000 students in the nation’s second-largest district were now enrolled in charters, draining more than $500 million from the budget in a single academic year. “The financial future of Los Angeles is difficult,” said Zoller, a consultant hired by the district’s union.

Education Week
In charter school era, Montessori model flourishes
Montessori education has a more than century-old history in the United States, but thanks to burgeoning charter and parent-advocacy movements, the model is in the midst of an unprecedented boom in public schools. At the same time, new research raises questions about how the model will fit with states’ and districts’ test-focused accountability systems in public education.

The New York Times
Kansas parents worry schools are slipping amid budget battles
Dinah Sykes, a parent of two boys in a suburb of Kansas City, started noticing changes to her children’s public schools a few years ago. Class sizes were growing. The school library had stopped buying books. So she used her position as the president of the parent-teacher association to start a new tradition: Instead of bringing cupcakes to class for their birthdays, students were asked to bring a book to donate to the school library.

The Tennessean
Tennessee colleges show 4-year drop in need for remedial classes
Fewer students at Tennessee’s public colleges need remedial classes to prepare for higher education, a new report shows, and officials are citing it as an early example that a program embedding extra support in high schools is succeeding. The data, released this week as part of the Tennessee Higher Education fact book, show a four-year drop in the percentage of first-time freshmen who arrived at college in need of remedial classes.

The Topeka Capital – Journal
Top education official calls for more counselors in Kansas schools
Kansas school counselors are saddled with administrative tasks and serve on average more than 400 students each — obstacles that detract from fulfilling their mission, the state’s top education official said Tuesday. Education commissioner Randy Watson said he fears the position of school counselor has morphed into a “quasi-administrative role.”