June 15, 2017

Delaware News

Cape Gazette
Carney visits Rehoboth Elementary School
On a bleak and rainy May 24, Gov. John Carney was in high spirits visiting students at Rehoboth Elementary School. Carney dropped in on four classes, where students were curious and engaging with their governor. Charlene Jones’ second-grade class was learning about Amelia Earhart and famous women explorers.

Delaware 105.9
Delaware Bill allows school districts to raise taxes without referendum
School district referendums in the State of Delaware could become a thing of the past, as lawmakers have introduced legislation that would eliminate the need for the publics vote in order to raise school taxes. House Bill 213, if passed, would create a mechanism by which school boards may increase funds for a school district without a referendum.

Delmarva Public Radio
Raising taxes for education without referendum in Delaware
House lawmakers are taking a first look at a bill that would allow school districts in Delaware to raise taxes without the approval of local residents. The bill to be considered in committee on Wednesday allows local school boards, starting in tax year 2018, to increase the rate or amount of a tax originally authorized in an election without going back to voters.

Rodel Blog
Meet Kristen English
My name is Kristen English and I am very excited to join the Rodel Foundation team as the operations manager. I earned my B.A. in Art History from the University of Delaware and a Masters in Library Science from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. While studying library science, I became extremely interested in the impact a modern library and technology savvy librarians can have on the education experience from kindergarten through college.

National News

Education Week
Here’s how 17 states plan to fix struggling schools
The Every Student Succeeds Act is supposed to be a brave new world when it comes to school improvement. States and districts will now get to decide what to do about perennially struggling schools, and schools where certain groups of students, like English-language learners, aren’t doing well. So now that states have all this newfound freedom, what are they deciding to do with it?

KMUW
Kansas school funding bill expands tax credits for private tuition program
A school finance bill headed to Gov. Sam Brownback’s desk would expand a program that funds private school tuition through tax credits. Lawmakers passed the changes Monday. The provisions were just one portion of a much larger bill that primarily establishes a new system for funding Kansas public schools.

The 74 Million
While some states expand pre-K, most don’t require (or fund) full-day kindergarten
From New York City’s landmark universal preschool program, now expanded to 3-year-olds, to a new law in Indiana that will create a first-ever state-funded online preschool program, education leaders and elected officials across the country have lately been very keyed into the value of publicly funded preschool programs for 3- and 4-year-olds.

The Atlantic
Can scientists help end the teacher shortage?
Two years ago, LaTeira Haynes was working in a quiet laboratory at UC San Diego finishing up her doctorate in biomedical engineering. Now, she’s teaching a 9th-grade biology class in South Los Angeles that is so large she uses a microphone to be heard over the constant din of teenage chatter, rustling worksheets, and the zipping and unzipping of backpacks. But to her, there is no sweeter sound.

The Hechinger Report
A school district is building a DIY broadband network
The floor-to-ceiling glass wall between the high-tech fabrication lab and the hallway at Monticello High School in Albemarle County, Virginia, is meant to showcase the hands-on, self-directed learning done there. “I give the kids access to all the tools pretty much right off the bat,” said Eric Bredder, with a sweeping gesture taking in the computer workstations, 3-D printers, laser cutters and milling machines, plus a bevy of wood and metalworking tools that he uses while teaching computer science, engineering and design classes.