June 17, 2014

Local News

Delaware Department of Education
Delaware College Scholars Program launches to help rising high school juniors prepare for, succeed in college
A press release
Rising juniors from public high schools across Delaware are spending part of their summer gaining skills that will help them in college thanks to a free residential program that launched this month. It is the beginning of a three-year program that will ensure they have the academic and social skills they need to enroll in and graduate from a four-year university.

LearnZillion
11 Delaware educators named to national ‘Dream Team’
A press release
Eleven Delaware teachers spent June 4-7 in New Orleans participating in TeachFest, a unique professional development event focused on creating high-quality Common Core curricular resources. The educators attended the event as part of LearnZillion’s national Dream Team of 200 talented math and English language arts (ELA) teachers.

The News Journal
Weighing the true cost of Delaware education
A letter to the editor by Sandy McKinley, Fenwick Island
We all care about the education of our young people. In them rests the future of America. Are Delaware’s children getting the best education we can give them? If I failed to do my job, it would be in jeopardy. I’m not protected by tenure.

Goldey-Beacom names next president
As its longtime leader retires, Goldey-Beacom College trustees have selected a familiar face to lead the Pike Creek-area school into the future. With next year’s retirement of President Mohammad Ilyas after 40 years at the school, trustees Monday announced Vice President for External Affairs Gary L. Wirt as his successor. His title is now president-elect.

National News

Stateline
Common Core sparks flood of legislation
As of May 15, lawmakers introduced over 340 bills in 46 states — every state that had had a regular legislative session this year — that addressed college- and career-readiness education standards, including the Common Core. Of those, 30 would slow down or delay college- and career-readiness standards and 35 would halt or revoke implementation altogether.

Inside Higher Ed
Learning to adapt
The term “adaptive learning” can mean many things, even to colleges that have begun experimenting with it.  A broad definition is the use of software — often driven by data collection — to create a more individualized learning experience for students. Experts say adaptive learning has promise in tailoring coursework and supports to students, which could boost retention and graduation rates.

Honolulu Star Advertiser
Hawaii DOE tweaks teacher evaluations amid concerns
The state Department of Education on Thursday announced more than a dozen changes being made to its controversial teacher evaluation system amid growing angst from teachers and principals about the workload required to prepare for and perform the reviews.

Casper Star Tribune
Wyoming churches endorse science standards
The Wyoming Association of Churches said last week that it supports the Next Generation Science Standards because science should be taught openly and not be based on any belief system. A leader in the group said the state Legislature’s recent move to block the standards infringed on students’ rights.

Chalkbeat Indiana
Pence: Indiana won’t delay test-based accountability in 2015
Indiana must keep school accountability in place in 2015 even if an overhauled ISTEP test results in lower student scores, said Gov. Mike Pence. “Indiana will not go backwards when it comes to measuring performance in our schools on my watch,” he said in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “We do not support a pause in accountability as it relates to delivering A to F grades to schools, determining intervention strategies in under-performing schools, or teacher evaluations that reflect classroom performance.”

The Times-Picayune
Gov. Bobby Jindal vetoes Common Core bill passed by the Louisiana Legislature
Gov. Bobby Jindal on Friday vetoed a bill that many had seen as an endorsement of the Common Core academic standards. The governor has recently said he wants to scrap the educational benchmarks and its associated testing in Louisiana, though Common Core advocates doubt he has the authority to do so, now that the Legislature has declined to help.