June 23, 2015

Delaware News

The News Journal
Schools look to cut costs through energy efficiency
School districts are overhauling their campuses to make them “greener,” cheaper and more self-reliant. “It isn’t something ‘sexy’ in terms of something you can see right in front of you,” said Kelly Racca, Chief Operating Officer for the Christina School District. “But it’s so important at the infrastructure level. It’s something I think schools everywhere are trying to take a look at.”

Newsworks
Delaware proposes millions of dollars in budget cuts to avoid deficit
Settlement funds also will be used to fund $1 million for the Charter School Performance Fund. However, this also is a $500,000 cut to the program, which is something several political leaders are unhappy about.

Cape Gazette
Students take part in meaningful economics competitions
Nearly 500 Delaware third-, fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students put their economics skills to a real-world test, competing in the 2015 Meaningful Economics Competitions held earlier this month in Newark and Georgetown. The Delaware Financial Literacy Institute and the University of Delaware Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship present the annual events.

National News

WNYC
When research projects replace state tests
Nearly 50 Manhattan schools have a waiver from the state to offer alternatives to most of the five Regents tests required to graduate. Students still must take the English exam but for the others they can provide portfolios or special projects.

News Times
Danbury school officials hope new legislation will help attract bilingual teachers
Education officials in Danbury, Conn., hope an infusion of state funds and new legislation will help attract more bilingual teachers, who they say are desperately needed for students learning English.

The Wall Street Journal
Campbell Brown to launch non-profit education news site that won’t shy from advocacy
Former CNN host Campbell Brown went from a career in journalism to a second life as an education-reform advocate. Now she is looking to combine the two. Next month, Ms. Brown will be launching a non-profit, education-focused news site called The Seventy Four, which she says refers to the 74 million school-age children in classrooms across the U.S.

The New York Times
Grading the Common Core: No teaching experience required
The new academic standards known as the Common Core emphasize critical thinking, complex problem-solving and writing skills, and put less stock in rote learning and memorization. So the standardized tests given in most states this year required fewer multiple choice questions and far more writing. But the results are not necessarily judged by teachers.

NJ.com
Tech schools say N.J. new rules could shrink teacher pool
The New Jersey Department of Education is pushing to extend the preparation program for second career teachers from one year to two and require 150 more training hours. Administrators predict added training time will make the already challenging recruitment of technical school teachers even more difficult.