June 28, 2017

Delaware News

Cape Gazette
Cape district sends four teams to Odyssey of the Mind world competition
Four of nine Odyssey of the Mind teams from Cape Henlopen School District advanced to the world competition at Michigan State University May 24-26. One team was from the high school, one was from Milton Elementary, and two were from Richard A. Shields Elementary. Each team placed at the regional and state levels to advance to worlds. According the Odyssey of the Mind website, more than 850 teams from all around the world share their ideas and work in the creative extravaganza that is the world competition.

Cape school board moves ahead with more building plans
Cape Henlopen school board will seek state approval to expand Cape High and build a third middle school. “We need a green light to officially get started,” said Brian Bassett, director of facility operations and construction, at the June 8 board meeting. With little discussion, the board approved the plan by a vote of 5-0. Board member Jen Burton abstained and board member Janis Hanwell was absent.

Newsworks
Red Clay board member Rivera discusses raising school taxes without referendum
Kenny Rivera is a Brandywine High social studies teacher who has spent the last five years on the school board of the neighboring Red Clay district. Rivera appeared last week on “First,”‘ WHYY Delaware’s weekly television newsmagazine, to discuss two proposals being floated this year to help schools recover some or all of the $37 million in cuts to education statewide that Gov. John Carney proposed.

The Dover Post
Failing appointed principal at Postlethwait
Kristina L. Failing, D.Ed., has been selected to serve as the next principal of F. Niel Postlethwait Middle School, where she has been serving as assistant principal since 2013. “I wake up each morning energized and ready to start out on each day’s adventure because I’m happy to work with the students, their families, and our wonderful Postlethwait staff.” Failing said.

The News Journal
New high school pathway for future teachers
In an attempt to combat an increasingly common trend — teachers leaving the field within five years of getting their first job — Delaware is launching a new academy for high schoolers considering a career in education. “The high school program will give people the chance to really try it on and see if it’s what they want,” said Rita Hovermale, an education associate with the Delaware Department of Education. “We’re also hoping this will help us get a better-prepared teacher.”

National News

WTTW
New Illinois guidelines aim to boost college and career readiness
Grade-by-grade learning standards used throughout Illinois already let students know if they’re ready for high school and on track to graduate. But new state guidelines adopted this month will help kids get ready for life after 12th grade – whether that’s picking a college or finding a job. The Illinois State Board of Education and other state agencies on Thursday introduced a new Postsecondary and Career Expectations (PaCE) framework to outline what students need to know about postsecondary life and when they need to know it.

Thomas B. Fordham Institute
What teens want from their schools
Among high school students who consider dropping out, half cite lack of engagement with the school as a primary reason, and 42 percent report that they don’t see value in the schoolwork they are asked to do. In What Teens Want: A National Survey of High School Student Engagement, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, and Crux Research tackle the question of what truly motivates and engages students in high school.

Education Week
Students’ sense of belonging at school is important. It starts with teachers
A student’s sense of belonging at school is important to academic achievement, say educators who responded to an Education Week Research Center survey. While most educators who took the survey use routines to help students feel welcome and safe at school—like greeting them at the classroom door each morning—many respondents say they struggle to help address some barriers to belonging.

Albuquerque Journal
Reviewers: New Mexico education plan best in the nation
New Mexico has the best plan to comply with the Every Student Succeeds Act among the 17 states that have submitted documents to the federal government so far, according to a new independent review. Bellwether Education Partners and the Collaborative for Student Success announced Tuesday that New Mexico was the only state to receive the highest marks in the majority of categories – five out of nine – that were reviewed, including standards and assessments, student success indicators and measures of academic progress.