June 7, 2017
Delaware News
Cape Gazette
Sussex Academy seniors make history with graduation
Sussex Academy’s Class of 2017 made history Friday night, June 2. The 38 seniors became the first graduates of Sussex County’s only public charter high school. “You’ve set the bar high,” said keynote speaker Gov. John Carney. “Together you’ve built this school. You created the first clubs and the first teams and all the while achieving some of the highest test scores in the whole state of Delaware.”
Coastal Point
State likes proposed location for new Ennis school
The wheels are rolling for a new Howard T. Ennis School building. The State of Delaware appears to like the idea of building a new facility for the special-needs school. Indian River School District officials said they are encouraged by state-level discussions to transfer a piece of Stockley Center land to build a replacement Ennis School in Georgetown.
Delaware Public Media
Second chance referendum garners approval from Colonial School District voters
Voters in Colonial School District gave their blessing to a tax referendum Tuesday in a vote that was a drastic turnaround from February’s failed first effort to raise taxes. The ask was basically the same – a 38 cent tax increase for every $100 of assessed property value – but the result was vastly different. Residents approved the proposal by a 1,892 vote margin.
Department of Education
2017-18 free, reduced price meal policy announced
The Delaware Department of Education announces the U.S. Department of Agriculture policy for free and reduced price meals for children unable to pay the full price for meals served under the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, and After School Snack Program. Each participating school and its administrative office have a copy of the policy, which may be reviewed by any interested party.
Newark Post
Endless possibilities await Christiana High grads
Few people realize they are making a memory until after the moment is over, maybe even years later, but not Christiana High School’s Class of 2017. As the graduating seniors walked single file into the Bob Carpenter Center on Tuesday, many of them were feeling the gravity of the milestone they were about to reach and how the moment would soon become a memory lasting nothing short of a lifetime.
Sussex County Post
Armed with IR Pride, Indian River grads poised to continue life’s journey
With personal passion to be a surgeon, Erin Haden aimed to be a cut above. Along the way it just happened that she became co-valedictorian of Indian River High School’s Class of 2017. “The reason that I am on this stage as co-valedictorian is because of my dream to go to medical school to become a surgeon.
The News Journal
Colonial referendum passes on second attempt
The Colonial School District’s second attempt to pass a $10.9 million per year referendum was successful Tuesday, giving the school district the money it needs to recall several laid-off employees and avoid large program cuts. “This is a victory for our students and dedicated staff,” said Superintendent Dr. Dusty Blakey in a statement.
National News
Chalkbeat
For the first time, Tennessee awards pre-K funding based on quality, not quantity
Tennessee will spread $84 million in state funding across more than 900 pre-K classrooms next school year under a new awards process designed to incentivize the quality of programming over volume of students. The awards, announced Tuesday by the State Department of Education, will go to nearly 95 percent of the state’s 146 districts to serve at-risk 4-year-olds.
CJ Online
Kansas House, Senate adopt school-finance bill after tax provision pulled
The House and Senate voted to send Gov. Sam Brownback a new school-finance formula Monday night to reform appropriation of state tax dollars to public schools after the Kansas Supreme Court ruled the existing system failed to meet constitutional mandates. State representatives overwhelmingly rejected a bill containing the identical formula but packaged with a $1 billion increase in the state’s income tax.
Education Week
More testing is forecast for nation’s ELL students
At a time when Congress wants to scale back K-12 testing requirements, the Every Student Succeeds Act could do just the opposite for one group of students—those who don’t yet communicate fluently in English. To ensure consistent monitoring of English-language learners, federal education law now requires annual English-language-proficiency assessments. States must also standardize criteria for identifying English-learners and for reclassifying them when they no longer need support services.
The 74 Million
DeVos says IDEA, other federal laws apply to private voucher schools, but no pledge on LGBT
“Schools receiving federal funds must follow federal laws” was Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s refrain of the day, going further than she has before in addressing civil rights protections and private school choice DeVos, testifying before a Senate subcommittee with jurisdiction over Education Department spending, faced sharp questioning from Democrats over whether federal laws banning discrimination and guaranteeing students with disabilities an appropriate education would apply to a $250 million private school choice plan included in the Trump administration’s 2018 budget.
The Kanas City Star
Legislature overrides Brownback’s veto of bill that rolls back his 2012 tax cuts
The Republican dominated Kansas Legislature that has soured on Gov. Sam Brownback’s vision for the state voted late Tuesday to roll back the governor’s signature tax cuts. Lawmakers voted to override Brownback’s veto of a tax plan estimated to bring the state more than $1.2 billion over a two-year span. The Senate vote was 27 to 13, and the House followed by agreeing 88 to 31 to supersede the Republican governor’s wishes on the tax plan and force the changes into law.