June 9, 2015

Delaware News

Education Week
Personalized learning: More teacher, less algorithm?
Blog post by Benjamin Herold
Last month, while reporting at Mount Pleasant High School in Wilmington, Del. for Education Week’s forthcoming Technology Counts 2015 report, to be released Wednesday, I came across an altogether different version of technology-enabled personalized learning in Robyn Howton’s classroom.

Newsworks
“We’ve reached a low point” — Delaware and its teacher’s union no longer playing nice
Once held aloft as a model marriage, relations between the Delaware Department of Education and the Delaware State Educators Association no longer appear cozy. “We’ve reached a low point,” says DSEA president Frederika Jenner.

Committee recommends probation for four Delaware charters
Delaware’s Charter School Accountability Committee is asking the state to put four charter schools on probation, but not recommending that any be closed.

The News Journal
Grants aim to get kids to college
Five school districts will get grants worth tens of thousands of dollars and several others will get extra funding for Advanced Placement classes as part of a statewide push to get more kids to go to college.

Be Charitable: WilmU professor inspires young readers through Read Aloud Delaware. So can you!
Read Aloud Delaware, working in the state for 30 years, is unique in that it is the only non-profit statewide organization in the U.S. that focuses on early childhood literacy. They partner with 98 childcare centers, including Head Starts, kindergartens, clinics and shelters. More than 700 volunteers read to about 6,000 individual children each year and train hundreds of parents via workshops and presentations, as well as offer ideas, education and training to caregivers and teachers throughout the year.

Businesses should make the STEM difference in schools
Opinion by Bill Merritt, president and CEO of Wilmington-based Interdigital, Inc.
We call on every American company that is engaged in scientific and technological pursuits to find ways they can make a difference in the schools in their own states and communities. We also call on the U.S. Government and state governments to expand educational opportunities for children and adults to prepare them for STEM-related careers. Gov. Markell’s recent launch of a needs assessment and strategic planning process for the future of Delaware’s public schools is a promising step forward

Christina is firing teachers, staff
Letter to the Editor by Jeffrey Miller, Wilmington
On May 15, 12 days before the referendum, over 100 employees, at least 80 of them teachers, lost their jobs due to receiving RIF (Reduction in Force) notices.

Charter school should pick a new spot
Letter to the Editor by Robert Hronsky, Wilmington
Let Freire select a location that suits its needs without reducing the quality of life for my son, his friends and my neighbors who have already invested in our community to make it better for us all.

Too many tests waste time
Letter to the Editor by Linda Hardy, New Castle
So, if they are so important, please give us the proof to back it up. If not, do away with it and spend more time with things that matter.

Delaware Public Media
Delaware Dept. of Ed awards college readiness grants
Some school districts will increase middle school course offerings, teach students and their families how to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and create mentorship programs.

Gov. Markell signs teen suicide prevention bill
House Bill 90 – sponsored by House Majority leader Valerie Longhurst (D-Bear) mandates that Delaware public school teachers complete 90 minutes of training on the signs of suicide. It also requires schools to establish a suicide prevention committee and local education agencies to create a suicide prevention policy.

Delaware State News
Capital School District honors retiring Superintendent Thomas
Dr. Thomas retires this month after 42 years in education. He spent the past 13 years serving as Capital School District superintendent.

Delaware Department of Education
Seven districts earn state grants to support college readiness, access efforts
A press release
Seven Delaware school districts will begin implementing comprehensive, innovative strategies to increase college readiness and access with grants from Delaware’s College Access funds.

National News

Las Vegas Sun
Sandoval signs measure creating new teacher bonuses
With his college-bound daughter watching over his shoulder Monday, Gov. Brian Sandoval signed into law legislation creating millions of dollars in incentives to help combat Nevada’s severe teacher shortage.

Al Jazeera
Saving the charter school movement from itself
Opinion by Amy B. Dean, a fellow of the Century Foundation
If charters were reimagined to respect their original objectives — to allow educators to experiment with new ideas, advance teachers’ voice in education and strengthen the public school system as a whole — they could yet live up to their potential.

The Tennessean
Education bill lacks real accountability for states
Oliver (Buzz) Thomas is a member of USA Today’s Board of Contributors and president of the Great Schools Partnership in Knoxville
States — not the feds — will hold schools accountable under the new compromise NCLB bill. Neither does the bill allow the feds to mandate — or even incent — a particular set of academic standards.
Unless the feds require certain minimum standards, this whole sad story of states lowering their academic standards could repeat itself.

NPR
The truth about America’s graduation rate
NPR Ed enlisted the help of 14 reporters at member stations around the country. We identified three major ways that states and districts try to improve their graduation rates. 1.) Stepping in early to keep kids on track. 2.) Lowering the bar by offering alternate and easier routes when students falter. 3.) Gaming the system by moving likely dropouts off the books, transferring or misclassifying them.

Albuquerque Journal
Gov. Martinez holding firm on Common Core
Some Republican governors across the country are bailing out on national Common Core public education standards, but Gov. Susana Martinez and her education chief remain firmly committed to the controversial program in New Mexico.