March 10, 2016
Delaware
Coastal Point
Millsboro Middle School students win 10 awards at science fair
Millsboro Middle School brought it’s A-game to the science fair this week. Four MMS students won 10 prizes at the 24th Annual Sussex County Science Fair, held March 7 at Delaware Technical Community College. Conell Bradner, Mackenzie Crozier, Ben Koly and Tessa McDonough were four of about 60 Sussex students competing for 45 prizes. Winning projects on March 7 revolved around music, moon phases, tsunamis, salinity, acid rain, food science, catapults, bacteria and more.
Delaware 105.9
IRSD to offer financial aid workshop tonight
The Indian River School District is partnering with $tand By Me to host another financial aid workshop aimed at helping families understand the financial aid process and secure cash for college. The event will be held tonight (Thursday), from 6 to 8 p.m. at Indian River High School Computer Lab in Dagsboro. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid the only way students can get the financial aid they qualify for, whether it’s in the form of scholarships, grants or low-interest loans.
IRSD wins to superstars in education award
The Indian River School District has received two prestigious Superstars in Education Awards from the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce. Sussex Central High School and the district’s Accelerating Pre-Literate English Language Learners program were among the 2016 Superstars winners announced on March 8. The chamber selected six winners statewide from a pool of 42 nominees. All of the 2016 Superstars winners will be honored at a special ceremony on May 9 at Wilmington University’s Doberstein Admissions Center Auditorium.
Newark Post
Love of learning new words spells success for Newark girl
When Raphael Kim woke up Sunday morning, the first thing she did was go look for her trophy. Had she really won the state spelling bee the day before, or was it all a figment of her imagination? “It seemed like a dream to her,” her father, Jung-il Kim said. Alas, it was no dream. Raphael had outlasted more than 60 competitors to be named Delaware’s top speller during the spelling bee held Saturday at St. Mark’s High School.
Sussex Countian
Sussex Central High School advances at Delaware State Mock Trial Competition
Sussex Central High School became the first Sussex County team to advance to the championship round of the Delaware State Mock Trial Competition held Feb. 26-27 at the New Castle County Courthouse. SCHS placed second, the highest ranking for a Sussex County team in the competition’s 25-year history. The plaintiff team was Charlie Megginson IV, Hallie Smith and Holly Williams as attorneys and Daniel Keenan, Daniella Furtado and Derya Sen as witnesses. The defense team was Bryce Molnar, Anya Klimitchev and Charlie Megginson IV as attorneys and Devon Lynch, Nathan Greenlee and Daniel Keenan as witnesses. The timekeeper was Faith Kinsler.
Sussex County Post
Indian River district wins two Superstars in Education Awards
Indian River School District has received two prestigious Superstars in Education Awards from the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce. Sussex Central High School’s Teacher Professional Learning Program and the district’s Accelerating Pre-Literate English Language Learners (APELL) program were among the 2016 Superstars winners announced on March 8. The chamber selected six winners statewide from a pool of 42 nominees.
The News Journal
New Delaware Tech program graduates first class
As Zak Donohoe prepares to graduate from Delaware Technical Community College in May, he has his eyes set on a job in the wastewater industry. For him, it’s a way to combine his passion for being outdoors and protecting natural resources. A new program from the college is helping him achieve that goal. Donohoe is among the first graduates of Delaware Tech’s Environmental Engineering Technology program, a two-year program designed to prepare students for a burgeoning field staff say is growing in demand. This year is the first time the school will have a class of graduates from the program.
National
CT Post
Committee hears both sides on test-based teacher evaluations
Efforts to forever strip standardized test scores from the teacher evaluation equation in Connecticut were debated Monday during a daylong hearing of the Legislature’s Education Committee. On one side, Commissioner of Education Dianna Wentzell and others argued against an “abrupt change” that lacks federal approval and which would circumvent the work of a committee created by the lawmakers to build a model evaluation system. “Student achievement is a powerful part of figuring out if instruction is effective,” Wentzell testified.
Detroit Free Press
Detroit schools can’t pay staff after April 8, lawmakers told
Detroit Public Schools can only afford to pay its employees for the work they do through April 8 and needs $50 million in immediate aid, the district’s transition manager said today. Steven Rhodes and new Superintendent Alycia Meriweather testified before a state House Appropriations Committee hearing on proposed legislation that would restructure the debt-ridden district. Lawmakers have been talking for several weeks but remain unable to agree on a plan. Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Rhodes reiterated that bankruptcy isn’t a good option because the vast majority of the district’s debts are secured or guaranteed by the state.
Education Week
Superintendent fosters a culture of risk-taking in rural Illinois district
Years before the arrival of Superintendent John Asplund, the Farmington school district had consolidated all its buildings, a massive change for a rural district trying to find its footing in difficult times. When Asplund started, though, he brought another change with him: the word “yes.” Yes to new paint. Yes to new classes. Yes to a smarter budget. Yes to a new parking lot. And yes to a giant solar-panel project. Do you have an idea? Pitch it. At the very least, ask.
The Hechinger Report
The difference between blended learning and personalized learning, and why it matters
Opinion by Phyllis Lockett, founder and CEO of LEAP Innovations
Having worked in education reform in Chicago for more than a decade, I’ve learned many things, one of the most important being this: reform is not enough. Sure, we’ve seen the headlines – students across the country are graduating high school at record rates. But are these students really prepared for success? Many are not. Right now, only 25 percent of high school students are graduating with the skills needed to succeed academically in college.
The Post and Courier
Push for charter takeover of failing schools comes to South Carolina
Here’s one idea to turn around perennially failing public schools in South Carolina: Lump the lowest-performing schools into a newly formed statewide district, loosen up the rules to allow for experimentation, and entrust the schools’ management to private companies and nonprofit organizations. The idea is picking up steam in Palmetto State education circles. Well-connected insiders from Charleston philanthropists to state education leaders have started pondering the creation of just such a “turnaround district.”