March 20, 2017
Delaware News
Cape Gazette
Maker Day held at Worcester Prep
Worcester Prep 9th- and 10th-graders participated in Maker Day March 3 to celebrate inventing, problem solving, working collaboratively and constructing solutions. Students broke into small teams that constructed operating displays of technologies from the Renaissance period. Upper School students tested their creativity and problem-solving skills while stressing the STEAM areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics.
Newcomer unopposed in school board race
For the first time in six years, a candidate running for Cape Henlopen school board is unopposed, so no election will take place. Rehoboth Beach resident and newcomer Julie Derrick, 34, was the only person to file for the area D seat vacated by Jen Burton, who decided not to run for re-election. An area D candidate must live in the Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach area that runs south to the Indian River bridge, however, all residents within the Cape Henlopen School District can vote in school board elections. Derrick will be sworn-in to the 5-year school board seat in July.
Delaware Department of Education
Families still can complete FASFA while IRS tool unavailable
Press Release
The Delaware Department of Education reminds high school seniors and their families that although a useful IRS online tool is unavailable, they still should complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA). IRS officials are working to fix the data retrieval tool on fafsa.gov and StudentLoans.gov but anticipate it will be unavailable for several weeks. The tool provides tax data that automatically fills in information for part of the FAFSA as well as the Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan application.
Delaware Public Media
Study of WEIC plan’s financial impact creates more questions
With the state’s $350 million budget crunch putting in jeopardy approval of the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission’s plan to improve opportunities for low-income students and English-language learners, a nearly-complete study of the proposal’s fiscal impact muddies the financial waters even further.
The News Journal
Program prepares students with disabilities for jobs
It was hard to stop crying once she started. Ashley Webb isn’t always good at showing emotion, but on a rainy Friday in Dover, she couldn’t seem to help it. She stood up and hugged her mentor, Jackie Innerarity, and then sat back down, still sniffling. The rest of the room sniffled with her. Webb, 21, is part of a program that frequently inspires tears, organizers say. It’s called Project SEARCH, and it was recently named a 2017 Superstar in Education by the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce.
Mike Matthews wins election for DSEA president
After an unprecedented runoff election, Red Clay Consolidated School District’s Mike Matthews has been elected president of the state’s largest education union. Delaware State Education Association members were informed of the results early Friday. Matthews beat Karen Crouse, the Lake Forest School District financial secretary who tied with Matthews in the first vote in January.
Milford Beacon
Anti-flooding device takes Central Academy student to finals
Nathan Schwan has always had a passion for building things. When the time came for the Milford Central Academy student to enter the March 2 Kent County Science Fair at Delaware State University, he automatically knew where his strengths were. Schwan, 12, was the first place winner in the environmental science category and is headed to the Delaware Valley Regional Science Fair at Drexel University in May. He was surprised when he found out he came in first.
Special needs students taking the lead
Mariah Hartzell, 17, dreams of being in a position where she can help students with disabilities. “A friend of ours from school has a very bad disability,” she said. “He has to use an iPad for everything and I have to help him a lot.” The Milford High School senior is inspired to help students with disabilities because she knows what it’s like. She has cataracts, a medical condition where the lens of the eyes become opaque, resulting in blurred vision.
Newsworks
Delaware leaders decry Trump’s proposed cuts in funding arts, education, and housing
From after school programs to arts funding, President Trump’s proposed federal budget cuts are facing fierce opposition in Delaware. Delaware House Majority leader Valerie Longhurst, a champion of after-school learning and enrichment programs, said Friday she was stunned by President Trump’s proposal to slash funding for such initiatives nationwide.
Delaware names new early childhood learning director
Longtime Delaware educator and administrator Kimberly Krzanowski has been selected to head the state’s Office of Early Learning, Gov. John Carney’s office announced today. Krzanowski, currently the instructional director and Education Department chair at Delaware Technical Community College, also has worked as an early childhood teacher and center administrator.
National News
Lexington Herald Leader
Kentucky charter schools are a signature away. What happens next?
Now that charter schools in Kentucky await only the signature of proponent Gov. Matt Bevin, school boards across the state, and mayors in Lexington and Louisville, could accept charter school applications in the 2017-18 school year. Educators, school and government officials, and the staff of education groups, are working on how to deal with public charter schools in the state for the first time. School boards in Kentucky can approve an unlimited number of charter schools under the legislation passed by the General Assembly.
Real Clear Education
Ohio listens and delays its ESSA plan
Making good on a promise to heed public input, Ohio’s top education official announced last week that he would delay submitting a federally-required education plan. “The submission of the state’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) response should be an event that unites us,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Paolo DeMaria wrote in an open letter explaining the delay.
Silver City Sun-News
Bill to develop new system for evaluating teachers passes Senate
Senator Howie Morales has sponsored a bill that received bipartisan support. SB34 passed by a vote of 30-7 and it states that legislation will develop a new system for evaluating teachers and principals that will rely less on students’ scores on standardized tests. “I am very pleased by the growing bipartisan support for this legislation to fix our teacher evaluation in New Mexico,” Sen. Morales said.
The Atlantic
What if students only went to school four days a week?
Barring unexpected closures, students enrolled in San Francisco Public Schools will have seven three-day weekends this school year; there are five three-day weekends on the Hartford Public Schools calendar for 2016-2017; and Atlanta Public Schools students are scheduled to have three three-day weekends this year. In Bonners Ferry, Idaho, however, students can plan for 29 three-day weekends.