March 25, 2014
Local News
Cape Gazette
Cape board calls for diversity at charters, Sussex Tech
Too many white students are leaving their home school districts for charter and vo-tech schools, resulting in resegregation of Delaware schools, a Sussex County school board member says. Frank Parks, a Seaford school board member, says charter and vo-tech schools cherry pick top students from traditional school districts, leaving high numbers of minority students behind while creating an exclusive education for high-performing students.
National News
State Impact
New Florida test will use computers to grade student essays
A computer program will grade student essays on the writing portion of the standardized test set to replace the FCAT, according to the Florida Department of Education. The essays will be scored by a human and a computer, and the computer score will only matter if the score is significantly different from that of the human reviewer.
The Hechinger Report
Mississippi to take dip into state-funded preschool
Some local school districts, child care centers and Head Start programs will benefit from the addition of $3 million in state grants that will serve reach an estimated 2,400 4-year-olds during the next two and a half years. That’s fewer than 6 percent of the state’s population of 4-year-olds.
Burlington Free Press
Vermont House panel votes to decrease number of school districts
The Vermont House Education Committee voted in favor of a bill that would take Vermont’s 251 school districts and shrink that number down to about 50 within the next six years. The bill has generated concerns over a loss of local control, among other issues.
Washington Post
Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton agree: College is out of reach for many
Hillary Rodham Clinton and Jeb Bush both sounded an alarm about higher education becoming financially out of reach for too many young Americans. The former Democratic secretary of state and the former Republican governor of Florida voiced concern about the rising costs of college in the United States.