March 3, 2017
Delaware News
Delaware State News
Efficiency of Delaware school districts needs studied
Opinion by State Rep. Daniel B. Short, R-Seaford
School district consolidation is a topic that’s been discussed for decades in Delaware and it is easy to see why Delaware has 19 public school districts serving about 137,000 students. By contrast, a single school district in Maryland — Montgomery County Public Schools — serves more than 159,000 students. Over the last 10 years, teachers and other educational employees have been a major driver of state personnel costs.
Delmarva Now
Indian River referendum passes by almost 2K votes
Exactly 100 days after the Indian River School District failed to pass a tax referendum by 30 votes, Thursday’s decision left no room for squabbling. The $7.35 million referendum passed by a margin of 7,095 to 5,394 after months of passionate arguments on whether the taxes should be raised. “This vote is astronomical,” Indian River Interim Superintendent Mark Steele said. “It passed by over 1,700 votes, 1,701 votes to be exact, and that is incredible. I can just say I am so grateful for the public support.”
Rodel Blog
3 things I learned from ECET2
Blog post by Shani Benson, third grade inclusion teacher at South Dover Elementary
Last Saturday, my fellow Rodel Teacher Council members and I hosted ECET2 Delaware: Connecting Innovative Educators. Our goal was to provide a teacher-led professional development opportunity while celebrating the outstanding and tireless work that teachers do. In all, we had three keynote speakers, two colleague circles, two breakout sessions of the attendees’ choosing, and breakfast, lunch, and snacks provided by the St. Georges Technical High School culinary arts students.
The case for personalized intervention programs
Blog post by Lyndsey Cook, Secondary Instructional Coach at Kent County Community School
From as early as daycare and pre-k, we mold our children for success. We monitor their abilities and use data to make sure they are on track. As teachers, when we notice that a student is not on track, we often refer them to intervention programs and pull-out sessions with teachers who specialize in their craft. For those who don’t spend their days inside a classroom, an intervention program is a resource used to close the gap between where a student is performing and the expectation. Currently, many curricula include additional materials to help struggling students which benefit many but do have some limitations.
Delaware Public Media
As state budget revenues fall short, higher education faces a squeeze
Eric Greitens had barely been Missouri’s governor for a week when he faced a pretty tough decision: cutting the Show Me State’s budget. The state didn’t get as much revenue as expected, prompting the Republican governor to cut $68 million in core funding to colleges, universities and community colleges for the current budget year. That amounts to about 8 percent of the general revenue that goes to colleges and community colleges.
The News Journal
Victims of gun violence visit Dickinson High School
He’d had enough. Christian Harris wasn’t going to take any more guff from the small, yet rowdy class of Dickinson High School students sitting in front of him. He didn’t want to scare them – that wasn’t the point of a Christiana Care presentation on gun violence in Wilmington. But he did want them to take what he was saying seriously.
Hockessin Community News
Wilmington Friends School student wins Delaware Poetry Out Loud contest
From a competitive field of 13 Delaware high school students, Cecilia Ergueta, a junior from Wilmington Friends School, earned the title of 2017 Poetry Out Loud Delaware Champion at the state finals at the Smyrna Opera House on Tuesday. The first runner-up was Shalyn Littlejohn from Hodgson Vo-Tech High School in Newark, and the second runner-up was Sam McGarvey from Tall Oaks Classical High School in Bear.
National News
The Baltimore Sun
Maryland House OKs bill limiting school testing
The Maryland House of Delegates approved a bill Tuesday that would limit the amount of time school districts can spend on testing. The Less Testing, More Learning Act sailed through with minimal debate on a 139-0 vote. The bill would limit schools to spending 2 percent of classroom time on tests that are required by the federal government, the state or the school district, including standardized tests.
KGW.com
Voters to consider $790 million Portland Public Schools bond measure
Portland voters will have a chance to decide whether to invest another $790 million in the city’s largest public school district. On Tuesday, the Portland Public Schools board approved placing a major bond measure on the May 16, 2017, ballot. The measure is intended to continue an ongoing modernization of school sites throughout the district.
USA Today
Betsy DeVos: President Trump delivers on education promises
Opinion piece by Betsy Devos, U.S. Secretary of Education
President Trump’s first address to the joint session of Congress was clear: promises made, promises kept. The president promised to shake up the status quo in Washington, and he has. From keeping Carrier in the United States to nominating the highly qualified Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, our president continues to follow through on his word.
U.S. News & World Report
After-school programs foster STEM skills
While many classrooms and internship programs are actively trying to incorporate science, technology, engineering and math – also known as STEM – education into the lives of children and young adults, after-school programs that focus on STEM let children explore new ideas without worrying about keeping their grades up. A new study by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and STEM Next, “Afterschool & STEM: System Building Evaluation 2016,” surveyed and looked at the impact of more than 160 after-school programs providing informal STEM education in 11 states.