March 5, 2015

Delaware News

WHYY
Delaware lawmakers, unions want delay on tying new test to teacher evaluation
In a letter sent Friday to Governor Jack Markell and obtained by Newsworks/WHYY, signatories asked the state to wait at least one more year before tying results of the new Smarter Balanced test to “decisions … made regarding teachers’ employment.”

The News Journal
UD’s Patrick Harker delivers last budget request
Patrick Harker, the outgoing University of Delaware president, told lawmakers on Wednesday the state must continue to promote entrepreneurship and invest in new innovations.

School votes unfair to taxpayers
Letters to the Editor by Rocky DeMaio, Wilmington
How unfair is it that a non-property owner who pays nothing in school taxes should be allowed to vote on any issues that will ultimately affect those property taxes?

Delaware State News
More money for colleges? Not likely in this budget
Delaware Technical Community College has nearly $80 million in deferred maintenance projects, president Mark Brainard said Wednesday during the state’s annual capital budget hearings.

National News

Office of Senator Coons
Senator Coons re-introduces bipartisan bill to strengthen parent-school partnerships
A press release
With the support of the Delaware PTA, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) has re-introduced the bipartisan Family Engagement in Education Act, aimed at helping schools and families work together to support learning and raise student achievement.

The Washington Post
Hogan raises concerns about the number of tests students are given
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said Wednesday that he thinks that students are over-tested, a growing criticism among teachers, parents and students across the country.

Hechinger Report
At new Mississippi charter school, students will learn to speak computer
Students at Reimagine Prep in Jackson will learn a valuable skill during their first year, one no other school in the state requires students to study: coding.

Education Week
New Teachers’ academic ability on the Rise, N.Y. study shows
The academic strength of new teachers has been getting better, not worse, for the last decade, according to a new longitudinal study of educators in New York state. Moreover, academically strong teachers are becoming more equitably distributed across all public schools—both high- and low-poverty—that serve the Empire State’s 2.7 million public K-12 students.

The Washington Post
Chris Christie’s bold plan to remake public schools is running into trouble
Five years after Christie launched what could have been a career-defining policy initiative for an aspiring future president, city leaders are in revolt.

CNN Money
Howard students will get paid to graduate on time
The school says it will cover 50% of the cost of a student’s final semester if they graduate early or on time, starting next year. A single semester’s sticker price is $11,900, so that would be a savings of about $6,000 for anyone paying full price.

Open Secrets
More members of Congress hold student loan debt
Members of Congress are, on average, far wealthier than the typical American, but an increasing number of them have a now typical American financial obligation: student loan debt.