March 8, 2017

Delaware News

Middletown Transcript
Three file for Appoquinimink Board of Education election
Two challengers have filed to run against incumbent Charlisa Edelin for one seat on the Appoquinimink Board of Education. Trevor Tucker and Keinna McKnight have joined the race for the five-year term. The deadline to file as a candidate was Friday, March 3. The election is scheduled for Tuesday, May 9.

Rodel Blog
The dangers of chronic absenteeism
Blog post by Shyanne Miller, policy associate at the Rodel Foundation of Delaware
If students are not in school, they are not learning. That is the main issue behind chronic absenteeism, which has serious implications for student success. Students that are chronically absent are at a higher risk of failing academically or dropping out. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing at least 10 percent of instructional time within one academic year.

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 News Journal
Cabbage, anyone? Student wins award for huge plant
Ever see a five-pound cabbage? Because Abigal Nawo has. The fourth-grader grew it herself, in her backyard, boasted Colonial School District. The Wilbur Elementary School student will be awarded a $1,000 scholarship for raising the behemoth, it was announced Tuesday. The award is part of a contest sponsored by Bonnie Plants, an Alabama company that holds a national growing contest each year by supplying third-grade students with a seedling and challenging them to grow the largest cabbage they can.

About to drop out, student finds innovative way to pay for college
Concord High School graduate Gabe Harley and his grandmother, 70-year-old Marianne Lundy, were out of options. Lundy, who had raised Harley since the age of 2, had just about depleted her retirement account paying for his first two years at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. She had retired two years earlier so she could take care of her elderly mother, who was blind and had heart problems.

Sussex Countian
Synchronized skating helps student slide by
Margaret Amory is skating by in high school. Ever since the Milford High School senior was four she’s been at home on the ice. She spends much of her time perfecting her craft at the ice skating rink in Harrington. “It keeps you active” she said. “But it also gives you a challenge that sometimes academics can’t provide.” Things started to change for Amory seven years ago when she started looking for a new challenge.

National News

Education Next
A Common Core curriculum quandary
One of the most ambitious educational improvement projects in recent years was the adoption of new, more rigorous college- and career-ready academic standards by more than 40 U.S. states. Though the Common Core label has suffered greatly from a populist backlash (see “Common Core Brand Taints Opinion on Standards,” features, Winter 2017), the reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated. The standards themselves remain largely intact, even in states that have renamed and tweaked them.

Education Week
Building up the teacher workforce in small-town Iowa
In rural southern Iowa, the town of Leon is home to 2,000 people, a popular annual rodeo, and a school system that has emerged as a beacon of teacher leadership. Under Superintendent Chris Coffelt, Leon’s public schools—known as the Central Decatur Community School District—set out in 2012 with a multi-faceted plan to recruit and retain teachers and improve student achievement under some especially challenging circumstances.

Tampa Bay Times
Bill to cut back Florida testing gains bipartisan support
Nearly a month ago, three key Florida lawmakers set forth their “Fewer Better Tests” legislation with backing from Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education. This week, a bipartisan coalition of state senators and House members will be boosting a separate, more far reaching measure (SB 964 / HB 1249). The Senate version is introduced by Commerce chairman Sen. Bill Montford, a Tallahassee Democrat who also runs the state superintendents association.

Real Clear Education
Kentucky set to pass major education legislation
The 2016 elections handed Republicans record political power at the state level. In Kentucky, the land of thoroughbreds, they’re running with it. After winning back control of the state legislature and governorship, Republicans are on the cusp of passing Senate Bill 1, legislation that would take a large chunk of education decision-making out of the hands of the federal and state government and return it to Kentucky’s local districts and schools.

The Washington Post
Prince George’s cancels classes as many teachers in region take leave on day of women’s protest
Hundreds of teachers took leave Wednesday in solidarity with a women’s protest day, forcing classes to be canceled in Prince George’s County, Alexandria and at least nine charter schools in the District. Schools in other parts of the Washington region braced for the possibility of significant staff absences. In Maryland’s Montgomery County, school officials said early Wednesday morning that the 159,000-student system planned to open for the day.