May 2, 2014
Local News
The News Journal
Delaware teachers laud Common Core progress
When former National Teacher of the Year Sarah Brown Wessling showed a video of one of her lessons to a roomful of more than 250 Delaware teachers, she didn’t pick one of her best. She picked one that she whiffed. “We can’t have a mindset where we are more afraid of mediocrity than we are of mistakes,” Wessling said. “We have to accept that mistakes are how we learn and how we grow.” It is a mindset teachers hope to instill in their students. But it had a broader meaning for the educators gathered at Dover Downs on Thursday night to celebrate successes in implementing the Common Core State Standards.
Markell honors state’s BioGENEius winners
Climate change intrigued Lance White, a 16-year-old Cape Henlopen High School sophomore.
His class talked of how fossil fuels create carbon dioxide that raises water’s acidity level and about lower-impact biofuels and products used to make them. His study of the subject made him one of the top scientists in the 2014 Delaware BioGENEius Challenge Awards. The Delaware Biotechnology Institute in Newark coordinates the contest.
Cape Gazette
Teacher diversity focus of candidate forum
Cape Henlopen school board candidates squared off at a candidate forum where they largely agreed that Cape’s faculty should be more diverse. Candidates Bob Bennett, Terri Carey and Juan Saez participated in the April 28 forum hosted by the Sunshine Circle Club. Candidates Meyer Persow and Alison Myers did not participate. About a dozen residents attended the West Rehoboth Community Center forum in which questions largely focused on improving diversity among teaching ranks and the district’s hiring practices. Bernice Edwards, president of the Sunshine Circle Club, moderated the event.
Sussex County Post
Indian River district chalks up two more ‘Superstar’ awards
Indian River School District remains a “Superstar” in the eyes of the Delaware Chamber of Commerce, earning two prestigious Superstars in Education Awards. The “Peer to Peer Observation” program at Georgetown Middle School and the district’s “BRINC: Linking to the Future” program were among the 2014 Superstars winners announced in April.
Middletown Transcript
Q&A with Appoquinimink school board candidates
Two candidates are running for an at-large seat on the Appoquinimink school board in the May 13 election. Incumbent Norm Abrams of Townsend, who is seeking a second, five-year term on the school board, is facing a challenge from political newcomer Debbie Harrington of Middletown.
National News
Associated Press
Bill would delay Louisiana’s shift to Common Core tests
The consequences of Louisiana’s shift to Common Core education standards would be stalled for three years if lawmakers agree to a bill that started advancing Tuesday in the Legislature.
Education Week
Baltimore English Teacher McComb named 2014 National Teacher of the Year
The Council of Chief State School Officers has named high school English teacher Sean McComb, of Maryland, the 2014 National Teacher of the Year. A roaring applause greeted the announcement at Washington’s Fairfax Hotel, where the CCSSO had convened a breakfast for the State Teachers of the Year. The announcement came via the CBS morning news program “This Morning.”