May 6, 2014

Local News

The News Journal
Superstars in Education saluted at awards ceremony
Superstars in Education awards celebrate teachers and schools that find innovative ways to get kids excited about learning. The Delaware Chamber of Commerce has hosted the event since 1989, but this year it refocused its goals. Instead of rewarding general academic excellence, the group has started to hone in on efforts that develop a strong workforce.

Delaware Department of Education
‘Thank a Teacher’ campaign marks Teacher Appreciation Week
A press release
As Delaware celebrates National Teacher Appreciation Week, the Delaware Department of Education – in partnership with the Delaware State Education Association, Delaware Parent Teacher Association and Rodel Foundation of Delaware – encourages the public to thank our state’s great educators for their dedication and hard work to help our students succeed every week of the year.

Office of the Governor
Governor Markell establishes Youth Re-Entry Education Task Force
A press release
Joined by state juvenile justice and education leaders at the Delaware Children’s Department’s newly completed educational facility on Faukland Road, Governor Jack Markell today established the Youth Re-Entry Education Task Force. Created by today’s signing of Executive Order 45, the Task Force will develop recommendations for ensuring the appropriate services are available for youth when they return to their communities from juvenile secure care facilities.

Governor Markell announces new funding for financial literacy programs
A press release
Governor Jack Markell has announced the availability of a fourth round of grants to promote financial and economic literacy among Delawareans of all ages through the state’s Financial Literacy Education Fund (FLEF). “The Financial Literacy Education Fund was established to help Delawareans reach their financial potential through education on how to wisely budget, save, invest and generally plan for the future,” said Governor Jack Markell.

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.

Mapletown Charter School wins approval to open in 2016
Mapleton Charter School was one of four charter applications approved by Delaware Education Secretary Mark Murphy and the State Board of Education on April 17, despite rising concerns that the growing number of charter schools in the state – particularly New Castle County – could impact public school districts.

National News

Education Week
Teachers lead the way in Nevada project
As districts across the nation grapple with implementing the Common Core State Standards, one teacher is already leading the way in Washoe County, Nev., where the strategy for helping teach the new reading and mathematics standards is being driven by those who are counting most on the guidance: the teachers themselves.

Early reports suggest few field-testing snags
Field-testing of two multistate online assessments is going more smoothly than many educators had expected, despite technological glitches in the coast-to-coast experiment. And even though the exams, aligned with the Common Core State Standards, are still in the tryout phase, they are proving tougher than the ones students are used to taking.

InBloom’s collapse shines spotlight on data-sharing challenges
Experts say, the states and districts hoping to expand their use of student data must also contend with heightened public concerns about privacy and security, a thicket of ed-tech vendors vying to control individual slices of the fragmented education market, and a vocal group of advocates vehemently opposed to the brand of technology-driven education that inBloom came to embody.

Boston Globe
More Massachusetts students taking on AP
In Massachusetts, 89 percent more students in the class of 2013 took AP exams than a decade ago. The number of students receiving a successful score for college admissions has risen 87 percent.

Associated Press
Vermont programs turns out teachers
A program aimed at people changing professions mid-career is turning out licensed teachers in eight months by giving them intensive experience in the classroom with mentors.

New York Times
Spreading the A.P. gospel to nurture scientists and engineers
The National Math and Science Initiative, a nonprofit organization founded in 2007 to help improve education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the so-called STEM fields is partnering with schools to promote A.P. classes. The backers of NMSI (the acronym is pronounced NIM-zee) include ExxonMobil, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Lockheed Martin, and the organization won a federal $15 million grant in 2011 to set up similar efforts in Colorado and Indiana.