May 6, 2016

Delaware

Cape Gazete
Changing complexion of Cape’s school board
For the first time in more than a decade, no minority will be seated on Cape Henlopen school board. The absence of any minority representation comes following the death of board member Noble Prettyman in 2015, who was the top vote getter in Milton for three terms and served for 12 years. Milton resident Jackie Brisco was appointed to fill Prettyman’s area A seat, but she decided not to run for election to the seat in 2016. Two white women filed to fill the five-year seat – Jessica Tyndall and Terri Carey.

Middletown Transcript
Driver shortage, other issues plague Appoquinimink and other districts
Some students in the Appoquinimink School District have waited up to an hour for their school buses to arrive or take them home this school year. The delays have been persistent since September, but students in the district may not be the only ones experiencing these inconveniences. “What we’re facing right now is a national issue,” said Appoquinimink School District Superintendent Matthew Burrows.

Rodel Blog
The path forward on pathways: What we heard
Readers of this blog might recall the Rodel Foundation and the United Way of Delaware recently co-hosted a community conversation about Delaware Pathways and its still-under-development strategic plan. The event was a resounding success. From the Wilmington Public Library, community members and leaders from various nonprofit organizations weighed in on the present state of college and career readiness for Delaware students—and where they’d like to see it go in the future. Here’s just a small sample of the feedback we heard.

Sussex County Post
Students get crash course on importance of safe celebration
Prom season is here. Graduations are just around the corner. It’s that time of the year for joy, happiness and celebration. Unfortunately, celebration can sometimes lead to heartbreak and tragedy. Sussex Central High School students got a crash course in the consequences of drinking and driving and driver distractions Tuesday – four days before Prom 2016. Delaware State Police Cpl. Kenny Argo shares information on local teen fatalities in motor vehicle crashes.

The Dover Post
DHS students lead by example in new mentoring program
Dover High School upperclassmen are taking the lead in a new course aimed at helping fellow students transition to high school. Next year, juniors and seniors will have the option of selecting a peer mentoring elective. The course will consist of a faculty member who will train two students —one boy and one girl — in how to be effective leaders, positive role models and good discussion moderators. Once trained, they will begin mentoring 14 to 20 freshmen.

The Harrington Journal
Get to know the town: Lake Forest School Board candidates
Although Lendon W. Dennis, Jr. is currently still listed as a candidate with Kent County Board of Elections, he said he does not wish to continue as a candidate due to work and family responsibilities. Earle Dempsey and Austin Auen are running for a five-year at-large seat on the Lake Forest School Board. Mr. Dempsey currently sits on the board after winning a one-year term last year. The polls will remain open from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 10, 2016.

National

Associated Press
Michigan House passes $500M Detroit schools restructure plan
The Michigan House approved a $500 million restructuring plan for Detroit Public Schools early Thursday, just days after disillusioned teachers staged a two-day sick-out because they feared the financially struggling district wouldn’t be able to pay them all through the summer Lawmakers in the GOP-controlled chamber started session Wednesday, but didn’t emerge with a plan until a series of private caucus meetings had ended some 15 hours later. They said the plan would ensure all teachers are paid and the district eliminates debt.

Education Week
La. lawmakers OK bill to return New Orleans Charters to local oversight
A bill to return the majority of New Orleans’ charter schools to the oversight of the city’s elected school board has passed the Louisiana House of Representatives. Under the legislation, the schools will remain charters run by their own appointed boards, but the Orleans Parish School Board would have the authority to decide whether charter contracts are renewed or schools are shut down. Last month, lawmakers in the Senate approved the bill which would transfer the 52 charters overseen by the state-run Recovery School District to the local school board no later than 2019.

NPR
Deep inside New York’s JFK Airport, There’s a high school
New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport is among the busiest in the country: More than 1,000 flights touch down and take off each day. More than 50 million passengers hurry through its gates each year. But something else is happening too. Not far from the waxed floors of the terminals and the automated voice proclaiming the end of the moving walkway, there’s a school. And a classroom that has six wheels, two wings, and a tail. It is a Boeing 727, parked on the tarmac near the hangars and warehouses. The first-class seats have been stripped down to expose their metal innards, and spun around to face a whiteboard. Welcome to Aviation High School.

The Governing
Has school choice been all it set out to be?
Kasey Locke has been diagnosed with autism. When her parents enrolled her in the public school in her town in Arizona, she had a hard time communicating, let alone learning. The Lockes, however, took advantage of an education savings account (ESA) program to sign their daughter up at a private school. ESAs work like vouchers, with one difference: The funds can be used not just for tuition but for other expenses, such as tutoring. For Kasey, the new school and continuing educational therapy did the trick.

The Washington Post
Why so many people are worried about teacher diversity, in two charts
The U.S. Education Department, the nation’s two largest teachers unions and Teach For America often do not agree on questions of education policy. But they have found common ground when it comes to the need for a more diverse teaching corps, an issue that they say is critical not only for schools but for the country. The organizations jointly hosted a national summit on teacher diversity in Washington on Friday, a daylong event meant to call attention to the issue and why it matters.