November 19, 2015

Delaware News

The News Journal
The goals of public education remain the same
Opinion by Frederika Jenner, president of the Delaware State Education Association
As we celebrate American Education Week, I’m reminded that across those sixty years, the basic goal of public education has remained the same: Provide every child with the best opportunities to learn and succeed. Shaping these opportunities is a most important task, one shared by educators, families, elected officials and policy-makers across Delaware and the United States. It requires us to advocate and fight for kids and classrooms on local, state, and national levels.

New UD president: We have to keep college affordable
The University of Delaware’s new president says his top priorities are making the campus more diverse and welcoming, and keeping college affordable and accessible, all while continuing to push for excellent education and cutting-edge research. The school’s Board of Trustees unanimously voted Wednesday to name Dennis Assanis, the provost of Stony Brook University in Long Island, New York, to be UD’s next leader.

Assanis’ words signal more ‘inclusive’ UD
Editorial
It’s easy to conclude that Dennis Assanis “said all the right things” Wednesday. Here’s hoping he, the faculty and the board of trustees can work together and turns those words into actions and results. Such change will take years to fully realize and Dennis Assanis may be long gone from Newark by then. In the meantime, he has the opportunity to usher in a truly transformative era for UD and the state it serves.

WHYY
University of Delaware names new president
In its drive toward the future, the University of Delaware has turned to a car expert. The First State’s flagship has appointed Dennis Assanis, a longtime mechanical engineer and university administrator, as its next president. Assanis comes to UD from Stony Brook University on Long Island, where he has been provost and senior vice president for academic affairs since 2011. Prior to that, Assanis spent 17 years at the University of Michigan as a professor of mechanical engineering.

Students, academics, politicians, react to UD’s new president
After the University of Delaware announced its new president Wednesday, students, faculty and political leaders say they’re hopeful for an improved campus. During the announcement at the Trabant Center on the Newark campus, incoming president Dennis Assanis expressed his desire to make college affordable, continue academic excellence and engage in the community. But students and others invested in his leadership say his vow to diversify the campus is the most important promise Assanis made Wednesday.

Delaware Public Media
Dennis Assanis named next UD president
Dennis Assanis, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Stony Brook University, will serve as the next University of Delaware president. All present members of UD’s Board of Trustees voted to confirm Assanis Wednesday. He will officially take over July 1, 2016. UD College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment dean Nancy Targett will continue to serve as acting president until then.

Cape Gazette
Children & Families First and Supporting Kidds join forces
Children & Families First and Supporting Kidds recently announced that Supporting Kidds has become a subsidiary of CFF. The organizations have joined forces to strengthen and expand a shared mission of helping Delaware kids facing adversity. CFF is a multi-service organization with locations in Wilmington, Dover, Georgetown and Seaford that uses proven methods in mental health, education, healthcare, and social services to help Delaware’s children facing adversity on their journey to adulthood. Based in Hockessin, Supporting Kidds provides compassionate pathways to healing for grieving children and their families and works to empower the community to support them in the grieving process through support groups, counseling and community education.

WDEL
Incoming University of Delaware president focused on diversity, affordability of college
Dennis Assanis, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Stony Brook University in Long Island, New York, was elected by UD’s board of trustees to take the helm at the university. “I feel extremely privileged to lead the University of Delaware. It’s an amazing institution,” he said during a news conference following the announcement.

Skyline Middle School parents say school is overcrowded
Decked out in matching blue shirts, Skyline Middle School parents spoke their mind at Wednesday night’s Red Clay school board meeting. They expressed unhappiness with the school, saying it’s overcrowded–in part due to additional kids from other Wilmington area schools.

The Newark Post
UD chooses Stony Brook provost as new president
Assanis said he is looking forward to working with Newark’s mayor and council to rebuild relations and understand the challenges the city faces because of the university’s presence. As long as both parties understand each other, he said, he is confident they can work work together.

National News

Education Week
Gates Foundation puts new focus on transforming teacher prep
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will invest some $34 million in cooperative initiatives designed to improve teacher-preparation programs’ overall effectiveness.

The Atlantic
The Economic imperative of bilingual education
States including Utah and Montana are aggressively pushing for programs that give native English speakers a competitive edge. As two-way immersion grows, the variety of language options now available marks a turning point in the evolution of bilingual education. Once the mainstay of immigrant children, bilingual instruction has a new band of converts: English-speaking parents, lawmakers, and advocacy groups. Research shows that students gain cognitive and academic benefits from bilingualism. Yet an overarching reason for the heightened interest is giving U.S. students a jump on the competition in a global workforce.

Real Clear Education
Essential missing ingredients in Obama plan to addressing over-testing
We can’t address the over-testing issue while ignoring the most researched type of assessment — formative assessment. The practices help students and teachers adjust learning during instruction through qualitative feedback based upon wide-ranging evidence, not just tests. They promote students’ understanding of assessment, empowering them to self-assess, peer-assess, and take ownership of their learning, reducing the need for typical tests. The Action Plan and the CGCS report are replete with such well-worn terms as critical thinking, college and career readiness, real world, complex demonstrations, application of knowledge, and accurate measure. Performance-based assessment and learning/instruction – barely mentioned – are perhaps the best ways to make these terms come alive because they ask students to demonstrate their learning through meaningful work products or performances.

Los Angeles Times
Laurene Powell Jobs launches college-support program in Watts
Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs and an important player in the funding of hotly debated education reforms in the U.S., is expanding her involvement in Los Angeles schools. Her organization, College Track, announced last week it will support dozens of students attending Jordan High School in Watts through a program designed to help them prepare for college and then earn a degree.