October 1, 2014

Local News

The News Journal
Red Clay, Christina balk at state turnaround plan
Facing a Sept. 30 deadline to accept DOE’s controversial plan to turn around six of the state’s lowest-performing schools, Red Clay and Christina school districts decided instead to present alternative proposals on Tuesday. After more than three hours of fiery speeches, the Christina School Board said it would make its own proposal to the state. At the same time, Red Clay officials unveiled their own alternative they hope to negotiate with state leaders.

WDDE
Red Clay School District seeks to modify Priority Schools Plan
The state’s controversial Priority Schools Initiative faced opposition at a meeting in the Red Clay School District Tuesday night, but district officials there are seeking some middle ground. As part of the discussion whether the district should agree to place three underperforming Wilmington schools under the state’s program Superintendent Merv Daugherty presented board members with a counter Memorandum of Understanding, which he hopes they’ll agree to sign when they vote at their regular meeting October 15th.

Priority Schools plan finds little support at Christina School Board meeting
Educators, community members and public officials gathered in a crowded auditorium for a Christina School District Board meeting at Sarah Pyle Academy Tuesday night. Over 80 people were in attendance for the meeting which would see the board decide their stance on the Department of Education’s new Priority Schools initiative. During an almost three hour public comment session, those in attendance voiced their concerns on what they considered an unnecessary and unwelcome program.

Coastal Point
IRSD population soars, teachers frustrated with requirements
Nearly 10,000 students attend schools in the Indian River School District, and school officials aren’t done counting, since state funding is based on student populations on Sept. 30. At this point, the IRSD has 9,872 students — a number that will likely increase in the next week. That’s already 437 students more than last year’s 9,435 students. Because the State of Delaware funds a certain number of staff based on unit count, IRSD is currently understaffed, until that additional funding arrives for about 30 more positions.

Delaware Department of Education
Three Delaware schools named Blue Ribbon winners
A press release
Three Delaware schools are among 337 schools that U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recognized today as 2014 National Blue Ribbon Schools, based on their overall academic excellence or their progress in improving student academic achievement.

National News

Education Week
Superintendents support common-assessment consortia
About two-thirds of district superintendents say states should stick with their common-core testing consortia, while 16 percent remain on the fence over the issue, according to results from a new survey.

‘Landmark’ student-data-privacy law enacted in California
California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a sweeping measure aimed at restricting the use of students’ educational data by third-party vendors, marking one of the most aggressive legislative attempts to date to balance the promise of digital learning technologies with concerns about the privacy and security of children’s sensitive information.

Star-Telegram
U.S. to give $450 million to colleges that link job-training to industry needs
The White House announced $450 million in grants to 270 community colleges that are working with employers to set up training programs for in-demand jobs in fields such as information technology, health care, energy and advanced manufacturing.

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Proposed regulation increases high school math requirements
If a proposed regulation passes the Alaska State Board of Education, this year’s high school freshmen can expect one more graduation requirement than their older peers — an additional year of math to graduate from high school.

Governing
Memphis makes the nation’s most ambitious effort to fix failed schools
In a nation where Democrats and Republicans alike say they want to provide “equal opportunity,” can failing schools be transformed into successful schools in short order and on a large scale?

The promising, but complicated impact of state-funded preschool
Oklahoma lawmakers have for 16 years supported an expensive social program aimed at ensuring that every 4-year-old learns the alphabet, attracting national attention.