October 10, 2017
Delaware News
Chalkbeat
What states told Chalkbeat about how they will monitor their chronic absenteeism data
Now that students’ rates of chronic absenteeism are being used to judge schools in most states, there will be new incentives to manipulate this data. The Delaware Department of Education is reviewing current processes around absenteeism and chronic absenteeism, and will work with districts and schools to determine consistent rules for using this information in the accountability system. Delaware school districts and charter schools have been collecting and reporting data regarding attendance as well as absences for many years, so this is not necessarily a new data point in our system.
The News Journal
Carney leads delegation to Massachusetts ‘model’ school
A trip to Springfield, Massachusetts, Friday gave Gov. John Carney a chance to learn about a public-private partnership similar to the one he wants to enter into with the Christina School District to improve academics. Despite school board members asking to be equal partners in the effort, there were no members of that group on the trip.
Delaware high school staff save student’s life twice
One second, 15-year-old Jaden Gray was sitting on a lab stool in Stephen Pearson’s physical science room at Hodgson Vocational Technical High School in Newark. The next, he was on the ground, totally unresponsive. A program called First State, First Shock has helped make sure there are AEDs in public and private buildings statewide.
Seaford Star
Seaford’s Central Elementary School named National Blue-Ribbon school
Seaford’s Central Elementary School was one of three Delaware schools to be named a National Blue-Ribbon school by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos for 2017. The recognition is based on a schools overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.
National News
The 74
States skip social-emotional learning for accountability under ESSA — but that doesn’t mean it’s not in their plans
But just because states don’t include social-emotional learning as an accountability measure doesn’t mean they haven’t incorporated it into their ESSA plans. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning — CASEL — reported, for example, that Massachusetts will include SEL training in its professional development for teachers, Connecticut will use federal funds to improve learning environments in schools, and South Carolina incorporates skills like “self-direction” and “perseverance” in its graduate framework.
Education Dive
New project hopes to learn which pre-K experiences lead to later school success
Four-year-olds in Massachusetts are more likely to attend formal early-childhood education programs, such as Head Start or a pre-K class, than 3-year-olds, according to the early results of a new longitudinal early education study from researchers at Harvard University.
Education Week
In Puerto Rico, a daunting effort to reopen schools, headed by a determined leader
A fraction of the island’s schools have opened again in the weeks since Hurricane Maria, while educators work hard to assess storm damage and open those that remain viable.
Tennessean
The literacy gap: How 2 Nashville schools are worlds apart in getting kids to read
In Nashville, only 1 in 3 third-grade students are on reading level. At Amqui Elementary, poverty is high and parental involvement is lacking. Across town at Granbery, it’s a different story. Tennessee education leaders are vowing to boost the state’s rate to 75 percent by 2025. Nashville civic, education, nonprofit and philanthropic leaders want to double the district’s rate by 2025.