October 18, 2016
Delaware News
The News Journal
Delaware’s Principal for a Day Program returns
Delaware’s Principal for a Day program is back for its 22nd year. The Chamber of Commerce’s program will take place Oct. 24-28 and will have all 19 of Delaware’s school districts participating. The program is open to public, private, parochial and charter schools and allows community leaders, business people as well as elected officials to experience a day in a principal’s shoes. Already, more than 120 volunteers have registered to participate at over 130 schools statewide.
Sussex County Post
Racial discrimination lawsuit: Complaint lacks merit, IRSD attorney claims
An attorney for the law firm representing the Indian River School District charged with alleged racial discrimination in a federal lawsuit says the complaint lacks merit. Filed Sept. 30 in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware by the Coalition for Education Reform and several families, the lawsuit claims the Indian River School District disproportionally discriminates against African-Americans by using George Washington Carver Academy, an alternative school in the district as a “dumping ground” for black students.
National News
Arizona Daily Star
Arizona forms game plan for federal education law
For Arizona, the changes mean there could be more than one test to measure how students are doing, simplifying the teacher certification process and less stringent reporting requirements for schools, said Charles Tack, a spokesman for the state education department.
Chalkbeat New York
In a tumultuous presidential campaign season, a rare spotlight on education issues
A senior policy advisor to the Hillary Clinton campaign channeled the Democratic presidential candidate at an intimate question-and-answer session on Thursday hosted by Teachers College at Columbia University. Christopher Edley, Jr. — a former U.C. Berkeley School of Law dean and expert in civil rights and education policy — talked about charter schools, early childhood education, and how to better serve English Language Learners.
Education Week
Final U.S. teacher-prep regs allow flexibility on student-outcome measures
In a major change from the proposed rules—which were subject to heavy criticism from the field—student learning will not have to be based on test scores or the proxy of teacher evaluations based on student test gains; rather, states will have the flexibility to use other measures deemed “relevant to student outcomes” and determine how various components of their systems are weighted.
New York Times
Californians, having curbed bilingual education, may now expand it
In 1998, voters in California passed a law that severely restricted bilingual education in public schools, arguing that students were languishing in their native language and that requiring English-only instruction would speed up the time it took children to learn English. Now, voters are being asked to overturn the measure in November. In a state where immigrants now make up roughly 25 percent of the population, the initiative is yet another test of how California’s attitude toward immigrants has changed over the past two decades.
NPR
The high school graduation rate reaches a record high — again
The high school graduation rate in the U.S. reached an all-time high of 83 percent in the 2014-2015 school year, President Obama announced today, marking the fifth straight record-setting year.