October 23, 2014
Local News
The News Journal
Congratulate Delaware’s Teacher of the Year
An editorial
Here’s how the Caesar Rodney School District science teacher describes the classroom environment at Postlethwait Middle School: “My students may not remember every itty bitty detail about what they learned in seventh- and eighth-grade science, but they leave my class as confident learners who are able to make observations, see connections, solve problems and think scientifically. … For me, teaching them how to be a scientist is just as important as teaching them science.
WBOC16
Early education assessment tool to be used in all Delaware schools by next fall
By next year 100 percent of Delaware’s public school teachers will be using surveys in kindergarten classes to assess students readiness for learning. The program – called the Delaware Early Learner Survey – has been phased into kindergarten classes since 2012, according to the state’s Office of Early Learning.
Cape Gazette
Lopez wins prestigious education award
State Sen. Ernie Lopez, R-Lewes, has been named the winner of this year’s Legislative Leadership Award by the Delaware Charter Schools Network. “This award means a great deal to me, not just as a public policy maker, but as a parent with two young children in our local schools,” he said. “I’ve worked hard in the Senate to build consensus and best practices into our efforts to make sure we give Delaware parents and children the best educational options possible. The heavy lifting continues and I look forward to more bipartisan work with my colleagues toward this effort.”
Sussex Countian
Three IRSD teachers named to Dream Team
Three teachers from the Indian River School District were named to the Delaware Department of Education’s Dream Team for the 2014-2015 school year. Lauren Kirk of Long Neck Elementary, Katie Hamilton of North Georgetown Elementary, and Clarissa Stevenson of Millsboro Middle School were named to the 40-member Dream Team.
National News
Education Week
Push for ‘learner profile’ stymied by barriers
For many proponents of personalized learning, the notion of a digital “learner profile” is something of a Holy Grail—tantalizingly powerful to imagine, but stubbornly difficult to actually find. Just ask Jose P. Ferreira, the CEO of Knewton, a New York City-based company that is currently amassing hundreds of millions of bits of data on the learning histories of about 2 million American schoolchildren.
Steep drops seen in teacher-prep enrollment numbers
Fresh from the United States Air Force, Zachary Branson, 33, wanted a career with a structured day and hours that would allow him to be home in time to watch his kids in the evening. But just a month into his online teacher-preparation program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, he had something of a crisis of faith.
Teachers’ unions to spend more than ever in state, local elections
Deep-pocketed teachers’ unions, hoping to affect education policy at the state and local levels, are expecting to pour more money into those campaigns in the 2014 midterm elections than ever before.
Chronicle of Higher Education
Why colleges don’t want to be judged by their graduation rates
This fall, President Obama will release a college-rating system that is likely to include graduation rates as a key measure of institutional success. That worries colleges.
The Charleston Gazette
Promise scholarships up, retention down
Numbers of high school seniors qualifying for Promise scholarships has been increasing over the past four years, although rates for retaining scholarships has declined slightly during the same period.
The Times-Picayune
Louisiana public school grades improve slightly in first year of rougher tests
Against predictions, Louisiana public school performance edged up a hair in the first year of Common Core testing. The state recorded a performance score of 89.2 on a 150-point scale, which is considered a B.