October 23, 2015

Delaware News

Delaware Public Media
Second annual Delaware Latino Summit looks at education
This year, leaders have more specific educational objectives in mind, says Javier Torrijos, co-chair of the state’s Hispanic Commission. Torrijos says one goal is expanding the number of teachers who can deliver competent English as a Second Language classes. He also has another goal in mind. “To be able to get bilingual, certified teachers, that can teach the kids in Spanish,” said Torrijos.

UD opens new clinic to train speech language pathologists
This month, University of Delaware opened its new speech-language-hearing clinic and began taking applications for its new master’s program in speech pathology. The master’s degree program in speech pathology is the first of its kind in Delaware.

The News Journal
State Latinos plan for future
State and local leaders spent the day Thursday listening to one of Delaware’s fastest growing communities: Latinos. And the message that came from the nearly 500 people gathered at the Delaware Latino Summit was to focus on greater education for the state’s roughly 80,000 Hispanic residents.

3 to be honored at Friday’s Christi Awards
Three people will be honored tonight at the Christina Cultural Arts Center’s 2015 Christi Awards, which is spilling out of the confines of an auditorium into a festival-like event. With its theme “Arts for Our City’s Sake” celebrating the impact of the arts on the quality of life in Wilmington, Kenneth C. Brown will be cited for Achievement by an Arts Educator; Juhi Jagiasi for Volunteerism; and Darrell Andrews Jr. for Achievement in the Arts by a Youth.

Technical.ly Delaware
Barrel of Makers is hosting free classes for teen makers
“The objective is to give teens the means to create, rather than only consume technology,” said cofounder Jessi Taylor. The next (and last) two-part series will take place on Oct. 26 and Nov. 2.

National News

EdSource
Report calls for big changes in educating state’s English learners
Researchers studying a group of California school districts are highly critical of the state’s system for providing services to English language learners in a report released this week. Citing disparities in results and strategies among districts, professors from Stanford and other universities called for creating common, statewide criteria for determining who English learners are and for determining when they no longer need extra help.

Hechinger Report
Parents and teachers meet the ‘Wild West’ when they try to find quality education technology
Many programs and apps claim they can improve literacy skills. How can parents and teachers find what works best? A new book, Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens, offers research-based advice, explaining how early reading and writing development intersects with our current technology-rich world. The Hechinger Report spoke with the book’s co-authors.

Education Week
Wash. state schools chief Randy Dorn won’t seek another term
Washington State Superintendent Randy Dorn will not seek a third term in 2016, after winning nonpartisan elections for his post in 2008 and 2012. A former school teacher, state lawmaker, and leader of a union for school service employees, Dorn has led the state education department during several notable and contentious events in the Evergreen State. He’s been an advocate for increasing state funding for public schools, particularly after a 2012 state Supreme Court decision that found the state’s education funding system to be unconstitutional and required lawmakers to increase it over six years.

EdSurge
A teacher’s tale of technology, trust and the struggle for freedom
Opinion by Daniel Guerrero
My students were on fire. Technology and blending the learning in the class had opened doors, and my students gained confidence with each passing day. They felt as if they were on a path made for them and by them. Despite most of them starting the year below grade level, we ended up handily beating the state and district averages on our high-stakes assessments that year. More importantly, my students’ end-of-year survey results clearly reflected growth in both happiness and respect. Blended learning did not arrive in my classroom because of a district initiative or a requirement. It happened because I did what all teachers do: strive for the best for our students and advocate on behalf of what we know they need.