September 27, 2016
Delaware News
Coastal Point
Governor, IRSD team up for college-prep talks
Life has changed since Gov. Jack Markell graduated from Newark High School in 1978. Back then, he said, people could get a decent job immediately after high school. Nowadays, to find a job “that’s going to allow you to pay the kind of life you probably want to lead, you’re going to have to pursue additional training after high school,” Markell told Indian River High School seniors this week.
Delaware 105.9
Indian River School District creates Special Education Task Force
A local school district wants to know what it’s doing right – and what it could be doing better – when it comes to special education. Indian River School District Board of Education member Dr. Heather Statler says a Special Education Task Force will begin a series of parent focus group meetings next month.
Department of Education
Delaware joins SARA, enhances distance education access for colleges, students
Press Release
Delaware has been approved by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) to join the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). SARA, a nationwide initiative that makes regulating and participating in interstate distance education easier, also helps to ensure quality distance education courses are accessible to students across state lines.
Sussex County Post
Focus of specifics: IRSD current expense referendum set for Nov. 22
Indian River School District in late November will seek taxpayer endorsement to support operational costs associated with student enrollment growth. The IRSD board of education at a special Sept. 19 meeting voted to hold a current expense referendum on Tuesday, Nov. 22. More detailed information is expected to be presented at the school board’s regular monthly meeting Sept. 26.
National News
Chalkbeat
Why it’s hard to get students to come to class — and what one Memphis school is doing about it
LaTonja Boyce knows the challenges of getting to school when the odds are stacked against you. An eighth-grader at Riverview School in Memphis, she’s moved a lot — from home to home and family member to family member — without the structure, resources and guidance needed to get to school every day and on time.
Chicago Sun Times
What’s next in the wake of Chicago Teachers Union strike vote
Worst-case scenario, Chicago’s public school teachers walk off the job on Oct. 11 — the day after Columbus Day. But a teachers’ strike is far from a done deal. Most members of the Chicago Teachers Union — 90.6 percent to be exact — participated in a strike poll last week, and the overwhelming majority of them, 95.6 percent, gave the CTU their OK to strike by signing a petition their colleagues could see.
Education Week
Study: Students suffer when teachers are hired after the school year starts
Teachers who are hired when the school year’s in full swing are not as effective as those hired before classes begin, according to a new study. And it’s the students in low-income urban districts who are paying the price. Assistant professors of education and economics at Brown University, John P. Papay and Matthew A. Kraft, share their findings in a paper titled “The Productivity Costs of Inefficient Hiring Practices: Evidence from Late Teacher Hiring,” published in the Fall 2016 issue of Journal of Policy Analysis and Management.
Newsworks
One year after substitute teacher crisis, Philly schools see improvement with new contractor
So far this school year, Building 21, an experimental high school in North Philadelphia, has requested substitute teachers to cover three school days. Much to the school’s delight, substitute teachers have showed up all three times. “We have been thrilled to get subs every time we’ve had a teacher call out,” said Principal Laura Shubilla.
WBOC
Poll: 67 percent of Marylander’s support Hogan’s post-Labor Day school start
A new poll has found that while 54 percent of Maryland residents say an executive order should be used “rarely or never,” 67 percent approved of Gov. Larry Hogan using one to start schools after Labor Day. The poll by Goucher College was released Monday. The Republican governor announced the executive order on Aug. 31 for next year’s school start. Democrats who control the legislature have criticized the use of executive order to make the change.