September 4, 2014

Local News

State of Delaware
Governor launches senior class tour to help students transition to college or career
A press release
Addressing William Penn High School’s senior class, Governor Markell kicked off a year-long effort by his administration to ensure Delaware’s Class of 2015 has access to information and resources that will help them pursue the best educational opportunities and career training programs after they graduate.

Sussex Countian
Indian River School District welcomes the challenge of the new year
District Superintendent Susan Bunting said the district is up to the challenge of educating all of its 9,750 those students, making sure they’re in the right place, on the right buses and safe within the school buildings. “It’s exhilarating when all of the students return,” she said as she stood at the entrance of Georgetown Elementary School, greeting students, parents and staff on their first day back.

The News Journal
Make school bus contractors live up to their agreement
An op-ed by Kendall Massett, Executive Director, Delaware Charter Schools Network
When we sign contracts with bus companies for school transportation, the fundamental and paramount expectation is for them to not only fulfill the terms of the agreement, but to exercise extreme care for their precious passengers. And when this goes wrong, the last thing that should be entertained is a dispute over compensation after school leaders decide to terminate their agreements because the bus company failed in its responsibility.

My students pay too much for college. Blame Reagan
An op-ed by Kevin Fergus, Associate Professor of African-American and African Studies, The Ohio State University
At first glance, the student loan debt crisis appears a problem hatched in state houses and government. But unmooring these statistics from their political context obscures how national forces shaped the seismic shifts in state higher education and, ultimately, why states give less and students pay more.

WDDE
New law brings changes to state’s School Safety Act
First State schools are being asked to ramp up school safety measures faster under legislation signed by Governor Jack Markell (D-Delaware) at Dover’s W. Reily Brown Elementary School Wednesday afternoon. An amendments to the state’s Omnibus School Safety Act moves the date all public and charter schools must be in compliance with the act up from September 2017 to the end of this month.

National News

Pacific Standard
Music lessons enhance brain function in disadvantaged kids
There is much evidence that poverty, and the chronic stress it creates, hinders the development of young brains. However, new research finds one important aspect of neural functioning is gradually strengthened when underprivileged children engage in a challenging but fun activity: Music lessons.

Inside Higher Ed
U.S. approval for Wisconsin competency-based program
The U.S. Department of Education last week granted approval to a self-paced, competency-based program from two institutions in the University of Wisconsin System, the system announced Tuesday. The associate of arts and science degree track is a form of competency-based education called direct assessment, which does not rely on the credit-hour standard. The University of Wisconsin Colleges and Extension programs are offering the degree. It’s part of the system’s broader competency-based offerings, which are dubbed the UW Flexible Option.

Blaming the victims?
Since President Obama announced his college ratings plan more than a year ago, many higher education groups here have mounted the political equivalent of a full-court press against the proposal: They’ve lobbied the administration directly, publicly criticized it, and won allies in Congress from both parties, some of whom are now plotting ways to legislatively block the ratings.

The College and Career Readiness and Success Center
Remedial Education Reporting: How a more common approach could improve student success
The alarming numbers of college students who require remedial education courses continue to stir concerns within state policy, education and research circles. At least 20 to 25 percent of students at four- and two-year institutions require at least one remedial course, with the numbers reaching upwards of 60 percent at some community colleges.

The StarTribune
Free all-day kindergarten rolls out across Minnesota
This year, for the first time, the state of Minnesota is picking up the $134 million tab for full-day kindergarten, a move educators hope will provide an academic jump-start for the state’s youngest learners.

Education Week
Companies honing tools to survey students about teachers
Few measures of teachers’ classroom ability inspire as much optimism among researchers—and as much unease among educators—as surveys of students. Now, commercial providers, nonprofit organizations, and foundations are working to expand and refine the scope of such surveys in an effort to improve their usefulness to schools and teachers, and potentially lower their costs.