September 5, 2017
Delaware News
Cape Gazette
Safety first as school begins
Resort season traffic will be on the ebb when Cape Henlopen’s students return to the classroom Tuesday, Sept. 5. Cape students start following Labor Day, after the busiest traffic days of summer are over. Still, Sgt. Richard Bratz of the Delaware State Police says children should learn to be safe. When Cape Henlopen school buses hit the road, they join a legion of more than 1,800 school buses across the state.
UD professor to speak on poverty, race, education Sept. 12
University of Delaware professor Daniel Rich, Ph.D., will speak at the Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice meeting Tuesday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. The topic is “Poverty, Race, and Public Education in Delaware: Past, Present, and Future.” Rich challenges today’s leaders to learn from past failures, respond to present conditions, and plan for the future success of Delaware public school students.
Department of Education
New Delaware Certificate of Multiliteracy recognizes advanced language skills
Delaware has developed a new Certificate of Multiliteracy to honor and recognize students with high levels of language proficiency in addition to English, Secretary of Education Susan Bunting announced today. The certificate applauds students for attaining high levels of language proficiency in multiple languages and also values native language proficiency for the 11,000 English learners in Delaware.
Delaware Public Media
‘Suit Up, Show Up’ event asks men of color to show up on first day of school
School is just getting underway for students across the First State, and one group is planning a special surprise for students. The event is called “Suit Up, Show Up” – and it’s asking 300 men of color to show up at Wilmington’s East Side Charter first thing Tuesday. Aaron Bass is CEO for Vision Academies, which runs East Side Charter School and Charter School of New Castle’s middle and elementary schools.
Sussex County Post
Transfer situation with national qualifier spurs recommendation for IRSD policy review
An unusual situation involving a former Indian River School District student who qualified for a national competition is spurring a call for district policy review. IRSD Superintendent Mark Steele said the situation involves a student from one of IRSD’s middle schools who competed in a competition in FFA at the eighth-grade level and this summer her project qualified her for the FFA Nationals.
Booked! North Georgetown Elementary’s renovated library ready for opening
Following an extreme makeover, super excitement abounds among staff and administration at North Georgetown Elementary School for the arrival of the 2017-18 school year. Ready and waiting for students: the school’s renovated library. A summer-long journey is complete, thanks to school staff members, their children, and a community connection.
The News Journal
Inequitable school funding holding back school districts: Delaware Voices
Opinion by Connie Merlet, director of the Willa Road Children’s Center
Once upon a time we had equity in education in this state. Did schools have everything they wanted or needed? Absolutely not, but money was parsed out roughly equitably to districts based on numbers of children, with extra funding for special needs children. State funds contributed about 70 percent of funding for schools, with federal money adding to that percentage and with an extra bucket of money for districts with low tax bases (“Division III” or “Equilibrium” money).
New law will help keep wireless internet speeds high: Delaware Voices
Opinion by Rep. Larry Mitchell and Sen. Nicole Poore
Consumers turn to their smartphones and other devices instinctively to text, call, post to social media, work remotely, and search for directions at their fingertips. And they want immediate responses. It’s critical to keep pace with the increased demand, and as policymakers we seek to pave the way for a new wave of wireless innovation in Delaware. The Advanced Wireless Infrastructure Investment Act will help deliver on that goal. Our students and schools will benefit from the strong coverage small cells provide as they add more devices to their networks and further utilize and integrate technology as a pivotal educational tool.
National News
Education Week
Trump reportedly plans to end DACA with 6-month delay
President Donald Trump plans to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an Obama-era program that gives protection to immigrants who came to the United States illegally as children, according to multiple media reports. Trump could wait six months to formally dismantle the DACA program, allowing Congress time to find a legislative solution to address the status of the so-called Dreamers, the young undocumented people who benefit from the program.
The Atlantic
The weighted task of pre-k teaching
At a charter preschool in Washington, DC’s Ward 8, I saw three children happily playing at a trough-like table filled with water, eyedroppers, and waterwheel toys. When I asked what they were doing and why, their answers were vague. “We’re squeezing water,” a little girl said, but she and her classmates didn’t notice what was happening when they put water in the top of the watermills. They were surprised when I pointed out that the water made the wheels move down below.
The New York Times
Silicon Valley courts brand-name teachers, raising ethics issues
One of the tech-savviest teachers in the United States teaches third grade here at Mapleton Elementary, a public school with about 100 students in the sparsely populated plains west of Fargo. Her name is Kayla Delzer. Her third graders adore her. She teaches them to post daily on the class Twitter and Instagram accounts she set up. She remodeled her classroom based on Starbucks.
The Progress Index
Education department gets over $400K for nutrition training
Governor Terry McAuliffe announced the Virginia Department of Education’s Office of School Nutrition Programs has been awarded a Team Nutrition Training Grant in the amount of $498,010. The United States Department of Agriculture awarded a total of $5.6 million to 11 states. “If we want to continue to build the new Virginia economy, the first step is making sure we’re providing our students with the tools to find success,” said McAuliffe.
Press Herald
Maine Department of Education makes push for regional services
While the state Department of Education pushes plans to regionalize services, local educators are not sure what that will mean for school districts as they are now organized. Several Maine school districts are pursuing efforts to pool resources and regionalize services such as transportation, special education, and technological education through grants and selective pilot programs under the auspices of the education department.