September 7, 2016

Delaware News

Delaware 105.9
Governor Markell signs bill expanding concussion protections for kids in sports
Annelisa Lyles had her first concussion when she was 14. “So, I was going water skiing on Labor Day weekend, it was actually the day before school started, and I actually just kind of fell, really there was nothing to it, on the water,” said Lyles. Even though she had a headache, Lyles wanted to try again.

Delaware State News
Opportunity Scholars live ‘The Dream US’ at DSU
Thirty-four Delaware State University students — all immigrants who were living in the United States illegally — were recognized Tuesday in a ceremony celebrating their first week on campus. They were able to attend the university through the TheDream.US Opportunity Scholarship program.

Department of Education
Community conversations to help shape Delaware’s ESSA plan
The Delaware Department of Education will host four community conversations this month to collect public input that will inform the first draft of the state’s plan under the new federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). A second round of conversations is planned for later in the fall to receive feedback on the draft plan.

Rodel Blog
Digging deeper: Are Delaware 11th graders smarter than the SAT?
Blog post by Liz Hoyt, research associate and Shyanne Miller, policy fellow at the Rodel Foundation of Delaware
The 2015-16 school year marked the first year that the SAT replaced Smarter Balanced as the statewide assessment for 11th graders—it also marked the launch of a redesigned SAT. A re-boot of the SAT gave Delaware high schools a fresh start for assessing college and career readiness among 11th graders.

Smyrna-Clayton Sun-Times
O’Connell brings experiences from DNREC, UD to Smyrna Board of Education
Kathryn “Katy” O’Connell was sworn in as the newest member of the Smyrna School District Board of Education in July. She was unopposed for election in May, replacing former board member Ron Eby who decided not to run for re-election after serving on the board for 10 years.

Sussex Countian
Grad defeats disorder, finds employment
Wayne Foster never imagined a future where he’d have a full time job, car or bank account. Now, he has all three. Foster recently celebrated an important milestone when he was offered a job at Bayhealth Medical Center. He didn’t get the offer the conventional way. After graduating from Milford High School in 2015, one of his teachers convinced him to join Project SEARCH, an organization that helps students with disabilities find employment. Foster admits he was reluctant at first.

Techinical.ly
High school entrepreneurs, you can shine bright like a diamond
This will mark the Diamond Challenge’s fifth year of encouraging high school students to get into entrepreneurship. The program has received over 2,000 pitches since its launch. Last year, the Diamond Challenge added a social venture track. Now organizers at the University of Delaware Horn Program in Entrepreneurship have doubled the prize money.

National News

Chalkbeat
A new program will give 100 New York City schools extra mental health training
The conversation about infusing New York City schools with mental health services often centers around “community school” programs that pour extra funding into low-performing schools and provide social workers or health clinics. But what about schools that aren’t in those programs, yet could still benefit from access to mental health resources?

Education Week
What is the Common Core? The controversial standards explained
Video
Here’s your all-in-one guide to the Common Core State Standards, adopted by a majority of states with great fanfare—and considerable pushback in some places. Education Week’s Andrew Ujifusa unpacks the standards covering math and English/language arts, what they’re intended to do, what’s included along with what’s not.

Richmond Times-Dispatch
Va. education officials moving forward with plans that could transform how schools work
Later this month, Virginia’s Board of Education will get its first look at the draft of a plan being created to change graduation standards across the state, an effort aimed at better preparing students for new workforce realities The draft, which is scheduled to be presented at the board’s Sept. 22 meeting, is a major step in a process that is expected to change how high schools prepare the graduates who will enter as freshmen in 2018.

TIME
Inside Detroit’s radical experiment to save its public schools
When Detroit students return to school on Sept. 6, the rodents and mold found in classrooms last year will be all but gone. Cracked windows will be repaired. Collapsed ceilings patched up. Chipped paint removed. Last year, not a single Detroit public school complied with the city’s public health and safety codes, one reason teachers protested with widespread sick-outs that temporarily crippled the system.