Some Updates From This Month’s State Board Meeting

At last Thursday’s State Board of Education meeting, DOE gave updates on Race to the Top implementation along with the renewal of several charter schools.

Kathy Cox, Chief Executive Officer for the U.S. Education Delivery Institute, explained that their initial analysis of district needs after Delaware was awarded Race to the Top showed a glaring need for increased communication from the state, which led to Governor Markell’s education road show throughout the fall.

Delaware has partnered with Oregon and Hawaii to develop test questions for the recently launched DCAS, something we have advocated for previously.

The Delaware DOE stated that they had received five charter school applications, all in New Castle County.  Four of them will move forward with the approval process (one declined to continue).

Three charter schools received approval for renewed charters.  MOT Charter School received unanimous approval while Providence Creek Academy and Campus  Community School received “conditional” approval, which requires them to adhere to a continuous improvement plan that is monitored by the state.

Coming up, look for announcements of various contracts awarded by the DOE for data & development coaches and new teacher & leader pipelines.