Education Policy Round-Up
As the
Delaware General Assembly and the State Board
of Education wrapped up their work for the current fiscal year, they
passed important policy education initiatives that align directly with Vision
2015’s recommendations, further positioning Delaware as a national
leader. Here’s what they did, and didn’t do.
- SB
263 requires student academic growth to be a factor if teachers are to earn tenure-like protections.
- The State Board of
Education approved regulations
in January to revise Delaware’s teacher evaluation system to require that teachers demonstrate
student achievement growth in order to obtain an “effective” rating.
- The State Board of Education approved regulations
that establish a Partnership Zone that will provide additional support and
resources for the lowest performing schools. Through the
Partnership Zone, these schools will engage in fundamental reform and receive
new resources to support better operating and working conditions for district
teachers and schools.
- HB
436 establishes that all districts will adopt needs-based funding for
special needs students. This step moves Delaware toward a more
flexible and equitable system. In the future we will work
to expand needs-based funding to assist more students, such as English
Language Learners, low-income students, and gifted and talented students.
- Unfortunately,
the legislature did not approve the “Flexibility
Pilot Program” that Governor Markell proposed in his draft budget.
This would have given local administrators in 5 to 8 school districts greater discretion in how
funds could be applied to meet the specific needs of the students they enroll,
- HB
470 reconstitutes the Early
Childhood Counciland Interagency Resource Management Council.
The Council’s membership will be aligned with federal requirements, better
positioning Delaware for a $500,000 Head Start grant to assess needs, develop
data systems, and conduct strategic planning.
- The budget
bill (SB 310) provides state funding so all districts will offer full
day kindergarten.
Did You Know?
In
October 2009, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced the Investing in
Innovation (i3) Fund, a $650 million grant program that will provide seed
funding for promising new ideas and robust solutions for school reform.
Nearly 1700 proposals were logged in. Acknowledging that innovation can
be difficult to sustain, the U.S. Department of Education is launching an
online community -- The Open
Innovation Portal -- where key stakeholders can collaborate and
develop sustainable solutions. This web portal is designed to bridge the
communication and coordination gap between foundations, practitioners
(teachers, school administrators) and innovators.
VISION-aries
"The fact is the majority of children in the country are
attending schools that don't work for them. So it's imperative that we take
the risk to make change. Not just small change at the margin, but
dramatic changes that are centered around the student.”
-Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and co-chair of the Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation, to the audience
at the National Charter Schools Conference in Chicago.
Share Your Story – Inspire Others
Parents,
teachers, leaders, and community members – your voice is important in shaping
the education system in Delaware. As one of just two winners in the Race to
the Top competition to date, Delaware has been granted $119 million for education
reform. At this pivotal time, we want to hear from you. Tell us how your
education was important to you or shaped you as a person. We will feature
stories in our next e-newsletter. Share your story!
To submit
your story click
here or email us at info@vision2015delaware.org.
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July 8, 2010
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Remembering Sondra Shippen
The
education community in Delaware was saddened by the passing of Kuumba
Academy school leader Dr. Sondra Shippen. Dr. Shippen was a
tireless advocate for students, and worked hard to bring quality
education to the First State, and especially to the city of
Wilmington. Vision 2015 will miss her fellowship and her leadership
at Kuumba, a Vision Network school.
Click
here
to learn more about Dr. Shippen and her legacy, which will continue
through the countless students, parents, teachers, and administrators
who were touched by her drive and determination.
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So, who gets the money?
The
Delaware DOE has put into place a rigorous process for schools to apply for
and use the new Race to the Top and School Improvement Grant funds to make
significant improvements over the next few years.
Districts
and charters are awaiting word from the state and the federal government on
how they can use their $50+ million share of the Race to the Top funds.
A quick look at the dollars they have to spend can be found here.
At the
end of June, the federal government awarded
a $10.5 million School Improvement Grant (SIG) to Delaware to improve our
lowest performing schools. Schools interested in receiving SIG funding
must submit applications within twenty days. Applications must include
a plan for one of four
options: transformation, turn around, restart, or close the school.
By encouraging school leaders to think strategically and creatively, these
SIG grants will encourage innovations directed toward success. We should
learn by early August which schools will be selected for SIG funding.
Join the team
Gearing
up for the challenging work ahead, the Delaware DOE is recruiting talented
professionals to help lead the reform effort. To see an up-to-date list
of open positions, click here.
Who will win “round two”?
As the
top-ranked state in the first round of Race to the Top, Delaware is now
immersed in the challenges of implementing its education reform plans in a
timely way and to benefit every student in the state. Officials from 35 other
states and the District of Columbia will have to wait patiently through the
summer to see if they are round-two winners. Click here
to see their applications.
Policy and Practice Institute
In late
June, the Delaware Department of Education, the Delaware Academy of School
Leadership at UD, the Delaware Association of School Administrators and the
Delaware Center for Educational Technology hosted the 8th Annual Policy & Practice
Institute.
One topic
was Delaware’s “cohesive leadership system” of policies and practices, which
was developed over the last ten years with significant funding from The
Wallace Foundation and that is improving educational leadership throughout
the state. In a comprehensive study of the initiative’s impact,
representatives from the RAND Corporation highlighted
the correlation between improved conditions for principals and their
engagement as instructional leaders within their schools. These
findings align with the goal of empowering principals to dedicate more time
for instruction and collaboration, as outlined in Vision 2015.
At the
Institute, congressional aides briefed educators on the current
reauthorization status of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA,
currently known as “No Child Left Behind”). Aides stated that current
negotiations involve school turnaround models and the policies that will help
students who are enrolled at persistently low-performing campuses to achieve
increased learning.
Save the Date…
September
28, 2010
Vision
2015 Annual Leadership Forum
“Delaware’s
Race to Deliver”
Clayton
Hall, University of Delaware, Newark
Forward to a Friend
Click
here to forward this Vision 2015 newsletter to a friend.
Contact us!
For more
information on how to become involved with Vision 2015, please visit our web
site, http://www.vision2015delaware.org,
or e-mail us at info@vision2015delaware.org.
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