by Andrew Ujifusa | Feb 14, 2017 | Arizona, Education Week, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, President Donald Trump, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia
UPDATED
Betsy DeVos’ nomination for education secretary is headed to the full Senate for a vote. Republicans outnumber Democrats in the chamber by 52 to 48, so on a party line vote DeVos should be safe. But where could anti-DeVos forces pick up a crucial third vote against the nominee and overcome the tiebreaker vote held by Vice President Mike Pence? They could look to senators who’ve expressed skepticism about a crucial education policy priority for DeVos: school choice.
We know that two GOP lawmakers on the Senate education committee, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have said they’re concerned about DeVos and haven’t committed to voting for her in the full Senate.
First, let’s assume all 48 Democrats vote against DeVos. Let’s also assume, solely for the sake of argument, that Collins and Murkowski ultimately vote against DeVos. (They very well may not.) That makes it 50-50. So one more vote against DeVos eliminates Pence as a tiebreaker vote and dooms DeVos’ nomination. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., has been confirmed by the Senate judiciary committee to be attorney general, but he hasn’t been confirmed by the full Senate. So as of now, he can still vote on DeVos…
Read the full article here. May require an Education Week subscription.
by NNPA ESSA | Feb 10, 2017 | West Virginia
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Seventy West Virginia high schools were recognized for achieving exemplary graduation rates of 90 percent or greater during the 2015-16 school year. Schools were honored by Governor Jim Justice’s Chief of Staff, Nick Casey, State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Michael Martirano and the West Virginia Board of Education.
“Our state becomes stronger with each student that graduates high school,” Martirano said. “The high schools here today deserve the praise they are receiving for achieving a 90 percent or higher graduation rate. Our schools see the potential that a high school graduate holds for our state and they, along with the Department of Education and Board of Education, have made it a top priority to ensure our students show up, work hard, and earn a diploma.”
Recent data show more students in West Virginia are graduating from high school when compared to previous years. Several statewide initiatives contributed to the steady increase in the graduation rate. Most notably the creation of the state’s Early Warning System, which tracks 45 different indicators – the most important being attendance, behavior and grades – to identify students at risk of dropping out.
West Virginia’s graduation rate has continued to rise throughout the last several years. Data from the U.S. Department of Education placed West Virginia among the top 20 states for graduation rates in 2014-15, with a rate of 86.5 percent. The average graduation rate in the Mountain State for the 2015-16 school year increased even more to 89.81 percent.
Of the 70 schools recognized, four schools achieved a graduation rate of 100 percent. Those schools include; Union Educational Complex, Harman High School, Pickens High School and Paden City High School.
The 70 schools recognized represent 60.3 percent of the 116 high schools in West Virginia. The overall graduation rate for all West Virginia high schools was 89.81 percent.
A complete list of recognized schools can be found by visiting: http://static.k12.wv.us/tt/2017/2015_16_Graduation_Rate.pdf
by NNPA ESSA | Feb 9, 2017 | ESSA, West Virginia
Many have asked about the future of Future Ready Schools®, which was launched by President Obama in 2014 as a partnership between the U.S. Department of Education and the Alliance for Excellent Education (the Alliance) to help school district leaders improve teaching and student learning outcomes through the effective use of technology. The short answer is that the future of Future Ready Schools is extremely bright.
In the coming weeks, the Alliance and Future Ready Schools will announce exciting new projects that will build on this momentum to help district leaders, school leaders, and teachers plan and implement personalized, research-based digital learning strategies so all students can achieve their full potential. Specifically, we’ll be announcing the schedule for a series of “Institutes” throughout the country, tools for rural schools, robust support for state leaders, and a brand new planning section of the Future Ready Schools dashboard aligned with Title IV of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
Future Ready Schools was created with the understanding that the Alliance for Excellent Education would develop and run the program as a freestanding program, no matter who succeeded Barack Obama as president.
No federal funds have ever been given to support the Future Ready Schools program. It was built and continues to thrive in consultation with its sixty national partners and is supported and managed by the Alliance.
The tremendous show of support from the more than 3,000 districts committed to being Future Ready—including more than 800 that were added in the last three months—is an affirmation of our efforts and confirms the value and need of the Future Ready Schools program.
Future Ready Schools is dedicated to supporting districts with digital learning transition tools that empowers teachers and address districts’ vision for student learning personalized learning. All we ask of you is to stay tuned, get involved, and let us know how we can help!
Bob Wise is president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia.
