Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

How I foster an inclusive classroom as a new teacher

Key points:

As a teacher at High Road School of Delaware, an individualized special education program aimed at strengthening each student’s academic, social and emotional abilities, job skills, and self-esteem, I serve a community of young people who share a rich spectrum of experiences. Becoming a special ed teacher was not the career I had pictured for myself – but now I can’t imagine doing anything else.

After serving in the Air Force with stints in Italy, Guam, and the UK, I found my purpose back in the States, working with children and adolescents with special needs. It all began when my mother’s friend, who operated a group home, offered me a job. While working in this position, I found myself drawn to the complexities and rewards that come with serving populations with the greatest needs. …Read More

Delaware Department of Education, DuPont and Discovery Education Launch First-of-Its-Kind Partnership Supporting STEM, Career, and Technical Education Statewide

DOVER, Del., Nov. 22, 2021 – The Delaware Department of Education (DDOE), DuPont (NYSE: DD) and Discovery Education today announced a new, first-of-its-kind partnership that will increase student access to high-quality STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) instructional resources, as well as instructional materials and other supports to enhance career and technical education programs across the state. The three-year partnership program directly supports the Delaware Pathways initiative — an innovative effort helping students develop the academic, technical, and employability skills needed for successful, in-demand jobs across Delaware.

“Acquiring academic knowledge, technical skills, and meaningful work experience gives students the freedom to choose their life’s path,” said Delaware Secretary of Education Susan Bunting. “This new partnership provides Delaware students an even better opportunity to develop the skills needed for the careers of tomorrow. Thus, I look forward to supporting the progress of this exciting new collaboration.”

“Connecting what is being taught in the classroom to Delaware employers is critical,” said Luke Rhine, Director, Career & Technical Education and STEM Initiatives at the Delaware Department of Education. “The resources provided through this partnership will support middle school and high school teachers as they build bridges between classrooms and careers for all students. We are thankful for partners like DuPont who share our goals related to STEM- and career-focused education.”…Read More

Delaware Ensures Every Student Has Digital Access to Curriculum and Choice Reading Titles

CLEVELAND – June 29, 2021 – With schools facing the challenge of unfinished learning due to the pandemic, one state is proving itself a pioneer. The Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) announced an agreement with OverDrive Education to provide access to online books to every K-12 student in the state. Students use their school credentials to read required and recreational digital books in the Sora student reading app. Students will also have seamless access to age-appropriate popular ebooks and audiobooks from the Delaware Libraries’ digital collection as a result of the new partnership with the DDOE.

The DDOE invested federal Education Stabilization Funds (ESF) to provide students with access to educational and popular digital books that will be available to 221 schools and their 144,000 students. This “ Delaware Accelerate Learning” digital collection is available for students to borrow and read on any device inside the classroom, at home and anywhere 24/7. Sora is a popular reading app used by millions of students in over 48,000 schools around the world.

“We are excited all public school students in Delaware will have the opportunity this summer to immerse themselves in literacy,” Secretary of Education Susan Bunting said.…Read More

New Mexico Adopts Rave Panic Button to Improve School Safety

Rave Mobile Safety (Rave), the critical communication and collaboration platform customers count on when it matters most, announced New Mexico as the latest state to deploy its Rave Panic Button in all K-12 schools across the state, joining Oklahoma, Delaware and Louisiana in statewide deployments. The growth in Rave Panic Button deployments comes as new features are added to the platform to further enhance the tool’s ability to get help where it’s needed most during an emergency, as well as strengthen internal critical communications.

As schools navigate safety threats both old and new, they need fast, smart, reliable technology that can create a direct connection with 9-1-1, first responders and on-site personnel to activate an immediate response to any type of emergency—from day-to-day medical incidents to crisis situations. Rave Panic Button will now fill that need in New Mexico, covering nearly 350,000 students across all K-12 public schools, creating a fully interoperable school safety platform statewide.

The app has already been implemented in nearly 50 states and is used in over 10,000 schools across the U.S., including those in Washington, D.C., and Florida, where 25% of the student population statewide is protected by Rave Panic Button.…Read More

Delaware Vision 2015: School leaders see some progress

What is going right in Delaware’s education system? What areas need work? And how do we improve? Those were the questions on the table at the Vision 2015 conference, which drew top education leaders ranging from lawmakers to nonprofit leaders to school superintendents and teachers, The News Journal reports. Vision 2015 is a group spearheaded by the nonprofit Rodel Foundation that seeks to make Delaware a “world-class education system.” Each year, its conference serves as one of the biggest forums for “big ideas” in education in Delaware. Gov. Jack Markell opened the conference by touting educational programs the state has put in place in recent years that he believes are doing good work, including changes to the early education system, Common Core State Standards and teacher training…

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