New graduation requirements approved
The South Dakota Board of Education recently voted to accept the proposed
high school graduation requirements, pending final approval of the
administrative rules. The new requirements call for three curriculum paths –
currently referred to as Standard, Advanced and Distinguished.
South Dakota ranks 10th for academic
achievement
South Dakota ranks 10th in the nation for academic achievement, according
to the 2004 Report Card on American Education, published by the American
Legislative Exchange Council. Great work, educators!
Melmer invited to Washington for NCLB discussion
Secretary of Education Rick Melmer is one of six state education leaders
invited to Washington, D.C. in December. The state leaders and staff members of
the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) will meet with White House
staff, to discuss potential changes to No Child Left Behind. The CCSSO group
will advocate for increased flexibility for states in calculation of adequate
yearly progress and testing of special populations.
Federal DOE grants forecast issued
The U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) recently released its grants
forecast for fiscal year 2005, which began Oct. 1. Read on for a list of
programs and competitions for which USDOE plans to invite applications for
awards. While some deadlines have passed, many of the programs are annual.
Health education standards and assessment
training offered
A training focusing on health education standards and assessment will be
held Dec. 15-16 at the Ramkota in Pierre. The interactive session will provide
sound background for implementing the new health education graduation
requirement.
Roll-out of new math standards continues
The second in a series of five courses addressing the new mathematics
standards will take place Jan. 10-13, 2005, across South Dakota. The focus will be on
number sense.
CTE workshops coming in January
Required workshops for career and technical education instructors will
take place in January 2005. Hosted by the department’s Office of Career and
Technical Education, the workshops will address Perkins applications and data
collection and use.
Training to focus on sexual harassment and
bullying prevention
To assist schools in creating positive school climates, the Office of
Career and Technical Education will sponsor a sexual harassment and bullying
prevention training session. The session will be held Jan. 25-26, 2005, in
Pierre at the Kneip Building, 700 Governors Drive, Conference Room 3.
DDN courses to address school nutrition, health
Two new courses – Current Topics: School Nutrition and Current Topics:
School Health – will be offered via the Dakota Digital Network (DDN) in 2005.
Each course will consist of eight sessions.
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