Tagged: Education

The Chamberlain School Board plans to vote tonight on whether to include a Lakota Honor song at the school’s graduation ceremony. It’s the second year in a row the request has been made. It was turned down last year in a decision at least one member of the community is calling racist. But while many in Chamberlain would like the song to be added, they say racism is not at the heart of the decision.

Monday, May 6 is the last day for people in Sioux Falls to register for the upcoming school board elections. Four candidates race for two spots on the panel that guides South Dakota’s largest school district.

All adults who live in the Sioux Falls School District can vote in the May 21st board election, but only if they’re registered two weeks beforehand. Bev Chase in elections services with the district says registration isn’t difficult.

Some South Dakota students take Spanish classes as early as kindergarten. Children learn a second language for all sorts of reasons relating to cognition and life skills. But people who didn’t have that opportunity in school still find a need to become bilingual later in life.

A dozen people slide into chairs at tables pushed end-to-end. Their ages vary, and so do their backgrounds. They’re all at Los Paisanos 2 in Sioux Falls for the same reason. Peggy Hofmeister sits near a window as she peruses the menu.

Educational standards used in South Dakota since 2010 are causing alarm for a state representative and other opponents. Jim Bolin has attacked the Common Core State Standards Initiative in the legislature for a couple of years and says he plans to do so again next year. But educators say the standards prepare South Dakota students for college and for careers in a global economy.

The House Appropriations committee Monday decided to amend Fiscal Year 13’s budget. Earlier this year, Governor Dennis Daugaard’s budget proposal included about $16 million left on the bottom line for legislators to decide where the money should go. The amendment splits almost $11 million between K-12 education and Medicaid, and gives the Board of Regents just over $3 million to fill its health insurance hole. Representative Susan Wismer says this is just the House Appropriations recommendation, and there’s still many steps to get through before the budget is finalized.

Representative Mark Mickelson says South Dakota is home to about 2,200 students whose first language isn’t English. That’s why he’s a sponsor of Senate Bill 159, which attempts to adjust the state aid formula for students with limited English proficiency. Mickelson says South Dakota’s economic development is bringing in many immigrants, but schools don’t have the resources to support the learning needs of children who come in at Level 1 and need the most help.

By Victoria Wicks

A gap in education services for children in treatment could be bridged if Senate Bill 158 continues toward approval.

The bill provides education funding for young people who have been placed in a residential treatment center by their parents.

Deb Bowman is Governor Dennis Daugaard’s senior advisor. She told the House Education Committee Wednesday that responsibility for funding education for children placed by parents has been a debate for a decade.

Lawmakers in the House State Affairs committee heard a bill to increase the state aid to education to make up for the cutbacks undertaken in the last few years.

Gary Leighton Superintendent of Florence School located in the North East part of the state is among those who testified.   Leighton says his small school district had to cut two teachers in the last two years alongside a number of other cuts.

The State Senate Education Committee passed a bill that proponents say improves the college experience in South Dakota. In part, the bill aims to make college affordable and to improve development capacity. It also sets up a council to oversee the effort. Jack Warner, the Executive Director of the Board of Regents is backing the bill.