Children & Educators First

Markell does the election two-step, funds education in proposed budget

2012-01-29T11:47:00.000-05:00

If I still had respect for the Gov (respect is easily lost and much harder to earn) I'd see his proposed education funding as a sign of improved economy and perhaps a sign that he got the message - you can't balance the state's budget on the backs of children. But, I know better now... And I'll call it what it is (My comments are in red.):

From the News Journal, http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012201270339

DOVER -- Delaware public schools were spared from a steep drop in funding next year in Gov. Jack Markell's proposed 2013 fiscal year budget. Classic Election Year Move to earn support of parents and educators.

Markell proposed $27.4 million in new spending for school operations to make up for the loss of one-time federal stimulus money Congress appropriated to stave off teacher layoffs during the recession. Back it up here! First Markell moved education funds -eliminating line items like the one that paid reading specialists - into the general fund to support other state expenditures. Then he backfilled with the federal stimulus monies all the while warning that the funding cliff was coming - coming mind you b/c he was moving edu-funds into general funds and eliminating needed programs...

"The bottom line is, putting in the $27.4 million will absolutely help us with staffing and personnel, which prior to today we were very concerned about," said Delmar Superintendent David Ring, who heads the state's Chief School Officers Association. "It would vary district to district, but we absolutely would have had major layoffs." In Christina, RIFs have somewhat been mitigated by a year or two due to our tax payers who valued public education and passed an operating referendum two years back. While you can't just move state and federal funds from one bucket to another, the district is better able to re-appropriate local funds to offset some of the damage inflicted by our Gov.'s past budgets. It's not ideal or even close, but it helped to stabilize the district at a time when the Gov. was disenfranchising education voters. Absolutely, there are districts that would have been crippled if this funding was not made available now. And I'll take it, knowing that the Gov. is already planning to hack away at education funds the second he's re-elected.

The $3.54 billion total budget -- which includes $960.7 million for school district operations -- also appropriates $8.7 million to hire 111 new teachers across the state to account for projected growth in enrollment next school year. This is a classic move for a politician up for re-election. Spending money on more teachers is designed to engage union support. If more teachers are hired, it safe to assume many of them will become a part of the unions that protect their rights resulting in more union dues and probably an endorsement from one of the most powerful unions in the state. I live unions, but I fear that the Gov's move to buy their support will do just that. I wonder how quickly our union leadership will forget about DPASS-II Component V and how our teachers evaluation will be tied to a test that measures student achievement and not a teachers proficiency? Will they forget that they have been demonized by the likes of the Gov's Buddy Skip Schoenals and the rest of the business roundtable?

Markell's proposal also includes $8.8 million to pay contractual step increases for employees in K-12 schools and Delaware Technical Community College. Really? Is this noteworthy? The key word here is "contractual." These employees have a contract that ensure they get their step increases. As the Gov. is not seeking across the board pay cuts as he has done in the past, this is non-news. It was safe to assume that their wages would be paid as contractually obligated! I hate feel good lines that are tossed into stories for the sole point of feeling good. This is not an accomplishment. This is business as usual.

In response to a study showing 1,000 paraprofessionals are underpaid in Delaware, he proposed giving each classroom aide a $750 raise, adding another $750,000 line-item to the budget. Okay, the Gov. and I can agree on this one: a number of education employees including paras are paid at below or just above poverty levels. This is income long deserved. Sadly, it doesn't touch nearly enough employees and it's not enough, but it's a start. Maybe the state-induced paycuts (and I predict our Gov will go there if he wins another term) won't hurt these employees quite so much...

Ring said the governor's education funding plan was the best news the state's school districts could have expected. Districts were worried about the loss of $27.4 million in federal stimulus funding, he said.

Delaware schools received that money in 2011, but were urged by the Markell administration not to spend it until the current fiscal year, which bought the state another year to find the funds. The A-HA Moment! So those of us who have the spiteful job of approving education budgets knew this funding existed. It was approved more than a year ago by the federal government and sent to states to distribute to districts. In Delaware, the funding was held at the state level with the strong admonition that districts should not try to draw down these funds. They are one-time funds meant to preserve education jobs. Most, if not all, districts have not drawn on these funds, waiting until Markell's funding cliff materializes. This is not special funding that our Gov. has secured for Delawareans. It was already in the pipeline and many of us have spent the last year praying that the state would not find a way to raid this funding, too.

"I pushed that problem off for a year and now we have to address it," said Ann Visalli, director of the Office of Management and Budget. Of course it must be addressed. The funding sunsets - don't spend it and you have to give it back.

The president of the state teachers union gave the Democratic governor's education budget good marks. Please, Frederika, don't drink the kool-aid as some who have come before you have (and trust me, I hear from reliable sources, some are regretting it!) Remember, Jack's buddy, calling you and your kin out as factory floor workers who are holding the ed-system hostage! That's their true colors shining through!

"It's both financial and emotional support for the folks making it happen in our schools," said Frederika Jenner, president of the Delaware State Education Association.

Jenner said she was particularly pleased with the governor's $3.5 million appropriation for early childhood programs, which will add to $22 million the administration gave to those programs last year. I wonder how much of the original $22 million came from funds previously dedicated to transportation? Those funds were hijacked last year by the Gov. Yes, I agree that we need to invest in early childhood, but programs like Baby Race to the Top are just misguided efforts.

"I believe that many of our issues that we see in elementary, middle school and high school maybe started before the child entered our school system," Jenner said. Frederika is a smart woman, she knows that longitudinal data absolutely supports this fact. Children who do not participate in effective early education such as preschool start kindergarten and first grade with a gap. I've heard from countless principals who saw this when our district moved from 1/2 day to full-day kindergarten. Children who were 1/2 day K-students were often behind their full-day K counterparts in first grade.

Heartbreaking: The fact the internationally educators in the early childhood field have been fighting for funding for decades. Though it's a start, Delaware's already late in the game to tackle the education of our youngest as an intervention to proficiency gaps.

Breaking News: DPASS-II Component 5 will COUNT this YEAR!

2012-01-29T10:10:00.000-05:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <Secretary.Lowery@doe.k12.de.us>
Date: Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 12:04 PM
Subject: Message from Secretary Lowery
To:

Dear Colleagues,

First, let me thank you for your patience. I know many of you have felt angst surrounding the uncertainty and confusion around how Component 5 (Student Growth) would be measured on your evaluations during this development year. I want to thank the many of you who have shared your concerns with me, the Governor, legislators, district leaders and union representatives. Your voices were heard and appreciated, and we've continued to make changes because of the insights and suggestions you have shared. It is because of your dedication and assistance that with the agreement of DSEA leadership, we have reached a final policy for this year, one we can all point to as fair and focused. I will outline it further below.

I also want to thank the more than 400 teachers from across the state who have been joining us in Dover over the past few months to develop multiple measures across content areas and grades. You know the best ways to assess your students when they enter your classrooms and throughout the year, and many of you have been using these measures in your work for years. The reason our state's system will be strong next year is because of these measures, developed by our teachers and validated by national experts on our technical advisory committee.

With that work continuing through the coming months, we still must have a fair plan for this year's evaluations. With the help of your union leaders, we have finalized this year's policy:

For the 2011/12 school year, educator summative ratings will be determined without use of Component V except as used to identify highly effective teachers, as noted below. Using Components I - IV, an educator's summative rating will be determined as follows:

o 0 or 1 satisfactory components = Ineffective summative rating

o 2 satisfactory components = Needs Improvement summative rating

o 3 or 4 satisfactory components = Effective summative rating

Only teachers of DCAS-tested subjects (math, English Language Arts in grades 3-10) will receive a Component V score for this year. They will be eligible for a Highly Effective summative rating and therefore eligible for incentive and retention bonuses. Details on the incentive/retention program will be finalized and announced this spring and will be voluntary at the local level.

Thank you again for your patience and assistance in this work. I look forward to continuing to hear from you and working with you as we move forward together on this and other work with the shared ultimate goal in mind: a stronger school system for our children. Like all of our work, this begins and ends with the students. I know you share that motivation with me, and I thank you for your dedication to our students.

If you have any questions or would like more information on this change, please contact Deputy Secretary of Education and Chief of Staff Dan Cruce at dcruce@doe.k12.de.us.

Sincerely,

Lillian

Lillian M. Lowery
Secretary of Education

Rest Peacefully

2012-01-28T11:54:00.002-05:00

Another child taken too soon...broken hearts all around...

Mayor Baker Carves ANOTHER Notch on His Belt - When will he tackle guns and make our streets safe for children?

2012-01-25T08:07:00.001-05:00

Yes, this is usually a mantra you'd read on Transparentchristina.wordpress.org. I'm taking a play from their playbook and the question stands: When will Mayor Baker dedicate the necessary resources to make Wimington's streets safe for children?

Larry J.A. Parks III was fatally shot in the chest shortly before 4 p.m. in the 300 block of New Castle Ave., where Wilmington police officers found him lying in the street.

Mr. Parks' deaths marks the THIRD homicide in Wilmington this year - that's an average of 1 per week. It's still January! It's nothing short of criminal that the Mayor has failed to deploy the resources to tackle the issue of violence in the City. He's failed to make the streets safe for our children.

Rest Peacefully, Mr. Parks. From what I've read, you will be deeply missed by your family, your peers, and your teachers.

Mayor - It's time to get to work!

More on the Voluntary School Assessment - Heffron missed the memo...

2012-01-23T19:44:00.005-05:00

Rich Heffron, of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, said his group opposed the fee when it was first proposed more than a decade ago. http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012201220342

Something about this statement in yesterday's News Journal really rubbed me the wrong way - perhaps more than Reybold's veiled attempt to stimulate their profit margins...

And when I thought back to Delaware's Winning Race to the Top Application - you know the great plan to deform public education - I remembered the "Letters of Support" - most notably the Delaware Chamber of Commerce's letter which was includethe RTTT application. It can be found in Appendix (A)(2) – 8."

These particular portions of that letter stand out to me:

The Delaware State Chamber of Commerce is the largest most influential business organization in the state. The mission of the state chamber is to promote an economic climate that strengthens the competitiveness of Delaware businesses and benefits citizens of the state. This can only be accomplished by growing a workforce that has a solid educational background with all Delaware public school students having access to the best possible education in the world.

The Chamber has embraced support of education as a primary, long-term strategic goal of our organization...

On behalf of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, I offer my full support to our state leaders and educators in your industrious dedication and tireless work to create world-class schools that will benefit all Delawareans... Link HERE p 60

Um, yeah, and that's why the Chamber put it's full support behind the Voluntary School Assessment back in the 1990s. NOT. The Chamber supports education as long as business is likely to benefit financially from a new industry built entirely around NCLB/RTTT. But, the second education might actually cost them a red cent, they balk, and they do so publically in the News Journal.

The Chamber has opposed the Voluntary Assessment for more than a decade. They believe that builders should not pay, nor act as a condoit for such payment, into the educational system that will serve the children of those who buy the homes they build. The Voluntary Assessment helps build capacity in schools. The funding is needed even if developments go up in reclaimed areas where schools are not at capacity. Districts age and their facilities need attention. Districts in turn pay-out to business for the minor and major capital projects. The investment returns itself in spades (and jobs) for the business community. But, the Chamber seems to be of the same mind as Reybold that this assessment should be assessed over all tax payers. Yeah, and school districts can raise your taxes anytime they want. NOT. Um, that's why we have referendums.

Anyway, I just wanted to put it out there - the Star Chamber of Commerce is speaking out both sides of their ass on this one. They fully support DOE as evidenced by their letter in support of RTTT as long it doesn't affect their members' bottom line. I'm calling bullshit!

Delaware Builder Takes Aim at School Funding

2012-01-23T08:51:00.001-05:00

Reybold wants their share of school funding back... Or at least a legislated change in the Voluntary School Assessment formula - a non-voluntary assessment that helps fund additional classrooms when new neighborhoods are built.

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012201220342

Jerome Heisler, of the Reybold Venture Group, said in the suit filed Dec. 28 in U.S. District Court that the state's Voluntary School Assessment is flawed because the amount of the fee is the same whether the new housing unit is an efficiency apartment or a seven-bedroom McMansion.

"The Voluntary School Assessment, calculated on a per-unit basis, is discriminatory in that it ... burdens basic freedoms by limiting the selection of areas in which low-income persons, the majority of whom are ... minorities, can purchase new housing," the lawsuit says.

Department of Education spokeswoman Alison Kepner said she couldn't comment on the specifics of the suit.

The assessment on face value is probably unfair. It is overly burdensome for builders who target housing for the middle class and the poor. But, then, it's a safe statistical assumption that most builders pass that assessment cost onto their buyers. And that's the crux of the Reybold argument: A buyer than can only afford a $30,000 mobile home will have a tougher time finding the same $6,000 that the buyer of the McMansion foots.

However, Reybold's suit is asking for something more than legislated changes to equalize the assessment:

The suit asks the court to declare the Voluntary School Assessment "discriminatory and/or unconstitutional, and therefore unenforceable." It seeks an injunction that would halt the collection of the fee and force the state to refund the fees collected to date.

I can go along to get-along with most of the argument - but this is where Reybold loses me. The builder is suing to force the state to refund the fees collected to date. So, off the top of my head, I find myself asking:

Let's be clear here - If the management at Reybold truly thought this fee would hurt their clientele, they would have filed this suit back in 1999 when the Assessment hit the books. It's curious that they've waited 13 years to object. Perhaps this is a response to the recession and Reybold has seen their sales decline? I'm just saying that the motivation as purported by the suit is not the true motivation of the builder, but just an ancillary fact that bolsters their argument...
Say this suit gathers steam: If the court orders a refund, who gets it? The builder who likely passed the fee down to his buyer? Or the buyer who may have paid the fee without even knowing they were funding schools?
If the court orders a refund, what's the impact to tax payers? From the DOE spokesperson:

If that were to happen, Kepner said, the school- expansion costs to accommodate the students who live in houses that paid the fee would have to be funded another way.

"All taxpayers in the school districts would have to pay the costs associated with building capacity to serve the new subdivisions," Kepner said.

That's DOE speak for we spent that money and we don't have any to refund, so we'll find away to push that along to the tax payers.

That's part and parcel with the Governor's plan for fiscal responsibility and it's just scary. Delaware's Gov has raided education spending for three years to balance the state's budget. He's eliminated programs such as the one that provided reading specialists in our schools, moved dedicated education dollars into the general fund where such monies can be spent on things other than education. Though he was rebuffed in year one in regards to transportation funding, last year he did manage to push off a substantial chunk of transportation costs to the local districts. It's already been forecast that when the Gov. releases his next proposed budget that there will be more money diverted away from education. So just how would the Gov raise enough money to reimburse the builders for the not-voluntary Voluntary School Assessment Fees?

Let's just hope that some of our legislators keyed into this News Journal story and will act to equalize the fee before the DOE has a chance to lose the lawsuit with Reybold.

Bullying Right Next Door in Cecil County Goes Viral

2012-01-21T00:04:00.001-05:00

This ought to make you sick. If it doesn't, you have no heart.

Supreme Court Declines to Hear Prayer Appeal for Indian River School Board Meetings

2012-01-19T08:00:00.001-05:00

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to take up the issue of prayers at school board meetings.

The justices declined to hear the appeal of a school board in Delaware, which had its practice of reciting prayers before its public board meetings struck down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, in Philadelphia. www.edweek.org

Markell the Union Maker!

2012-01-19T00:30:00.005-05:00

While some states are union-busting, Delaware's apparently busting out new unions...

Pete Seeger on Unions...

Look for the Union Label on Delaware Charter School

2012-01-18T20:38:00.004-05:00

Well, well, well DEducrats - It's happened! It's really really happened! Delaware College Preparatory Academy has unionized! Wonder what the Rodelleans will think when this hits the press in the morning? Should the Delaware Charter School Network be concerned? Are you? I'd love for you to be my thought partner on this one!!!

And let's just toss out there this game-changer: if Charter schools are the educational panacea for which we all search - why would the staff of a Delaware Charter vote for unionization?

Link to the Most Recent published minutes of a DCPA Board Meeting:
October 2011
November 2011
Charter Unionized

Gov. Commutes Gattis, Disrespects Victim and Family

2012-01-17T23:17:00.002-05:00

"This commutation in no way relieves Mr. Gattis of his moral or legal guilt, and I am mindful of the fact that an innocent victim lost her life on the night of May 9, 1990," Markell said, adding the decision to spare Gattis life was "among the most difficult I have had to make in all my years in public service." - News Journal

Apparently the Gov. was not mindful enough the respect the sentence bestowed on Mr. Gattis by the jury of his peers for the murder of former girlfriend Shirley Slay.

Normally, I wouldn't talk the death penalty on this blog - but this is just one more instance of poor judgement exemplified by Gov.

"Keeping the person in prison is still protecting society,"said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C.

Lest any one among us is confused... Keeping murderers in prison is "still protecting society." But, the issue is deeper... Gattis murdered someone and was sentenced to death.

"At last week's Board of Pardons hearings, Gattis acknowledged for the first time that he intentionally executed Slay in cold blood inside her New Castle-area apartment."

For twenty years, Gattis has had a free ride in prison and my tax dollars have supported him. Gov. Markell can see fit to expend more tax payer money to keep an admitted murder in prison for life, but he doesn't bat an eyelash when it comes to cutting state education funding and pushing the expenses off onto the local share...

The Gov.'s obligation was to uphold the decision of the jury and to do so in a fiscally-acceptable way. He failed in both arenas.

How very, very sad.

"I Make A God Damned Difference, What About You?"

2012-01-16T13:48:00.005-05:00

Taylor Mali (http://taylormali.com), one of the most well-known poets to have emerged from the poetry slam movement and one of the few people in the world to have no job other than that of poet., gives his mind on what teachers make. Mali is a vocal advocate of teachers and the nobility of teaching, having himself spent nine years in the classroom teaching everything from English and history to math and S.A.T. test preparation.

He has performed and lectured for teachers all over the world, and his New Teacher Project has a goal of creating 1,000 new teachers through "poetry, persuasion, and perseverance."

Please visit http://taylormali.com for more on Mali and his New Teacher Project.

http://taylormali.com

Buried Online - Charter Network Gets New Director

2012-01-16T12:54:00.000-05:00

Advocacy Group Gets New Director

NYC to Shutter Charter Network...

2012-01-11T01:56:00.000-05:00

New York City and State Move to Shut Down Brooklyn Charter Network
http://www.districtadministration.com/news/new-york-city-and-state-move-shut-down-brooklyn-charter-network
Wednesday, January 11, 2012

City and state education officials announced that they plan to close an entire network of charter high schools in Brooklyn that have suffered management and financial woes for years.

One day after New York City Department of Education officials declared their intention to close Williamsburg Charter High School at the end of this school year, the state’s Education Department moved to shutter the two other high schools that are run by the same management organization: Believe Northside Charter High School andBelieve Southside Charter High School.

If the schools close in June, it will affect more than 1,500 students, the largest impact any charter school closing in the city would have to date.

The three high schools, all of which are located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, were founded by Eddie Calderon-Melendez, who runs their management organization, Believe Network. Mr. Calderon-Melendez did not respond on Tuesday to an e-mail request for comment, and someone who answered his cell phone hung up before answering questions.

Williamsburg Charter was authorized and opened by the city’s Department of Education in 2004, but the other two Believe schools were granted charters by the state in 2009 and are so new they have not even grown to serve grades 9-12.

New York Times

Is Skip trying to ignite a labor war?

2012-01-10T13:48:00.001-05:00

It's time for another dissection. My comments are in RED.http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20120110/NEWS03/201100331/Culture-change-urged-schools

Culture change urged in schools

Reform leader seeks better cooperation (A better headline would've read: Deform leader seeks better submission)

WILMINGTON -- In a speech to the state's business and political leaders Monday night, Marvin N. Schoenhals, leader of the Vision 2015 school reform project, outlined his vision for Delaware's public schools, called on the teachers union to make changes and challenged those in attendance to get involved in education reform. Funny, I keep reading in the NJ how DSEA is right there at the table with DOE in crafting the reforms that need to happen. DOE even went so far as to appoint a former union leader to a powerful position (and well-paid) position within the teacher evaluation unit.

In short, he said, there needs to be a culture change. I agree: my children need big business to stop needling and poking around in education. If business wants to have a role in schools, it needs to be one of supporting the teachers in the classroom and schools in their community.

"A vibrant state economy depends on a vibrant banking community," said Schoenhals, who is also WSFS chairman. "But that dependence is dwarfed by the influence our education system has on the long-term growth of our state, our quality of life and the dignity of our communities." Whoa... Slow down there skipper, a vibrant economy doesn't have to built on banking. It needs to built on the business and enterprises that thrive in that particular state. Frankly, I don't want a TARP guzzling two-face bank directing what education my children receive.

The speech came during the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce's 175th Annual Dinner -- one of the largest events of its kind in the state -- at the Chase Center. The annual event drew an estimated 900 people, including some of the biggest players in business and politics. Just asking, but how many school board members in this state received invitations to pay $200 a pop for a seat at the indoctrination? My guess is maybe a handful of compliant ones and I would even go as far to say that I bet Skip and friends didn't waive the cost for these unpaid public servants.

Calling his work with WSFS and the education system "the great passions of my life," Schoenhals outlined ways to improve Delaware's schools and asked the teachers union to work to change state law surrounding staffing rules. Citing Delaware's mediocre test scores on reading and math tests and a high school dropout rate that he called unacceptable, he said the education system must be improved. Now, Skip, we might be on the same page here, if you're asking the unions to work to change the unit formula that generates the number of teachers in a district/building. If you're advocating for more teachers in more classrooms with fewer students, I'm all for it. The longitudinal data shows that these type of intervention especially in the early years make the biggest impact on achievement. (But, I doubt this story is heading that way.)

"For most in this room, the education system worked fine and has continued to do so for your children and grandchildren," he said. "That is not the case for many in our society. As a result of that discrepancy, we are often complacent about the hard work required to make our schools effective for all children."

Schoenhals is credited with successfully steering WSFS in the 1990s as the bank faced significant financial problems. In his speech, he said there are similarities between the work that had to be done to restore WSFS and the challenges that face the state's public schools. Really, Skip?

"WSFS was an organization that had many nice people working there, but we did not have a culture of performance," he said. "As a result, we were the No. 7 bank in a six-bank market. We were not much of a blip on the radar screen. Today, WSFS is arguably one of the leading financial institutions in our state and the region. That did not happen overnight. It took us 15 years to change the culture to one that encourages people to perform at their best." What's missing from this statement? WSFS was No. 7. What rank do you now hold? Just because you may hold a substantial market share in Delaware, doesn't mean that share is as great outside this local footprint.

(Page 2 of 3)

That improvement in WSFS came as one person was in charge for 15 years, reporting to a board of directors. In education, that's not the case, he noted. Stakeholders -- the governor, Legislature, teachers union, school boards, parents and superintendents -- each hold significant veto power. So, Skip, let me share how this is supposed to work and why it doesn't:
1) Parents are the stakeholders. They vote in elections to select who will be on their school board.
2) School board members set the governance tone in a district. As a body of seven that can only function when at least 4 agree (in CSD for example) the board has one employee, the superintendent. We can feel ownership for all employees of the district, but at the end of the day, we evaluate only ONE. Meanwhile, board members must continue to listen to their constituents and take the tempurature of their community or they risk being voted out.
3) District employees take their lead from the tone set by the board and superintendent.
4) Unions are an outside organization with a very important focus - they protect collective bargaining rights to ensure fairness, they provide a checks and balance system for the HR culture of district/school, and finally they ensure due process for their membership.
5) The Legislature writes and passes the laws that govern education initiatives statewide. It's hopeful that they are communicating with the school boards and constituents to receive direction on where the education laws need strengthening and/or amendment.
6) The Gov's job is to either veto the bills that get passed or sign them into law.

Why this system isn't working:
1) You left the Department of Education off your list of veto holders. The DOE is led by a Secretary of Education that is appointed by the Governor. He gives his Secretary direction regarding the education policies he wants to see (in this case, he's promoting the education reform INDUSTRY and ignoring the lack of data and research in the process.)
2) The DOE has been given, especially under this governor, unmatched power in regards to their meddling within school districts. They've successfully utilized the Delphi principle and coercion to reinforce this power shift. They issue mandates to superintendents to withhold information from their boards, inserting themselves into a management role over superintendents that does not belong to them. They have usurped power from the local control elected by the people.
3) The DOE has been extremely successful in influencing legislation and regulation that comes before our legislature. But, they only tell one side of the story. They rely on the legislature to have a large deficit in their knowledge of education policy and they have carved out a niche influence.

"It is a very political system," Schoenhals said. "I don't mean that in a bad way. It just means that our school system is subject to the uncertain process of making decisions in a political environment." That's why school board elections are non-partison. I would hazard a guess that these elections were designed to protect school systems from political influence. When DOE - led by a partisan a governor - overstepped their authority and encroached local control by issuing edicts to school boards and superintendents, they politicized the system.

Singling out the Delaware State Education Association as supporting policies that hurt the ability of some schools to makes choices in staffing decisions that make the most sense, Schoenhals called on the union to support changes to state law that is "more appropriate for a factory floor than in a profession like teaching." A statewide system focused on seniority for pay systems and staffing procedures is hurting schools, he said. Factory Floor? Skip, that's just shameful! How can you denigrate good teachers like that? Don't you understand that without teachers, there are no schools? Now, I can't say I am pro-union or anti-union, I'm not. But, I respect the laws that allow unions to operate and support those employees who feel there is a need. RTTT and PZ allowed for bargaining unit carve-outs. Those schools that truly need the freedeom the traditional union contract (PZ schools) now have the ability to go back to the table and bargain in good faith with the select group of personnel who are most affected by one of the four models of RTTT/PZ destabilization. The mechanism already exists. I also know just how sticky this can get from my own first-hand experience of course correction for one the PZ schools. Mind you - the Gov. didn't take well to course corrections back then and withdrew all RTTT funding for all schools until our board was bullied into submission. Then, magically, the money was returned. Thank You Great Merlin, I mean... Gov.

"One size in our system of pay does not fit all," Schoenhals said. "Let the districts and the local union determine what would work best for them. With a system that is more reflective of the profession that teaching is, we can then work to get teacher pay to a level worthy of the task teachers perform -- educating the next generation." Really, can any teacher take you seriously after you denigrated an entire profession by reducing teachers, many with multiple degrees and certifications and histories of achievement success, to the factory floor worker - a seemingly lesser educated professional. Furthermore, each district has its own local E.A. Each district sits down and negotiates with the local E.A. If flexibility is what is needed to written into the contract, it requires all parties to negotiate in good faith, not just unions!

Union leader reacts
Union president Frederika Jenner said she did not find the speech to be revolutionary. She believes the union is working to improve the system, and that several of the problems cited were founded on misrepresentations of the issues.

For instance, Jenner said, teacher seniority issues are not always based on last-in, first-out, and other staffing rules are the result of a collective bargaining agreement. As for the "factory floor" reference, Jenner said she was offended. "He has taken the conversation in the wrong direction," she said. So, all along the RTTT way, we've been led to believe that DSEA and its associated locals have been intimately involved withe development of the latest reform craze. Skip's unabashed statements lead me to believe that there is something much deeper afoot. Are you accusing the DOE and Gov. of lying everytime they sang the DSEA's praises for their collaboration?

Schoenhals asked those in attendance to focus on five key areas as a way to make changes: develop a better system for reporting school quality to the public; create performance standards that will allow students to compete globally; reward high- performing schools; allow the state to force changes on struggling schools, but without withholding funding; and institute a system that provides spending flexibility so school leaders can spend funds in ways that make the most sense for that locality.

1) A better system for reporting school quality to the public? We had that. The DOE threw it under the bus and now issues AYP rankings for growth in addition to achievement. These changes were made in the dark with no prep to the public before the system was implemented. The Public has been reduced to interpretting the DOE's website - Gee, did my feeder school make AYP based on actual proficiency or is it a low-performing school that has managed to goad growth (not proficiency and in some cases nowhere near proficiency) to earn their ranking?

2) Performance Standards? Go read the Common Core Standards! These are supposed to be the be all and end all of education standards. It's already here, buddy.

3) What type of rewards are you looking for at our high performing schools? Maybe permit them to opt out of RTTT and keep doing what's working for the school and its community?

4) Allow the state to force changes without withholding funding! Amen. We can agree on this one. However, the state doesn't have the best record for turning around schools... Just look at Moyer.

(Page 3 of 3)

All schools can succeed given the right attention and tools, he said. He named the Indian River School District as a model, citing sustained progress there. The successes of districts and charter schools must be celebrated, he said, but there needs to be a continued focus on those who struggle. This is not new or revolutionary. No matter which side of the ed reform debate you take, we already know and agree that there needs to be a continued focus on those who struggle. Once again, a day late and dollar short.

The state has had some other major successes, notably winning $119 million from the U.S. Department of Education in President Barack Obama's signature education reform program, he said. But even that award is not going to be enough to fix the problems that the public school system faces, he said. I agree. But, that money would have been much better spent getting more teachers into more classrooms. Instead it's being parcelled out the reform INDUSTRY and you, Skip, helped that happen when you sang those RTTT praises!

Within a mile of where the Chamber of Commerce dinner was taking place, there are schools where two-thirds of the children cannot read on grade level, and children who show up to kindergarten without the skills they need to succeed. I take issue. Those are my schools and my kids. And you conveniently left out just how hard our district is working to mediate the kindergarten acheivement gap for which the only faulty party is parents who fail to engage education for their children early enough to prevent the gap form occuring. As for reading, maybe if we weren't required to teach the reform du jour perhaps my teachers could have implemented best practices to reach those children - maybe even adjust their teaching style to accomodate a child's learning style.

"And if you're not convinced that education quality is either an economic or a sustainability issue, please consider that it is a moral imperative," Schoenhals said. "The ZIP code in which a child lives should have no bearing on whether their education will help them reach their potential. It is cruel, and flies in the face of America's foundation of equal opportunity for all." Hey, Skip, poverty knows no zip code. It doesn't matter where you live - poverty is the great divider, the achievement roadblock. Sure there are secondary issues such as racial isolation based upon the neighborhood a child lives within, but it's everywhere, both urban and suburban. It's my belief that public education is the greatest entitlement program ever, both in the dollars spent and the sheer number of people it touches.

Pencader Update - A Column of the NJ Op-Ed Pages

2012-01-06T18:04:00.000-05:00

Pencader Climbed the Mountain that DOE said was insurmountable.

The Challenge

2012-01-05T00:13:00.002-05:00

Let's Play a Game with Transparent Christina

2012-01-04T22:31:00.002-05:00

For every "don't call me" song you post on http://www.transparentchristina.wordpress.com/ - I'll find a "call me" song and post it here. The one rule - You must post in Video/You Tube type format!

Readers: Who do you think will win? (Yes, in the barren landscape of education reform - in winter, no less - I am seeking a diversion or distraction from the direction that has been inflicted upon us - the delphi-informed.)

I'll start:

NP Breaking News: Girl Scouts Going Door-to-Door to Start Taking Cookie Orders...

2012-01-03T18:14:00.000-05:00

God love the Newark Post for sending this GEM, subject "Breaking News," to my inbox! That said, if you need cookies, I can direct to a couple Girl Scout Troops comprised of some Christina's most amazing girls who would love to satisfy your order!

Posted: Tuesday, January 3, 2012 1:59 pm

Updated: 2:05 pm, Tue Jan 3, 2012.Girl

Scouts going door-to-door to start taking cookie orders 0 comments

Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay will go door-to-door to begin taking orders for Girl Scout Cookies starting Saturday, January 7. This year local Girl Scouts will offer the six varieties - Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs, Trefoils, Do-si-dos and, new this year, Savannah Smiles, in honor of the Girl Scouts 100th Anniversary. All Girl Scout Cookies are free of preservatives and have zero trans fats. Cookies are $4.00 per box.

Cookie booth sales will begin on Friday, February 10, at local businesses throughout the Delmarva Peninsula. Girls are also taking donations of Girl Scout cookies for Operation Taste of Home and local community groups. The Operation Taste of Home cookies will be donated to our Armed Forces and local agencies, such as food banks and pantries, blood banks, cancer centers and youth programs.

Individuals interested in purchasing Cookies or donating to Operation Taste of Home can call the Cookie Hotline at 1-800-YUM-YUM2. To locate a cookie booth sale in your area go to www.GSCB.org.

The Girl Scouts Cookie Program is about more than just great tasting cookies. The program has a lasting impact on girls' lives by helping them to build life skills such as leadership, money management, decision-making, teamwork, and goal setting. The benefits of the Cookie Program have been hailed by many of today's businesswomen, who cite selling Girl Scout Cookies was their first step toward successful careers.

All of the proceeds-every penny-from a local Council's cookie activities remain in the area where the cookies are sold. This revenue is used to benefit girls, some of it directly by remaining in the Girl Scout troop treasuries, and some of it indirectly by funding Council-led programs for Girl Scouts. Each year, over 9,000 Girl Scouts from the Delmarva Peninsula participate in the Cookie Program, selling over one million boxes of cookies to the community.
A leading advocate for and expert on girls, the Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay builds girls of courage, confidence and character by providing personal leadership development and programs that teach skills for the real world. The Council serves approximately 15,000 girls in grades K-12 across the Delmarva Peninsula. Approximately 5,000 adult volunteers support the Council in various mentoring and leadership positions. To learn more about Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay, visit www.GSCB.org or call 1-800-341-4007.

The 10 Most Memorable Stories of 2011: Ed. Policy and Politics

2011-12-31T23:45:00.002-05:00

The 10 Most Memorable Stories of 2011: Ed. Policy and Politics

DOE's Automatic Cloaking Device - Public Forum and Name Changes

2011-12-30T11:19:00.000-05:00

One of the proposed changes that parents and educators may notice is a change in the terms applied to schools based on how they perform on the Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System. Currently, schools are placed in categories such as "superior," "commendable" and "academic watch." The draft proposal would drop those names in favor of the U.S. Department of Education's seven suggested category names, which would include descriptors such as "reward schools," "recognition schools," "focus schools" and "priority (partnership zone) schools." From the News Journal

You've got to be kidding me, right? Superior and Commendable were at least meaningful - you knew you were buying into a good school - at least until last year. That's when DOE - without the community meetings - went ahead and recalculated the way schools were labeled based upon achievement data. That resulted in schools that failed to meet the accepted definition of proficiency achieving a superior or commendable status based solely upon student growth - more students moving in the right direction but not reaching proficiency targets. The end result was a ton of confusion with little clear explanation directed towards parents or the public.

So, who wants their child to attend a school labeled "Reward School?" No, really? Does that title have any inherent meaning to you? And just what is the reward the school is earning? I don't have the answers - DOE hasn't extended its informational reach to general school board members, yet. Guess that means I'll be attending one of their forums. But, with only one meeting in each county - that may be a hard one to achieve... When the Gov. finally decided that he needed to sell RTTT to the tax payers, he hit each of the counties several times. I can only guess that redefining achievement is a bit less important...

When will DOE bring all the parties to the table and participate in shared decision making? If DOE was looking for true interactive feedback, these meetings would have been announced weeks ago, not during winter break when matters of education are in the far back of the parental mind. When will constituents be treated as thought partners? Inviting them to a dog and pony show is a far cry from being engaged in the development process. When will tax payers become more than human capital? School districts signed MOUs that promised they would continue to fund the reform efforts begun under RTTT after the federal grant runs out. Who will shoulder that burden? Delaware's workforce? They've been treated as a commodity thus far by an administration that talks jobs but fails to produce them.

Too little, too late. But, then, these are just the ramblings of a private cynic... citizen.

DRAFT PROPOSAL

To read the state's draft proposal, go to the Delaware Department of Education's website at www.doe.k12.de.us and click on "community meetings."

The meeting times and locations:
NEW CASTLE COUNTY: Jan. 4 at 6 p.m. in the James Gilliam Conference Center, 77 Reads Way, New Castle.
KENT COUNTY: Jan. 11 at 6 p.m. in the Kent County Government Building, Room 220, Dover.
SUSSEX COUNTY: Jan. 19 at 6 p.m. in the Sussex County Government Building, The Circle, Georgetown.

Merry Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T14:43:00.004-05:00

The Messiah Speaks - and plugs his weekly video address...

2011-12-23T23:26:00.000-05:00

From: Markell Governor (Governor)

Sent: Friday, December 23, 2011 1:09:28 PM (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
To: State Employees; K12 Employees; DSHA
Subject: Thank you for a great 2011

Dear fellow state employee,

Thank you for all you do, and all you’ve done, to help keep our great state running and to build our state’s future.

While I’ve been lucky to be able to say thank you to many of you in person during visits to schools and state agencies, I did not want to let the holiday season pass without sharing my gratitude for your good work.

Each week, I deliver a weekly message to our state about some of the issues we face and some of the progress we are making. In this week’s message (video), I made sure to say to every Delawarean how “blessed I am to be able to work with so many wonderful public servants – the people who go to work to keep our state safe, who help keep things running, who teach our children and care for those most in need – who dedicate themselves to service.” It is a message I hope they take to heart.

You work hard. Your work matters, and we thank you.

Here’s to a happy and healthy new year,

Jack

*****

Happy Holidays video on State network: http://de.gov/holidays
Video on YouTube: http://youtu.be/nD7Vn2uJcFg
Audio on State network: http://de.gov/holidayaudio

Transcript of the Message:
Whether it’s Merry Christmas, Mazel Tov, Umoja or simply Happy Holidays at your home, there’s no doubt this is a special time of the year. A time to remember the friends and family we’re so lucky to have around us and a time to reflect with love on those who left our lives too soon. A time to take stock of what we’ve learned, what we’ve faced, what we’ve overcome and what remains to get done, together. But more than anything – this week is a time for goodwill and gratitude; to reflect on any blessings we’ve received and to know from where those blessings have come.
As grateful as I am to each of you for giving me the chance to get to work for you each day, I’m so blessed to be able to work with wonderful public servants – the people who go their jobs to keep our state safe, who help keep things running, who teach our children and care for those most in need – who dedicate themselves to service. To each of you – thank you.

This has not been an easy year – but it’s been inspiring to see how our state keeps pulling together – how many hard working Delawareans stay focused each day on creating more jobs, on building new opportunities to keep people working and on helping others get back to work. And while there have been more opportunities this year than last, we need to make sure next year is even better. Enough about work for now.
This week, whether you’ve lighting a menorah, kinara candles or putting lights on your tree; whether you’re reflecting on your own faith, or just reflecting on your family – I hope these holidays find you safe, happy, warm and resting up, and that you’re as excited as I am for the chance to keep Delaware, moving forward.

Just a Happy Hanukkah Song!

2011-12-22T08:14:00.002-05:00

Edu-Scrapple in Delaware

2011-12-16T08:57:00.000-05:00

Venom and Malice when CSD attempts a course correction and DOE handholding when Brandywine fails to perform... The Race to the Trough is on - Delaware to be a winner of the Baby Race. Do you really want Jack Markell parenting your children? Lots of edu-scrapple in today's paper!

Big Votes Coming to Christina - Next Board Meeting 12/13

2011-12-09T15:10:00.000-05:00

http://www.christina.k12.de.us/BOE/Meetings/2011/Posting-Agenda/1213.pdf

From the Official Christina SBOE Posting:

ACTION ITEMS

Student Expulsion Recommendation(s)
Administrative Personnel Recommendations
Updated Use Of Facilities Application Form And Rates
Proposed Changes to 2011-2012 Christina School District School Calendar
Consulting Services for Development of School District Management Analysis –
Amendment #1 to District Race To The Top Plan – Includes Amendment #2 for Partnership Zone Plans for Glasgow High and Stubbs Elementary
Amendment #2 To District Race To The Top Plan
Plan and Memorandum of Understanding Between the Christina School District and the Christina Education Association with Regards to the Partnership Zone Plan for Bancroft Elementary School

CONSENT AGENDA

Personnel Recommendations
Monthly Financial Reports – September 2011
Choice Recommendation 2011-2012
Choice Termination Recommendation 2011-2012
Bid Awards: Bid #2011-10 Bancroft Elementary School – Skylight Replacement
Resolutions on Upcoming Meetings: Executive Session Meeting, January 10, 2012, 6:00 PM, West Park Place Elementary School, Regular Session Meeting, January 10, 2012, 7:30 PM, West Park Place Elementary School, Special Session Meeting for BoardDocs Training, January 20, 2012, 6:00-7:00 PM, Location To Be Determined

Common Sense reigns, and why Zero Tolerance was destined to FAIL!

2011-12-09T00:20:00.001-05:00

Outrage poured across the /internet once reports of a 9-year-old receiving a two-day suspension for calling a teacher "cute" surfaced, but now it appears he's receiving some justice, WBTV reports.

"We will be sending an official letter of apology to the parents," Gaston County Schools Spokesperson Bonnie Reidy told the station. "Also the suspension will not count against the child and the child will receive additional instructional assistance to make up for the time out of the classroom."

Principal Jerry Bostic, who determined the boy's alleged comment was sexual harassment, has also resigned, according to the report. -- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/07/9-year-olds-suspension-fo_n_1135242.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec3_lnk3%7C118730

I Prefer Not to Take Your Test

2011-12-08T22:11:00.001-05:00

http://youtu.be/AWqdScvrKCo

The Red Lion OUCH!

2011-11-30T20:28:00.000-05:00

News Journal: Red Lion Lays off 13 % of Staff

Monday, December 5th at 7 pm in the Pusey Center. Come hear Dr. Chuck Betters outline the vision to "Save the Lions" and be "Debt Free in Three". All parents, students, grandparents invited!

You've Got to Be Kidding Me - Brownback blows smoke...

2011-11-28T13:33:00.000-05:00

Jane! Stop this crazy thing!

2011-11-24T12:50:00.001-05:00

Remember the Jetsons? Poor George, a computer engineer, was the foil of his stereotypical tough boss, the bombastic Mr. Spacely, owner of Spacely's Space Sprockets. To be fair, Mr. Spacely, even with his Adolph Hitler mustache wasn't intentionally evil, just meddlesome. He was a business owner trying to compete with his rival, Cogswell. Together Cogswell and Spacely got in a heap of trouble and George always took the heat.

So, it wouldn't surprise me that if Spacely received a delivery of bad parts, he'd send them back and insist on a credit to boot. He knows he has to build a superior product - a Sprocket.

What if Spacely had been a Principal Spacely in a school when he got that same delivery of bad parts - children, who from the moment they were conceived were at-risk. Principal Spacely still has to deliver a solid product - a high achieving school. But, he can't send these bad parts back, can he?

And that's where the business model being inflicted upon the PreK-12 education system becomes a guaranteed failure. Yelling "Jetson" isn't going to fix it. And yet - pro-business reformers, RTTT champions, continue to claim the failures of the education system sit squarely on the shoulders of bad teachers (they would have you believe all teachers are bad teachers) and unions are at fault. It's divide and conquer.

What we as citizens and tax payers need to remember is that public schools were not designed to be profitable, not as entities in and of themselves and not through the various routes that tax dollars drip into our classrooms. This doesn't mean there are not efficiencies that can and should and often times have been made.

In the greater context, education spending pulls in a profit in the number of qualified and competent employees we put forth into society - either as career-ready grads or students who choose to matriculate into higher education. There are millions of graduates of public education gainfully employed, far more than those who are not. In fact, there is a shortage of livable wage-earning positions to accommodate our competent graduates.

No one can ignore those fields that seem to have a shortage of solid candidates, and that truly is a societal failure to acknowledge and deftly adapt education to the changing markets of the world. But, just what kept education leaders from responding in a timely manner? Clearly the prescriptions and manipulations of the funding formulas that control just how public education monies can be spent have historically damned the adoption of supporting technology and new career path development.

Take Bayard Middle School in Wilmington for example. Accidentally named a PZ school by the Department of Education in 2011, several weeks of planning by district personnel furthered to develop an already identified "bold exploration" (see the CSD Strategic Plan) - the develop of a 6-12 STEM academy in Wilmington. The funding injected by the PZ designation would have jump started the conversion of this school. However, the promise of those funds were withdrawn when DOE realized that they failed to calculate Bayard's historical achievement data correctly. The DOE then skipped over two other failing schools serving urban students and sent the money downstate to Laurel, a district that many assert is on the verge of financial collapse due to successive cuts in state funding. This move by DOE has been seen by critics as a conciliatory slide of hand to Laurel.

The Bayard debacle failed to incite the ire of Wilmington's elected paid politicians and quietly slipped away, leaving the school district holding the tab incurred while planning and seriously delayed the implementation of a "turn around" at a school that is destined to find a home on the DOE's under-achieving list. The interventions needed at Bayard will have to come from local funds - at a price tag that would devastate the district's ability to fairly, properly fund it's many other schools in accordance with the funding prescriptions that come from the state and feds. The future turnaround at this school will be slow and right now, is tentative at best. Yes, the PZ funding never belonged to Bayard, but it should have flowed to the next school on the list - and it didn't. I can't think of a finer example of manipulation of funding.

Putting the Pieces Together

What Race to the Top has taught us is that even the federal policymakers recognize that public education needs an infusion of funds, not the systematic reduction that state governments are inflicting. The ARRA stimulus funds of 2009 required states to maintain their funding of public education at the previous year's level. The writing is on the wall. Public education will cost Americans more as we try to move forward into a technology-based market after the fall-out of the Great Recession. Public schools must turn out graduates who are prepared for today's current career opportunities while competing with millions of un-employed and under-employed yet experienced workers during an a job shortage crisis.

We've learned that it doesn't matter how prepared our students are if the jobs are not there. And while federal and state policymakers are focused on college and career ready grads, we need our leaders to ensure those jobs and careers will exist- something that has simply not happened in part due to the constant fighting between political parties. It's rather demoralizing for our rising seniors - the understanding that the pay-off for their commitment to education may not be there when they are ready for it.

The conversion to great schools is costly. We've spent ten years under the confines of No Child Left Behind, a law that punished schools for failure rather than provide these schools with the funds to convert to pertinent and responsive centers of education. As the ESEA is again up for renewal and will be so perennially until our political parties can agree, we must urge them to not loose sight of the children in the classrooms. RTTT funds data coaches. My students need teachers, capable teachers, and more of them - trained in the new market that these students will eventually arrive to - much more than they could ever need a data coach. My students need fidelity to best practices to implement vetted research-affirmed, peer-reviewed programmatic and cultural changes that will support their needs while training them for the future needs of the economy. They need extended learning time that begins at 300 hours a year - the minimum amount determined by research and practice to actually affect achievement. My students need smaller class sizes, especially in their early years to help mitigate the effects of an achievement gap that exists for some children from the moment of conception. And today, we need to turn our attention to our middle and high schools, to cut with precision focus through the funding red tape to ensure that all students rising into this time of economic uncertainty will have the opportunities for career success.

Troubled school left unto themselves with no change in the way funds are delivered will be forever slow and timid in delivering a dynamic education. And while we need to employ best practices in all of our schools, we need to do so in a way that preserves those schools that are already achieving success for their students - that means protecting the funding that already flows into those schools. Because each neighborhood, each town, each city is different, each school is a reflection of a socio-economic class. We cannot divert funding from successful schools to pay for reform in under-achieving schools. We have already stated that efficiencies need to be achieved and frequently have been - yet we need to acknowledge that decreasing the dedication of services in a successful school will negatively impact achievement.

We must begin to look at a public school system specifically as being non-profit-bearing, and for that matter as being a giant financial hole, a tax write-off, an entitlement program. We must move away from the concept of educational institutions as a business. Businesses by design break even or generate profit. Schools do not, can not, will not if their only funding is federal, state, and local taxes. Schools are not permitted to accumulate funding except for local taxes. If you don't use your state and federal funding, it's taken back. This puts districts in a tremendously difficult position of wanting to deploy targeted funds when it would be illegal to do so. Current funding formulas have indeed tied our hands.

What I know for sure is this - Businessman do not belong in the classroom, which is squarely where they have inserted themselves. When a Media Mogul creates an Enterprise to contract with state departments of education to supply the likes of data coaches, I am certain of two things - 1) some of those data coaches received a public education and 2) the media mogul has just received an influx of funds from education that the tax payers intended to send to the classroom. Business is diverting education funding. The resulting failures are being places squarely on the institution providing the education and everything about this scenario is morally and ethically wrong.

Business has a role to play in education - as employers of our qualified graduates. And that is exactly where businessmen belong. At the very end of the chain. And if they so choose to invest philanthropically in our non-profit education centers - schools - great, but those funds should come with only relevant strings attached - in non-profits this is called "restricted giving."

Education is not a land grab and treating it as such is utter chaos.

Jane, Stop this Crazy Thing!

Glasgow Church Closer to Acquiring Red Lion Christian Academy

2011-11-20T22:44:00.001-05:00

Glasgow Reformed Presbyterian Church in Bear is moving ahead with plans to acquire and institute “sweeping reforms” at the financially troubled Red Lion Christian Academy after church members overwhelmingly endorsed the plan today. ...

If the deal goes through, the private school will see significant changes in leadership, values and financial operations, Betters said in an interview. Christian education and academics will be top priority. Red Lion’s football program will not, Betters said.

The school admitted to violations of state athletic rules last year that included too many football games, excessive practices and improperly managing financial aid.

Also controversial was Red Lion’s push to build a nationally recognized powerhouse team.

“We believe we can still have a powerful football program that reaches out and touches young men who wouldn’t otherwise make it. We believe that’s possible with some changes in priorities and shifting of values as we go forward,” Betters said. “I don’t envision us going all over the nation to play football.”

The Collective Conscience

2011-11-16T20:10:00.001-05:00

http://www.townsquaredelaware.com/our-collective-obligation-the-quest-for-better-schools/

Hey, Markell/Selander, I PAY your SALARY!

2011-11-06T22:06:00.000-05:00

Markell spokesman Brian Selander expressed dismay at the group’s decision to defy the state, for the second straight day, by choosing not to accept the Brandywine Park permit.

“The state made a very reasonable offer with the use of state managed properties at Brandywine and Fletcher Brown park,” Selander said. “It was an offer that respected constitutional rights to be heard and assemble. They've chosen a different path.”

And I pay for the upkeep of the STATE'S parks. BTW - so do all the protesters.

Thank goodness for the Occupy movement. If these organizers hadn't come along, perhaps all of America would have forgotten how Civil Disobedience works and value of rallying behind a cause.

Results of latest study on Charter Management Operators - CMOs can't cure the "education crisis."

2011-11-04T21:58:00.000-04:00

Published Online: November 4, 2011

Academic Gains Vary Widely for Charter Networks
By Nirvi Shah
A new national study on the effectiveness of networks that operate charter schools finds overall that their middle school students’ test scores in reading, mathematics, science, and social studies aren’t significantly better than those of students in regular public schools.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2011-10-31T15:04:00.000-04:00

Future DE Education budgets - More Cuts Predicted!

2011-10-27T07:57:00.000-04:00

From

Education and Community News from Home Town Delaware

Early 2013 budget numbers being shared with Educators.

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Wolfe Gary Thanks to Gary for his great post!

By January 2012, the 2013 budgets for Delaware’s schools will begin to take shape, and it has already been rumored that our Leadership in Dover is looking to make even deeper cuts to Education. Already we have one district, Laurel, that is floundering on the edge of not being able to meet its finances after April 2012. Many administrators, school boards, and teachers associations have sat down and looked at where we are today compared to where we were just a few years earlier. Since FY2008, State funding has been completely eliminated for the following programs:

* Reading Resource Teachers $9,431,500

* Math Specialists $3,071,700

* Limited English Proficiency Grant $1,625,000

* Technology Block Grant $1,354,000

* School-Based Discipline Program $8,213,900

* Tax Relief Allocation $17,549,500

* Academic Excellence Allotment $4,595,600

* Extra Time Programs $10,428,000

* Tuition Reimbursement $1,100,000

* Teacher Cadre & Mentoring $1,128,400

TOTAL STATE PROGRAM ELIMINATIONS: $58,497,600

In addition to these program eliminations, many districts have also experienced several reductions in base funding levels:

Division II AOC(funding for classroom, and other day to day supplies)Unit Value $3,274,020 (FY08 $3,279 to FY12 $2,955 at 10,105 Dlv II units)

Division II Energy Unit Value $2,455,515 (FY08 $2,678 to FY 12 $2,435 at 10,105 Div II units)

Professional Development Funding $1,300,000 (FY08 $2,866,500 to FY 12 $1,566,500)

Beyond these program eliminations and base funding reductions, increasing demands are being placed on

local funds (Shift of 10% Transportation Costs $7,133,800) at a time when local assessed values are essentially flat, and other local revenues such as interest, indirect cost and cost recovery collections are in decline. For those wondering what losses looked like around the state:

FY 2012 Loss Based On 2008 Amount Per Unit

Appoquinimink ($3,216,675)

Brandywine ($6,967,025)

Christina ($10,594,538)

Colonial ($4,208,339)

NCCVT ($3,839,781 )

Red Clay ($9,297,025)

Caesar Rodney ($2,374,300)

Capital ($3,244,120)

Lake Forest ($1,591,437)

Milford ($2,757,148)

Poly tech ($554,096)

Smyrna ($2,906,050)

Cape Henlopen ($2,506,117)

Delmar ($814,812)

Indian River ($2,334,774)

Laurel ($1,803,148)

Seaford ($1,787,634)

SVT ($862,796)

Woodbridge ($1,357,726)

Total all Districts: ($63,017,540)

So bottom line is that the cost of educating the next generation is going up in a time when every taxpayer is doing more with less, and raising local taxes is not an option for schools. So what can all those who have a stake in Education do to prevent our students from being cheated out of an education? Here are a few ideas we are discussing in Milford on November 8th with the community at a district wide meeting at the Milford High School Auditorium:

~ Begin lobbying efforts now, prior to the Governor’s Recommended Budget

~ Focus attention on the cumulative state funding reductions that have occurred since FY2008.

~ E.mphasize that federal stimulus funding (State Fiscal Stabilization Funds and EdJobs Funding) were intended to ‘stabilize’ state and local agencies that were experiencing revenue reductions. As revenues increase, these funds should therefore be utilized to restore previous funding reductions.

~ Target restoration funding as follows: 1) restoration of EdJobs funding; 2) restoration of State Fiscal Stabilization funding.

~ Recognize the need for efficiencies and budget reductions, but public education has been disproportionally impacted in recent years.

~ Restoring the public education budget back to its FY2010 percentage of the total budget (33.33%) would add $59,650,400 to the public education budget.

~ Collaborate with DSEA to lobby for funding restoration.

~ Establish consistent individual district meetings with local legislators.

~ Provide legislators with specific legislation to support.

~ Provide flexibility to districts in severe fiscal hardship by allowing districts to ‘cash in’ as many units as necessary to maintain solvency, and to not forfeit Division IIIunit funding for cashed in units.

~ Target the message that the “Foundation is Crumbling”. While we have the benefit of many short-term funding initiatives (i.e. Race to the Top) the core K-12 public education finance structure is not sufficient to maintain current service and performance levels.

Do Delaware's Charters have a right to funding equity?

2011-10-26T16:17:00.000-04:00

From the News Journal: HERE Delaware's Charter Schools have a right to funding equity
By: Gregory Meece, director of the Newark Charter School and president of the Delaware Charter Schools Network, and a member of The News Journal's Community View Board.

In 1995, before the ink was dry on the governor's signature on the charter schools law, I signed on to help create Delaware's first charter school. At that time, we didn't expect charter schools to be "the answer" to all of our challenges in public education, but we did see the promise of charter schools as one of the best opportunities to make a dramatic improvement in Delaware's public education landscape.

The results of the charter school movement in Delaware are significant. Charters rank at the top academically at all grade levels. They have been the first to tackle new frontiers in curriculum, teacher incentive pay, site-based management, extended school years, facilities construction, financial autonomy, parent engagement, student uniforms and much more.

There are thousands of students on charter school waiting lists. Almost 80 percent of Delawareans favor charter schools (according to a University of Delaware poll) even though only 9 percent of the student population attends them. Yet progress hasn't been easy, due to an uneven playing field when it comes to the way public charter schools are funded.

The Delaware Charter School Network stands for excellence. But there are times when meeting the high standards we've set for ourselves can be difficult, due to the financial challenges that charters face compared to our district counterparts.

A recent News Journal article rightly highlighted the financial pressures constricting Delaware school districts in the wake of multimillion-dollar state cuts for education. Absent, however, was any mention of the even more acute financial woes of Delaware's 22 public charter schools. We support our public school districts and believe funding adequacy is an issue that must be addressed for all of our schools. But we are one system of public schools, not two. For charter schools, the issue of funding equity is just as important.

In the 2009 report, A New Model Law for Supporting the Growth of High-Quality Public Charter Schools, equitable operational funding and access to capital funding are cited as two "Essential Components of a Strong Public Charter School Law."

And according to Delaware Department of Education data, public charter schools receive nearly 23 percent less per student than traditional district schools, even after excluding the 10 district-operated schools throughout the state that primarily serve resource-intensive, high-needs students.

Several factors can explain this disparity, but the result of this gap is an unfair penalty on charter school students and educators. For example, while Stubbs Elementary, in the Christina School District, might receive $11,437 for Lisa, Prestige Academy -- a mere 10 blocks away -- receives $9,331 for her brother. That translates to less funding available for teacher salaries and much-needed instructional resources.

One of the main reasons for this gap is that charters have neither the ability to raise revenue through referendums nor state funding for major capital costs, such as building upgrades. Public charter schools are forced to pay from 7 to 20 percent of their operating budgets for facilities. Imagine the compounded impact recent state budget cuts have on schools with fewer available dollars to begin with.

Another concern is the formula that districts use to transfer local property tax revenue to charter schools. The guiding principle is "the money follows the child." But districts are permitted to exclude certain categories of local funds before the transfers are made. These deductions are not transparent and often fluctuate dramatically, thereby complicating charter schools budget planning. For example, my charter school budgeted an increase in local funds because our largest feeder district passed a multimillion-dollar operating referendum the previous year. We were shocked to learn that our share of that district's local funds actually decreased substantially.

Further complicating the matter is that the formula for transferring these funds is based not on actual revenues but on district expenditures from the previous year. There is no way for charter schools to "catch up."

Last spring, passage of House Bill 205 represented an important first step toward growing and sustaining high-quality charter schools in the state. We also have resources to draw from to make even more progress. For example, The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has a menu of best practices for supporting public charter schools' facility needs.

It is my hope that Delaware's General Assembly takes the next big steps in charter legislation: changing policy conditions to give all public school students an equal chance at success regardless of where they go to school. Such policies will encourage high-performing charters to expand, and they will encourage great charters to come into the state.

Sixteen years ago, policy decisions were made as safeguards in the event that charters didn't pan out. Well, we did pan out. Charter schools are here to stay.

Comment Rescue: If Red Lion and Moyer Close

2011-10-21T08:07:00.001-04:00

Thank you for sharing:

Esther said...

My friends who work at Red Lion tell me that the reports of their financial problems are greatly exaggerated, and they do not anticipate having to close or to be sold.

October 23, 2011 9:35 PM

Will the state fund those students elsewhere?

Moyer- If the state or K12 shutter the school this school year - After the critical Sept. 30 count - will the funding follow the students to their new school, assuming the families choose either charter or district options in lieu of private school? Update: DOE Representative says that there will be no funding this year for a private school student entering the public school system post Sept. 30. That's not entirely surprising - Delaware lives and dies by the Sept. 30 count. But, it does raise an ethics question - if a private school fails mid-year, is there an obligation to fund the public education of their students? Most presume that if a private school fails, those parents have the personal resources to send their child to another private school. However, private schools have many children on financial needs scholarships, full or partial. So, if a private school fails, is there a moral obligation to fund the public education of those students who are needs-based scholarships? And if the answer is "yes" then does that same obligation extend to all students? And that's our walk through morals and ethics of education funding for the evening...

Red Lion - If the private christian school with more than 700 students closes due to financial hardship, a closing that seems almost probably, and parents opt for public options - again either district or charter - will the state infuse receiving schools with funding? This one's a bit trickier to predict as Red Lion students don't generate state funding b/c of their private school status.

Markell Eats Crow, Issues Executive Order Requiring Changes to FOIA in Delaware

2011-10-20T22:23:00.000-04:00

Breaking News: The NJ toots their own horn!

List of Markell Ed-Critics Growing

2011-10-20T07:58:00.000-04:00

Low enrollment, a new computer-based school model and low test scores are concerns for Wilmington City Councilman Mike Brown, who said Gov. Jack Markell's administration made a mistake when it picked K12 Inc., a Virginia-based for-profit education company, to run the school after the state Board of Education voted to revoke a local group's control.

"That's the one the governor swore to God he was going to change things around," Brown said. "That's the one where they rode in there on their white horse and said everything was going to be all right -- we got it under control, we got handpicked people, we got people who are HQT, highly qualified teachers. We got this, we got that, we got a whole lot. So, I'm still waiting on it."

That's City Councilman Mike Brown on K12's failure to attract enough students to meet the enrollment target at Moyer. Gov. Markell and DOE brought in K12 to manage the school in 2010. It was rated commendable at the time. K12 has also failed to post the mandated financials on the school website despite two state laws that demand such transparency.

Delaware's Ed Sec. Jargon Phrase of Day: The On-Ramp

2011-10-18T22:41:00.001-04:00

Delaware's on the on-ramp to providing a world class education, a state that's going to produce some of the best students in the world.

Unless, of course, you are on Route 7 approaching I-95 North. That ramp's closed...

Onto other news - potentially real news - the right to free speech

2011-10-18T10:02:00.001-04:00

From today's News Journal, a story about the ACLU, free speech, internet usage, and school districts:

In a letter sent to the district last week, Delaware ACLU legal director Richard Morse said the district's (Capital) student social media policy, still in draft form, and a separate employee policy, adopted in August, are both clear violations of First Amendment rights...

The student policy, drafted in August and listed on the Capital board's agenda for Wednesday night, contains a "Prohibited Activities" list that bars students from posting negative comments about individuals or groups based on legally protected characteristics such as race or religion...

Capital's policy governing the online conduct of staff contains the same prohibitions as the student policy, and also bars employees from posting disparaging comments about co-workers, bosses or the public, even while off the clock...

I'm going to risk being the lone wolf... I was taught that the first amendment rights are guaranteed rights in so long as they are not used to compromise or infringe upon the rights of others.

Free speech or freedom of expression is the right to speak freely without censorship. However, in practice, this right is not absolute, it's commonly subject to limitations such as libel, slander, obscenity and incitement to commit a crime.

In the context of our global community, there's another document that defines human rights - the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The Universal Declarion is recognized in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and as such the freedom of expression is recognized as Internation Law - one ratified by the United States.

However, Article 19 of the ICCPR stipulates that the exercise of these rights carries "special duties and responsibilities" and may "therefore be subject to certain restrictions" when necessary "[f]or respect of the rights or reputation of others" or "[f]or the protection of national security or of public order (order public), or of public health or morals".[1][2] Various subsequent governing documents indicate that "limitations to freedom of speech may occur through legal sanction or social disapprobation, or both."

Which brings us back to the ACLU and the Capital School District's policies - It's one thing for a citizen to take to the internet to criticize a public figure - an elected official or a department of government. Laws governing slander and libel protect the individual but do not shelter the public persona - the actions of a public person or agency. But, that same right of criticism is NOT afforded to the PRIVATE individual - a student or co-worker - or the PRIVATE life of a public figure.

Unless the NJ left out some brazen language in their story, Captial's policies do not seem to violate the right to freedom of expression in any form. The policies themselves are social disapprobation - an expression of strong disapproval and a pronouncement of what is ethically culpable and that falls right in line with the international interpretation of this human right.

Furthermore, Capital's policies are aligned to legally protected characteristics - race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, etc. When a person, citing free speech, attacks these characteristics they are essential committing a hate crime. And such behavior from a student would most certainly fall within the social definition of bullying, if not the legal definition. And when these violations occur they erode the fundamental human right to safety.

The question posed to you today: Should the freedom of expression be absolute? even if that means violating the rights of others to safety and/or protection? Should the law protect the reputation of a private individual? Does International law trump National law? And should we be permitted to say what we will even if that means hurting innocent children? Or is the ACLU over-reacting?

I believe the indoctrination began about 8 am this morning. Go Visionaries!

2011-10-18T09:02:00.001-04:00

Broad Hiring! Help Select the Next Generation of Broad Superintendents...

2011-10-17T14:02:00.003-04:00

Check out this Job Posted on TopSchoolJobs.org: Job currently posted on TopSchoolJobs.org

Deputy Director, Recruitment and Selection – The Broad Superintendents Academy

The Broad Center for the Management of School Systems
Los Angeles CA 90024 USA
Full Time - 12 Month

A Family's Loss, A Friend's Loss

2011-10-15T22:06:00.000-04:00

I lost a student a couple years ago. The reality of it touched me more deeply than any other loss I've ever felt. "Fireflies" was one of his favorite songs. As death comes to us when least we expect it, as friends, acquaintances, and family have greeted death and left indelible touches upon our hearts , this is the song I remember, this is the song I think of in those time, for comfort. Thank you to my student for the impression he left upon my life.

This week a long ago friend lost her husband. This song is for her now, too.

It's Official - Delaware to Apply for NCLB Waiver

2011-10-13T17:24:00.001-04:00

It's official according to Politics K-12 at Edweekcom:

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2011/10/yesterday_was_the_deadline_for.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS1

Delaware has filed a Notice of Intent that signifies the state's desire to apply for the NCLB waiver. Yesterday was the deadline for applicants to file a courtesy notification with US DOE.

Delaware joins 38 other applicants in providing notification. Of note - our state indicates that it intends to file for the waiver in mid-February. It should be noted that a state can change it's mind and decide not to apply for the waiver. It should also be noted that Delaware could have opted to apply for the Waiver this coming November, but for whatever reason, opted to wait until February 2012.

However, this is the burning question - If the time is now, if the time was yesterday, if we are Racing to the Top, and seeking Innovation that must be immediate - if our PZ schools have only TWO YEARS to turnaround their achievement and find proficiency - WHY IN A MILLION YEARS WOULD DEDOE APPLY FOR THIS WAIVER?

Christina to Establish First Public-Montessori Program in Delaware

2011-10-12T08:47:00.003-04:00

Last night, late in the evening, at our regularly scheduled board meeting, the Christina Board of Education voted 7-0 to establish Delaware's FIRST Public-Montessori program! Chrsitina now heads into a year of planning and preparation that culminate with Montessori classrooms in both the urban portion of our district and the suburban.

The Montessori model comes with substantial historical data validating it's methodologies which include smaller class sizes. For those in Christina who have lobbied for true education reform that directly affects the classroom, we will now embark on a three year pilot during which time we can collect and validate our own Christina-generated data!

Our Montessori model will bring new choice options to Christina students while positioning the district to offer even greater diversification in learning environments. This partnership is a win for Christina's children! I couldn't be prouder than I am today that our Board has taken the steps to invest in proven best-practices in a reknowned model.

Maria Montessori

(1870-1952), Italian educator and doctor, born in Chiaravalle, and educated at the University of Rome. She is best known for the Montessori method of teaching young children, introduced to Rome in 1907. Her method, which has since spread throughout the world, stresses the development of initiative and self-reliance by permitting children to do by themselves the things that interest them, but within strictly disciplined limits. A wide variety of special equipment of increasing complexity is used to help direct the interests of the child and hasten development.
When a child is ready to learn new and more difficult tasks, the teacher guides the child's first endeavours in order to avoid wasted effort and the learning of wrong habits; otherwise the child learns alone. It has been reported that the Montessori method has enabled children to learn to read and write much more quickly and with greater facility than has otherwise been possible. Her writings include The Montessori Method (1912) and Advanced Montessori Method (1917).There is no better investment in education than investing in our classrooms and our students. Warm Gratitidue is due to the Elementary Workshop in Wilmington for engaging Christina in several months of collaboration. Today, it's Children First!

Let's Choice to Laurel!

2011-10-11T00:49:00.001-04:00

Mayor Baker: When you are going to call the Gov a CRIMINAL? Because he just Jacked you!

2011-10-10T17:35:00.000-04:00

No bones about it - last spring when Mayor Baker called the CSD board a bunch of criminals (for doing due diligence nonetheless and ensuring process was followed with fidelity - it was later learned that process need only be followed with "substantial performance/compliance") for the Gov's misinformed decision to withdraw RTTT funding and PZ funding from the district, it upset me greatly.

So, Mayor Baker, today the Gov. pulled the PZ funding from Bayard Middle School, skipped over Warner and Brandywine - the next recipients on the list of under-performers and both of which serve the children of your constituents - and sent the funds to Laurel.

When are you going to call the Gov. out for stealing from your students? At what point does the Gov become the Criminal? I'll be the first to tell you - you got it wrong on the first go round. This is your one chance to correct your error. Demand accountability NOW! Demand that DOE fund PZ for Warner or Brandywine!

There's no nice way to say this - But, WTF happened at DOE today?

2011-10-10T15:17:00.000-04:00

Breaking News - Rick Jensen show on PZ bumble$uck! http://www.wdel.com/

DOE pulls PZ funding from Bayard Middle School and sends it to Laurel.

Well, that's a fine howdoyado!

Sometimes I wonder if there's intelligent life on that planet...

2011-10-10T00:11:00.002-04:00

Gov. Renders DE Diploma Useless and Brags About It!

2011-10-10T00:03:00.000-04:00

If you didn't read the Gov's byline in Sunday's News Journal, you may want to check it out ... maybe. Depends how much propaganda you can stomach.

I know a couple other Delaware bloggers have already run with it - Kilroy, Transparent Christina. Even with their great evaluations, I have one bone to pick about the piece. Here goes:

The Gov writes:

Together, we are raising expectations around what it means to be proficient in core subjects like reading and math; measuring students against their own progress instead of against a snapshot of the class that came before them; and helping lead the nation in the adoption of Common Core Standards so a Delaware diploma can be recognized in any state as a symbol of achievement.

If we inflict the truth on this statement, it would read like this:
Together, I, Gov. Markell, and the Delaware Department of ,who bow to my every whim and whimper, have decreased academic expectations. With the new DCAS, individual students must perform better because the test is harder in order to achieve their same scores as under the old DSTP. However, together, we duped my appointed State Board of Education in agreeing to allow the DOE to drop the proficiency rate - so culmulatively-speaking fewer actual students had score at the assigned profiency rate in order for a school to be ranked Superior or Commendable. With these changes, I have rendered the Delaware Diploma system useless.
While the DOE embarks on the implementation of common core standards, which admittedly are an over-stretch of federal intrustion (and have been interpretted by many to be flat out illegal), it's important to note that potential employers of this generation will have wade through data, coached and manipulated, to find real value in the diploma itself. If a school's reputation is known to be Superior and a student comes to an employer bearing a diploma from a reputable school, one might assume that the student actually mastered the common core standards and therefore would be a logical and attractive employee. But, if that same school achieved the Superior or Commendable rating based squarely on "growth" that diploma may simply be useless as it is not a marker of profiency, but an indicator of growth.

All the font in red - That's my critical evaluation of the Gov's latest kool-aide.

This one goes out to Jack:

RTTT Jargon Phrase of the Day

2011-10-06T13:38:00.002-04:00

Thought Partner

The role of a Thought Partner is to think with the client in a way that makes the process of thinking explicit and allows the client to see the implications of the thinking process on his or her goals, actions and conditions for performance. It is not the role of the Thought Partner to be more informed, more correct, more logical or more incisive than the client. It is the role of the Thought Partner to attend to the conditions of the dialogue in a way that enables the client to think more clearly and effectively toward his or her goals.

The critical faculties for being a great Thought Partner are listening without criticism, reflecting a client's thinking back to him accurately and without judgment and sharing insights emerging from the dialogue with no emotional attachment to being viewed as right or brilliant or any other favorable or unfavorable assessment. The Thought Partner is more than a parrot, in that he or she must think the thoughts of the client and then reflect them back, not merely repeat the words. Neither is the Thought Partner merely a foil for the client's thinking. http://www.thoughtpartner.net/index.php?/archives/3-What-is-a-Thought-Partner.html

For a much better Translation of "Thought Partner," go HERE.

RTTT Phrase of the Day!

2011-10-05T09:40:00.000-04:00

substantial performance (compliance) legal definition

noun

A doctrine in equity that if a good faith attempt was made to perform the requirements of a contract, but failed to exactly meet the specifics, and if the essential aim of the contract has been met, the agreement will still be considered as having been completed. Minimal damages for the impreciseness may be permitted by the court. See also performance.

Webster's New World Law Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc. http://law.yourdictionary.com/substantial-performance-compliance

Moyer, now Middletown. What's in the H2O?

2011-10-04T15:32:00.000-04:00

Middletown High locked down after girl found with three knives.

And to think, our Governor wanted to replace our SROs with rookie cops. Thank goodness that never happened!

Stephen Colbert Forms Anonymous Shell Corporation in Delaware to Funnel Anonymous Donations to Super PAC.

2011-10-04T09:19:00.005-04:00

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/398531/september-29-2011/colbert-super-pac---trevor-potter---stephen-s-shell-corporation?xrs=share_copy

More Trouble at Moyer

2011-10-04T07:59:00.000-04:00

Police Charge Teacher, Three Students

DOE Plays Games with Charters - Chooses Which Laws to Enforce

2011-10-01T16:50:00.002-04:00

I get a myriad of email through my inbox. To date, I have more than 1400. Every once in a while, one sparks my interest. This particular one may even spark the interest of Paul Herdman and Rodel's Vision Network.

This came through earlier this week:

A Delaware Charter School has raised an issue of Charter Law - specifically violations of Title 14, Chapter 5, 506 (c.3). This clause states that families enrolling their student in a charter school for the first time must sign a one-time one year contract committing them to keep their child at said charter school for the full year. The request to DOE was about enforcement capabilities as some parents and students signed the contract and then withdrew their students and enrolled them in the traditional public schools. The traditional public schools appear complacent to violate the law as they did not stop the enrollment from occurring.

While I have to admit that I don't quite get the law itself, I wasn't around when it was written. My guess is that it was to stem students from committing to several schools and then waiting for the last minute to decide which school to go to - which makes it difficult for schools/districts to hire teaching staff and purchase materials within budget.

Here's the response to the query:

From: Cruce Daniel

To: XXXX
Cc: XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX,
Sent: Wed, Sep 28, 2011
Subject: RE: Charter student contracts

Thank you for raising your concerns regarding this issue After reviewing the issue with our internal team, it has been determined that students not in attendance at your school during the last 10 days of September do not qualify for inclusion in the September 30th unit count.

I would like to illuminate several points below germane to this issue:

The first year agreement letter, signed by parents per 14 Del.C. §506 (c) (3), is a written confirmation between the charter school and the parent. This written confirmation, or violation of this written confirmation, is exclusively between the charter school and the parent.
State funding is based on where a student is enrolled and attending during the last 10 days of school in September.

Students not in attendance during the last 10 days of school in September cannot be included in a district or charter school unit count as outlined in 14 DE Admin.Code 701 Unit Count 2.1.

DDOE addresses all regulations and requirements for the inclusion and exclusion of students in the September 30th unit count in our Unit Count training sessions.

o These training sessions require representation from all districts and charter schools.

The summary document and multiple other related resources are available in the Unit Count PLUS program under Help & Documentation.

We understand the concerns this issue raises at your school and appreciate the opportunity to reiterate the above clarifications. As stated previously, we want to ensure the success of all schools while also ensuring that unit count regulations are specifically followed. Inherent in this effort is the intent that parents have the information they need to make informed decisions about their child's education.
Respectfully-

Dan

------------------------------------

Here's my admittedly under-educated take:

1) Directing the conversation to the Sept. 30th unit count is a diversion tactic. Deflect from the real issue.

2) The Real Issue: DOE chooses which laws to enforce. DOE via RTTT claims to be pro-charter. However, DOE, and vicariously, the Governor are not willing to enforce Charter law and regulation. What DOE says and what DOE does are two very different things. And this is just another indication that DOE is NOT pro-charter, despite 'sclaims otherwise. DOE is pro-business. My predication is that the movement of charters in Delaware will go down like this : instead of home grown localized charters, outside Charter Management Organizations are poised to enter the Delaware market, either through take over as seen at Moyer or via Innovative Schools which seems to have a monopoly on the Charter School economy in Delaware. You name the service you need, Innovative has it. One-stop-shopping. Wonder how many sole-source contracts Innovative has gotten over the last two-three years?

Yeah, so I'm a conspiracy theorist. At the end of the day, the law's the LAW. DOE should enforce it and that enforcement capability occurs on the receiving end - those districts that take kids despite signed contracts when good cause does not exist. Why should the Charter school be punished for plannnig according to committments via loss of funds on Sept. 30th and why should a district benefit from the violation of state law? Maybe DOE needs to look at withholding funding for any student in violation of the 1 year contract provision. Districts must adhere to the law. Despite the lure of funding, they need to set the example for parents who are trying to game the system. They need to work in partnership with Charters to ensure choice is not corrupted.

If districts don't set a good example for students when parents are playing the system, who will?

Maybe Paul Herdmann and Vision will step up to the plate and actually advocate for the charters they claim to support. DOE has no mind to listen to me. But, they might be compelled to enforce the law if the power-brokers at Vision are up in arms.

Disability Advocates Skeptical of NCLB Waivers

2011-09-23T20:32:00.000-04:00

"While today's proposal has a strong and proper focus on the lowest-achieving 5 percent of schools in a state, there is not sufficient attention on the schools that struggle to consistently meet the academic needs of students with disabilities and other at-risk students," said Laura Kaloi, of the NCLD. "Millions of students with disabilities in these schools also need the benefit of school-wide instructional reform..." - National Center on Learning Disabilities

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/speced/2011/09/disability_groups_react_to_oba.html

Rest Peacefully, Lt. Joseph Szczerba

2011-09-23T09:27:00.001-04:00

Colorado Schools "Fight Club"

2011-09-20T21:52:00.001-04:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/20/colorado-high-school-fight-club-video_n_971978.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmaing9%7Cdl12%7Csec3_lnk2%7C97391

For Every Action There is An Equal But Opposite Reaction - Capano Dead.

2011-09-19T14:02:00.001-04:00

That's the first lesson I learned in 9th grade physical science. It was the theory I applied (for extra credit) to the Magic Johnson HIV controversy. My science teacher was a bit of a neanderthal man - short, curved, with a gruff body builder's physique and a die-hard sports enthusiast. He had a small role in the movie My Blue Heaven. He considered it his gateway Hollywood prominence. He lasted only one year as a teacher and his 15 minutes of fame where just that - by 10th grade he was nobody.

This weekend Delaware lost one of their own - a tremendously wonderful police officer who died protecting Delawareans.

For every action there is an equal but opposite reaction.

Tom Capano was found dead in his cell this afternoon.

An angel has gone to heaven. A murderer is on his way to hell.

I am not totally callous and cold-hearted. My heart mourns for Tom Capano's children in the same way it mourned for Anne Marie Fahey's family.

I was 17 when Anne Marie disappeared. I know exactly where I was when I first heard about it. As a young journalist in college, I followed her story. Because Delaware is so small, I had a distant connection to the man who bought Jerry's boat, sans anchor. I knew why the police were searching Cherry Island - for Capano's couch believed to have been disposed of in a dumpster on a family construction site - even when law enforcement managed to keep the documents sealed from the press. The NJ fought to get access to those warrants.

My new husband and I took turns reading the Ann Rule book "And Never Let Her Go" on our honeymoon to California in 1999. This past Friday, the same day that one of our finest had his life stolen, one of the Verizon channels in the 121-140 block aired its Anne Marie Fahey documentary again.

The NJ is reporting that Capano's death appears to have been of natural causes. It's heart-wrenching that Ann Marie wasn't granted the same peace in passing.

See, I'm not all that bad. I'm just willing to put in writing what many in Delaware are feeling. Justice for Anne Marie. Finally.

PZ - Focus Area 4: Flexible Operating Conditions - A pathway to a city "district?"

2011-09-17T00:45:00.000-04:00

Partnership Zone Thoughts -

If Focus Area 4 - Flexible Operating Conditions - is a stipulation of both Tranformation and Turnaround (two of the four models) could the CSD BOE install a new "body" to oversee the governance of its two newest PZ schools? A REQUIREMENT of both of these PZ models is to "Adopt a new governance structure." Should Christina use this oportunity to return control to the neighborhoods from which the students that attend these schools are drawn? Could CSD develop a governing structure that places direct leadership into the hands of the City residents and thereby establishes a foundation that ensures these schools are truly "community" schools within their urban settings?

Is PZ the pathway to establishing something akin to a city district -a concept that a strong cohort of urban elected officials and community organizers is already behind? They've approached Gov. Markell and contacted the Northern New Castle County School Boards requesting their ideas receive fair review. They've marched in Wilmington and been highlighted in stories in the News Journal.

The real question - Is Delaware ready to think innovatively? And is Christina ready to lead? Nothing about Race to the Top is certain. There is no data to show the models work. In fact, I believe RTTT is the greatest education fallacy of our time - but, if this is the mechanism that allows my constituents to take the reigns of at least some of their schools in a new, creative, innovative manner; perhaps it's the route for which we should all be advocating... Maybe it's time to install a governing body that falls within Christina's domain but allows for greater autonomy - in a manner similar to the way that Charter School Boards act with autonomy in leading their schools with respect to their authorizers, such as the case with many of the charters located in the Red Clay School District. In my proposed version, Christina would continue to provide the administrative guidance and back office support - but the unpaid governing body at these two PZ schools would establish the mission and policies that relect their values and make the operating decisions that ensure the success of their schools.

Of course, you might just say - Why don't you Charter those schools then? Chartering may require (the jury's out) invoking those certain provisions of the law that are time and process consuming. PZ regulations require that districts submit plans within 90 days for approval. Considering that no Public School in Delaware has ever gone through the conversion process, a 90 day window will likely not suffice to complete the requirements of the conversion law.

Well, readers, what are your thoughts, and Kilroy, I expect to hear from you!

Philly district to foot ENTIRE Ackerman bill, even after she violates the separation agreement, and now donors back out.

2011-09-08T18:19:00.001-04:00

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/homepage-feature/item/26180-philly-school-district-will-foot-entire-905000-bill-for-ackerman-buyout
Philly schools will foot entire $905,000 bill for Ackerman buyout
September 7, 2011
By Dave Davies

The School District of Philadelphia has paid former Superintendent Arlene Ackerman a $905,000 separation payment entirely with tax dollars.

The district late Wednesday also announced its decision not to pursue legal action against Ackerman for her public criticisms of a school district official.

Under the separation agreement negotiated with Ackerman, she was to refrain from any public comments that would injure the reputation of other schools officials. However, Ackerman sharply criticized district chief financial officer Michael Masch, and officials were considering a legal action to void or reduce her separation payment.

In a statement, the School Reform Commission, which governs the district, said while it disagrees with Ackerman's assertions, it believes its efforts are better spent on teaching kids than going to court. The statement also said most of the private donors who'd pledged $405,000 toward Ackerman's separation payment backed out after a public controversy over the use of anonymous donations. Instead, the entire $905,000 payment will come from the beleaguered school district.

Why Jack Markell Needs to build schools 10 % closer to students homes!

2011-09-08T09:32:00.002-04:00

http://www.wgmd.com/?p=34164&cpage=1#comment-70294

Outrage in Cape Henlopen over new bus routes caused by Jack's 10% transportation push off to the local districts. And who was the board member who called the WGMD and asked them not to report on the issue? (listen to the end)

Thanks, Jack. Your commitment to education leaves me speechless.

Ackerman wasn't Pennsylvania's only big buy-out

2011-09-07T17:05:00.000-04:00

Supersized Buyouts for School Chiefs Scrutinized

Wow! What a read! PA/Oregon/Texas. with legislative attempts in Oregon to change Superintendent contracts. And, you can't beat the special office for the non-renewed superintendent who wasn't terminiated. Wow!

Rest Peacefully, Dr. Skinner. Your contributions are indelible to Delaware's Autism Community. Thank You.

2011-09-07T15:12:00.001-04:00

Charles Kimball Skinner

Charles Kimball Skinner, D.D.S., age 75, of Newark, DE, died on Sunday, September 4, 2011, at Christiana Hospital from respiratory failure.

Born in Wilmington, DE, on September 13, 1935, Charles was the son of the late Dr. Glenn Seymour Skinner and Dr. Pauline Kimball Skinner.

He graduated from Newark High School in 1953, where he was valedictorian of his class, and from the University of Delaware in 1957, with distinction and honors in chemistry.

A graduate of Temple University School of Dentistry, Class of 1961, Charles became a member of Omicron Kappa Upsilon Honorary Dental Fraternity and John A. Kolmer Honorary Medical Society. After dental school, he served as a captain in the US Air Force until 1963, when he established his private practice in Newark, lasting for 43 years until his retirement. He was a member of the American Dental Association, Delaware State Dental Society, Academy of Operative Dentistry, Academy of Gold Foil Operators, Fellow of the Royal Society of Health, Sons of the American Revolution, and National Society Americans of Royal Descent.

Perhaps his greatest achievement and pride was editing the legislative bill to create Delaware's educational program for autistic children, one of the first and most comprehensive in the United States. Charles also spent many years advocating for equal living and employment opportunities for the disabled at the state and federal level. Some of his writings were even included in the Federal Register.

Charles is survived by his loving wife of 46 years, Helen Cochran Skinner; children, Charles K. Skinner Jr. of New Castle, Daniel Skinner of Annapolis, MD, and Julie Skinner of Eagle River, AZ; brother, Dr. Glenn Skinner Jr. and wife, Barbara, of Sunnyside, WA; sister-in-law, Margaret Cochran of Newark, DE; grandchildren, Katherine Skinner and Genevieve Skinner; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his sister, Marcelle Baker, sister-in-law, Janet Lee, and brother-in-law, John Cochran.

Services will be held privately at London Grove Friends Burial Ground in Kennett Square, PA.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Delaware Foundation for Autistic Citizens, Inc., 711 Nottingham Road, Newark, DE 19711.

SPICER-MULLIKIN FUNERAL HOMES & CREMATORY
To sign guest book, visit
spicermullikin.com
302-328-2213

Back to School Guide - Reclaiming Your Child's Education

2011-09-02T23:27:00.001-04:00

What it means to opt out of The Test!

Back to School Guide: Reclaiming Your Child’s Education (1/2)
By Kerri Provost, August 31, 2011 2:53 pm

In March of 2011, the mother of a straight-A Hartford student called up the principal to say that her daughter, Caridad¹, “will not be taking the test.”

The test, in this case, happened to be the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT), which is administered to all students in grades 3-8, every year. About one week is dedicated to the actual test (seven hours in all), though the level of preparation varies from school-to-school, with some assigning test prep homework all year round. Caridad, who was in the seventh grade when she opted out, attends one of the schools that puts less emphasis than others on the standardized state tests...

http://www.realhartford.org/2011/08/31/back-to-school-guide-reclaiming-your-childs-education-12/

PZ: You Never Know Who's Looking Back...

2011-09-02T18:07:00.001-04:00

Precisely why Arts can never be eliminated from school! Welcome to the Jungle!

2011-09-01T18:16:00.001-04:00

Make's me wish I had learned an instrument as a child...

Dear Anonymous,

2011-09-01T09:58:00.000-04:00

Dear Anonymous,

I am sorry if my writings sound mean. My comparison is not directed at schools, but at the department that changed the ratings system and essentially rendered it useless.

Children are my passion, providing access to clear, comprehendable data is part and parcel to that passion.

The new system invalidates the historical data. The untrained eye will look at school profiles and see a superior school and actually think that school is superior when in fact it may be one of the 40ish who fails to meet the federal minimums.

The designers of this altered system had one obvious motive in mind when they implemented it - Make DCAS and RTTT look like they are working to ensure voter buy-in. The public is being scammed and if they don't live and die education they won't realize it.

It's shameful.

As for my schools - I am proud of each and every one for their achievements. But, my desire for these schools and teachers is to internally celebrate this moment in time and then use that affirmation to propel them into a new school year and return to the mission at hand - teaching children, not the test, but to be life long achievers of all of their goals.

The benchmark will rise by about 1/3 next year. Approx. 1/3 more children must achieve profiency for our schools to maintain their ratings. While the natural reaction is that this a moment to savor, we cannot be satisfied, knowing that the bar was lowered by a department that is supposed to be dedicated to achievement.

49- 50 %

2011-08-31T14:07:00.000-04:00

Tell me this:

If the measure of a superior builder is that 1/2 of his buildings don't fall down, would you hire him to build your house?

You're turn: Send me your analogies of the 1/2 time show at DOE?

Race to the Middle - or just stuck in the middle?

2011-08-31T00:20:00.002-04:00

What would a nursing home look like if you applied the same standards to healthcare that the state has now applied to AYP? Only 49-50 percent of the residents would be required to receive "proficient" care - no bed sores, working wheelchairs, functional respiratory devices, nutritious meals, baths, freedom from med errors. God, you better hope to be in the 50 percent of haves. Because life would be hell for the have-nots. And yet, the home would still have a superior rating and a body count! Coveted 5 stars, well if it was education it would be the coveted 3 stars.

BTW - it is nearly impossible to receive the 5 star Medicaid rating. Only 1-2 long-term care facilities in the state of Delaware have achieved that rating and maintained it since the system was implemented. But, hey, we're celebrating huge AYP gains across the state b/c only half of our students were required to be proficient in order to achieve AYP. Come on! 30+ schools failed to meet fed. minimums and yet they are rated Superior???

Yeah? and in the real world, if only half the residents in a nursing home received genuine, competent care, the facility wouldn't be rated Superior, THE PUBLIC, STATE, LEGISLATORS, and GOVERNOR WOULD DEMAND THAT THE FACILITY BE CLOSED and Dir. of Nursing and Medical Director WOULD BE JAILED! IMPRISONED! LOCK THE DOOR, THROW AWAY THE KEY! (seriously, not kidding.)

What hell is wrong with this picture?

The Race to the Middle

2011-08-29T19:20:00.003-04:00

A very wise man once told me that if your objective is for 49% of your students to be proficient in math and 50% to be proficient in reading, then you are truly not Racing to the Top. You are racing to the middle.

AYPAYPAYPAYDAYPAYPAYPAYPAYPAYDAYAYPAYPAYPAYPAYPAYPA

The AYP Fallacy

2011-08-29T14:06:00.017-04:00

AYP - Adequate Yearly Progress

The time honored tradition of No Child Left Behind. A rating system that allow researchers, policy-makers, and parents to gauge the success or failure of schools. Except now, that system, as terrible or wonderful as it may have been, has been thoroughly corrupted creating a sea of meaningless scores and more haze and confusion than the smoggy movement of common core standards.

In today's News Journal, DE Sec. of Education Lillian Lowery is quoted as saying, "While I laud schools that made strong academic progress, I caution about trying to compare this year's ranking to last year's," Secretary of Education Lillian Lowery said in a statement. "Because of the changes to the ranking system ... it is not fair to try to equate them."

That's because you can't. Because DOE has essentially rendered the system useless.

And, Dr. Lowery, I, too, laud them because I know I have amazing people in my classrooms who are working every day to help kids achieve.

Here's how it went down:
1) Delaware adopted DCAS, a growth model test to replace the very flawed DSTP.
2) With that adoption, the State Board of Education approved raising cut scores - that means that individual students had to get more answers right to attain the same achievement categories as they did under DSTP. All in the name of rigor!
3) The State, with the approval of the feds, also made a lesser known put equally important change to its very secretive AYP formula. From NJ: "the U.S. Department of Education agreed that Delaware should move its 2011 minimum test score targets in reading from 84 percent proficient to 50 percent and in math from 75 percent proficient to 49 percent."

Translation - Even though individual students had to get more answers right to attain the same success as last year or to show progress, fewer students collectively actually had to show that achievement for schools to attain higher AYP ratings.

So a school that was failing last year could be rated superior this year even if only 1/2 of the student population can read, write, or perform math proficiently.

4) DOE implemented DCAS in 2010-11 at all schools.
5) The result became public yesterday.

Of the schools rated this year, 137 earned a "superior" rating, 32 were "commendable" and 37 were on "academic watch." It is possible to fail to meet federal test score goals and still receive a "superior" rating: 42 schools failed to meet federal goals but still earned a state ranking as "superior." - News Journal

AYP - The Incomparable Results

There are two things in education in Delaware that are indelible. 1) When the sec. of education says "human capital" she is utilizing business jargon to depersonalize what we all common know and revere as "teachers." 2) When she says something shouldn't be compared, you need to immediately compare it. And a picture tells a thousand tales.

While the following graph is based on the information printed in today's version of the news journal's story on AYP, when I initially ran the data in the story, I noticed something was missing -- Approx. 50 schools. I checked with the reporter and the NJ updated the story today with accurate data, so I've updated the graph. What story do you hear when you read it?

Generators, every make and model, major price drop!

2011-08-28T17:52:00.000-04:00

Irene has come and gone. And with her the $1k to $5k generators for sale on Craigslist. Amazing thing happened this morning - huge price cut. Still more than you'd spend retail. But, hey, if you need one go here: http://delaware.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=portable+generator&srchType=A&minAsk=&maxAsk=

Try these search terms on CL for the best variety - "generator," "generators," and "portable generators"

My fav at the height of the panic: Aug 26 - 10,000 kw Baldor Generator - $4000 (Dover) tools

Hurricane Humor

2011-08-26T14:19:00.001-04:00

Have you picked up french toast makin's yet? Milk, bread, eggs? After receiving the warning call from Delmarva, it's probably fairly safe to assume you'll be cooking by D batteries. What? Can't find D batteries? Is your store sold out? Well, Walgreen's had some kind of sale on batteries this week and they are all stocked up. Head there.

And now for an Ode to Irene:

This one is a bit better than the first. It was written for the last storm named Irene in 1999.

State releases school ratings, completes the Texas Two Step! #netDE from transparentchristina

2011-08-26T10:38:00.000-04:00

From Transparentchristina.wordpress.com.
Go Here to see how your school ranks - http://transparentchristina.wordpress.com/2011/08/26/state-releases-school-ratings-completes-the-texas-two-step-netde/

BUT DONT MISS THE IMPORTANT TEXT IN PR STATEMENT BELOW CONCERNING AMO RESET!

State Releases 2011 School Ratings
Release Date: Aug 26, 2011 7:29 AM ShareThis

Delaware’s Department of Education today released its first set of annual school ratings since the state raised requirements for student proficiency in core subjects and streamlined school rating categories.

While the changes in the ratings system, consolidation of categories and a reset of the state’s Annual Measureable Objectives (AMO) make a direct comparison to last year’s ratings more difficult, the new ratings provide a sustainable baseline to measure schools against the state’s higher expectations for student performance. The shift from seven to three rating categories, which separates school ratings and school improvement statuses, also brings more clarity around school performance.

In 2011, 137 Delaware schools earned “superior” ratings, 32 were rated “commendable” and 37 were rated as under “academic watch.” Last year, 66 schools were rated “superior,” 17 schools “commendable,” 46 schools “academic review,” 0 schools “academic progress,” 26 schools “academic progress – under improvement,” 0 schools “academic watch” and 37 schools “academic watch – under improvement.”

Under the new accountability system, schools are classified in one of three categories:

•Superior means that the school is “above” targets

•Commendable means the school “meets” targets

•Academic Watch means the school is “below” targets

While the ratings provide a view into a school’s overall performance, a school also can receive an additional status of “under improvement” if it failed to meet annual yearly progress performance targets for two or more consecutive years in a specific area or areas. Those areas can include: participation in reading or math; performance in reading or math; or issues around other academic indicators, such as graduation rate or attendance rate.

A total of 66 schools have been designated “under improvement” this year, 32 of which made adequate yearly progress but are frozen in that status until they do so for two consecutive years. The other 34 did not make AYP.

Federal law and Delaware regulations require that certain corrective actions be taken by schools designated as “under improvement.”

In addition to simplifying the school rating system, the Delaware Department of Education — with the support of the state’s districts and charter schools and at the recommendation of the U.S. Department of Education — applied for a reset of its Annual Measurable Objective (AMO). “AMO” refers to the percentage of students within a school who must be proficient in reading and mathematics on state standardized tests each year as required under federal No Child Left Behind regulations. Under the 2001 law, all students must demonstrate proficiency in reading and mathematics by 2013-2014.

The “reset” changed the interim AMO “steps” or target percentages schools must meet but still adheres to the requirement that 100 percent of Delaware public school students in grades 3-8 and 10 demonstrate proficiency in reading and mathematics by 2013-14.

The change to the AMOs was the result of the introduction last school year of a new statewide assessment and higher proficiency standards, which raise the bar for what level of mastery is considered proficient. Other states also were granted similar resets due to changes in their state assessment or other policy changes.

The state followed a federal formula to determine the new interim steps, which moved schools’ reading target for 2011 from 84 percent to 50 percent of students being proficient and the math target from 75 percent to 49 percent.

The Saddest Sight These Eyes Have Seen...

2011-08-25T22:30:00.001-04:00

Loyal dog guards Navy SEAL
http://www.joe.ie/joe-life/life-features/loyal-dog-guards-navy-seal-coffin-0015265-1's coffin

yesterday at 12:14 pm

The dog of a US Navy SEAL killed in action remained loyal to his master - even after death.

At the funeral of Petty Officer Jon Tumilson, 35, many were sad to see their loved one being laid to rest, but it was his dog Hawkeye that took it the hardest. The loyal labrador stayed beside Jon, even in death, at his funeral in Iowa last week.

Jon was one of the 38 servicemen killed when Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan downed a US Army Chinook.

During the funeral last Friday, Hawkeye walked up to the casket, heaved a sigh and lay down in front of it for the duration of the memorial. The photograph of a lonely Hawkeye was taken by Jon’s cousin Lisa Pembleton at the service, which was attended by 1,500 people.

Lisa posted the photo on a military blog with the sole message reading ‘Jon’s loyal son’. Lisa told reporters, “I hadn’t planned on taking any pictures other than with family. The message posted on Home Post read:

Hawkeye is/was his loyal “son”. To say that he was an amazing man doesn’t do him justice. The loss of Jon to his family, military family and friends is immeasurable. I hadn’t planned on taking any pictures other than with family. However, from my seat at the funeral, I felt compelled to take one photo to share with family members that couldn’t make it or couldn’t see what I could from the aisle. This is that photo…

Find more artists like Indigo Girls at Myspace Music

Survey for New Charters in Wilmington

2011-08-20T19:39:00.001-04:00

I stumbled upon this last night through a link from the Innovative Schools website: http://www.makemineamodelschool.org/

I haven't heard these names in recent conversation nor seen any press, but it appears that two Charter Management Groups are scoping out Delaware, specifically Wilmington, for their next big ventures. For that matter, just b/c I hadn't heard of them, doesn't mean they aren't already working on the chartering process with DOE.

Here's some info from the high school survey:

About the Big Picture High School Model

Big Picture High School model is a dynamic approach to learning, doing, and thinking that has been changing the lives of students, educators, and entire communities since 1995. Development by Big Picture Learning and designed as a small school with personalized attention, all components of the school design are based on three foundational principles:

(1) that learning must be based on the interests and goals of each student; (2) that a student’s curriculum must be relevant to people and places that exist in the real world; and (3) that a student’s abilities must be authentically measured by the quality of his or her work.

At Big Picture, classrooms are small, with approximately 15 students, and are run by Advisor-Student-Parent-Mentor teams. Students who attend a Big Picture High School spend three days a week in the classroom and two days a week in internships with a mentor. Small advisory groups complement the internships through the development of an individualized learning plan with input from the student, parents, advisor and mentor. Students who participate in the BIG Picture High School graduate with a diverse portfolio of work experiences that prepare them to make informed decisions about college and their career.

Big Picture High Schools have transformed the lives of high schools students nationwide. Compared with traditional high schools, Big Picture schools have an average graduation rate of a 92% and a college acceptance rate of 95%. You can learn more and view videos on the BIG Picture High School model at www.innovativeschools.org or at www.bigpicture.org.

Info on the proposed new elementary charter from the press release:

The proposed elementary school will be designed specifically to serve Spanish speaking students in the Hilltop area of the city, and will replicate the Expeditionary Learning model. Utilizing project-based learning, the Expeditionary Learning model challenges students with high-level tasks and active roles in the classroom. Students in Expeditionary Learning schools:

 Work with experts – scientists, historians, mathematicians, writers, and artists – to conduct field research to learn and produce high quality academic products that meet professional standards  Hold themselves and their peers to high expectations for quality work, and are committed to learning  Take leadership roles in their schools and communities  Engage their families and communities in their learning by leading family conferences and making formal presentations to expert panels  Contribute to their communities through meaningful service embedded in the curriculum.

Follow the link and check out the survey -
http://www.makemineamodelschool.org/

all-in-all, an informative read.

DOE RFP for Lead Partners - yes, I said "lead partners"

2011-08-19T22:01:00.001-04:00

Delaware is doing the hard work required to be a Mass Insight Turnaround State - remember, folks, we were chosen to be one of their lab rats, among a cohort of states/districts that agreed to implement their unproven, unresearched school turnaround strategies.

During the first round of PZ schools, the MI language was a bit sanitized. "Lead Partners" were called "Coordninating Partners." However, one can't help but think of Mass Insight when reading the state's RFP for Lead Partners: http://www.doe.k12.de.us/rfp/DDOESTULeadPartnerRFQ-FINAL8-3-11.pdf

It's not Mass Insight's m.o. to come apply to be a lead partner so there's no fear there. It's just a quiet reminder that our DOE did commit us to what is becoming the social experiment of our time.

Some highlights from the RFP:

Delaware will challenge its local education agencies to work together to achieve the following goals:  60% proficiency on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) on Grade 4 Math; 55% proficiency on Grade 4 Reading, Grade 8 Math and Grade 8 Reading by 2015.  Racial (black-white and Hispanic-white) and income (low income-high income) achievement gaps that close by half on NAEP by 2015.  100% of students meeting state standards on the Delaware state math and reading exams by 2014.  A No Child Left Behind graduation rate of 90% for the class entering high school in 2014.  A college enrollment rate of 70% by 2014.  A college retention rate of 85% by 2014, as measured by the percent of college students who complete at least one year of college credits within two years.

All LEAs have the option of choosing to work with a Lead Turnaround Partner to help plan and manage the turnaround process. LEAs may choose to outsource management of Partnership Zone schools to a third party operating partner. Lead Partners should be identified and agreed upon in the LEA’s proposed plan with a preliminary contract and be approved by the Secretary before funds can be released. If the Secretary does not approve the plan, or a plan is not made within 120 days, the LEA must choose to close the school, reopen as a charter, or contract with a private management organization.

The role of the Lead Partner is typically defined by four overarching responsibilities:

1. Accountability. The Lead Partner is held accountable for results through an MOU that outlines accountability measures, performance monitoring expectations, and impact metrics.

2. Governance. The Lead Partner collaborates with the school/district in decision making on school operations and staffing including hiring a new principal or approving the current one and supporting the principal in staffing an effective cohort of new or rehired instructional staff

3. Comprehensive services. The Lead Partner provides core academic and student support services directly or by aligning the services of other program and support partners that may sub-contract with the Lead Partner

4. Embedded, consistent school presence. The Lead Partner maintains an embedded, consistent, and intense relationship with each school that requires a daily presence in the school during the turnaround period throughout the length of the contract

I guess what stands out the most is that there are absolutely no references to working with local control or school boards or boards of education...

Rest Peacefully, Creed C. Black

2011-08-19T19:34:00.007-04:00

“As every editor knows, a newspaper can generally avoid controversy and criticism if it will publish everything that people want published, suppress any news that may be unpleasant to anyone, close its eyes when it sees some wrongdoing and remain silent when vigorous leadership that might offend someone is needed.” --Creed C. Black

The following obituary is from the News Journal. A much more thorough and thoughtful piece can be found at http://www.kentucky.com/2011/08/16/1847393/former-herald-leader-publisher.html

Creed C. Black, a former vice president and editor of The News Journal newspapers, has died in Florida at age 86.

He was more recently publisher at the Lexington Herald-Leader in Kentucky, where he made dramatic changes from 1977 to 1988, the paper reported.

In Wilmington, Black resigned in 1964 in a dispute over coverage of the DuPont Co. The New York Times reports the resignation came “after the papers’ owner brought in a public relations executive from the DuPont Company to help manage the news department. DuPont was by far the most important company in town, and Mr. Black accused the owner of the newspapers, a securities firm controlled by the DuPont family, of wanting to make the papers, The Morning News and The Evening Journal, DuPont “house organs.” The newspapers were later sold to Gannett Co. Inc.

In the 1970s, Black was a top executive at the Philadelphia Inquirer.

In 1983, Black oversaw the Lexington Herald and The Lexington Leader consolidate into one newspaper and oversaw the construction of a new newspaper plant.

The Herald-Leader won its first Pulitzer Prize under his watch.

Daily circulation at the newspaper increased by 28 percent and Sunday circulation grew by 61 percent making the Herald-Leader the dominant regional newspaper in the area.

Black died Tuesday at Baptist Hospital in Miami.

Gov. Markell FINALLY signs the Charter School Accountability Bill HB 205

2011-08-19T14:39:00.000-04:00

http://governor.delaware.gov/news/2011/1108august/20110819-charter_schools.shtml
August 19, 2011

Governor Signs Charter School Legislation

Law increases oversight and accountability for charter schools

Governor Jack Markell signed into law today a bill that will strengthen education for Delaware children by increasing accountability and improving oversight of charter schools.

“Charter schools complement the work of our traditional public schools, bringing flexibility and creativity that can be a good fit for many students and teachers,” said Markell. “Charter schools empower parents to choose the school that best fits their child’s needs. But the promise of charter schools is not just added flexibility – it is added flexibility coupled with heightened accountability.”

The Markell administration worked closely with legislators, charter schools, and the Delaware State Education Association (DSEA) to pass House Bill 205. The law is designed to better ensure that individuals requesting a charter are qualified to govern a school by requiring criminal background checks and disclosure of financial interests in the school.

The new law also requires that charter schools share more information about their fiscal health throughout the year and changes the way that state funding is disbursed to new charter schools to bring financial challenges to light earlier.

“This law will help the state give stronger options, support and oversight to ensure our charter schools provide children the education they deserve and taxpayers the accountability they deserve,” said Dr. Lillian Lowery, Delaware’s Secretary of Education.

Moving forward, the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will have greater authority to intervene once a problem is identified. If a charter school is on formal review, a Financial Recovery Team may be appointed to examine the school’s finances, provide information to parents and teachers, and make certain financial decisions.

An improved timeline for charter renewals will allow parents and teachers to know earlier if a charter will not be renewed, enabling parents to apply to another school through the state’s school choice program. In the case that a charter school is slated for closure, the new law shortens the timeframe for a high-performing charter school to obtain a charter to serve those students.

“This makes some important changes, both in terms of imposing greater accountability on charter schools and giving parents time to meet their children’s educational needs if a charter should fail,” said Sen. David Sokola, D-Newark, who sponsored the state’s original charter school law. “But these are evolutionary changes that build on what we’ve learned about charters that allow us to build an even stronger charter school program.”

Representative Terry Schooley, who sponsored HB 205, noted that there have been some ups and downs through the years with charter schools, but they have had several successes in educating children.

“This bill is a good first step at addressing some of the issues which have come to light – like financial oversight, criminal background checks and better timelines for both the schools and DOE to make sure the issues are resolved,” said Rep. Schooley, D-Newark. “In the end, when charter schools fail, kids fail. That's not what we want. All kids deserve the opportunity to excel in school.”

Gov. visits with students on the first day of school...

2011-08-19T14:37:00.001-04:00

Music I loved back in the day...

2011-08-18T22:14:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite bands back in the 90s at The Review! Awesome interview! And yes, my Delaware is showing tonight :)

Just Like You!

2011-08-17T22:44:00.003-04:00

Let's Circle Back!

2011-08-14T20:42:00.000-04:00

Yep, it's a duplication of effort!

If your feeder school fails to make AYP for two consequetive years, your child is eligible to transfer to a higher performing school under NCLB. The DOE has removed the AYP rankings from the school profiles. Parents are now unable to look up their feeder school on DOE's website to learn whether or not it made AYP for 2009-10 school years. AYP for the 2010-11 school year is being withheld from the public and boards until Friday, August 26th. School starts Monday, August 29th.

How will you know if your child is eligible for a transfer? Will your child start school in a failing school year? When DOE finally spills the beans, will districts be able to accommodate your request before schools start? Should you want to exercise your right to transfer, will your child be forced through two transitions - one to the school that is failing and one to the higher performing one after the school year has already begun. What about the games being played by DOE is student-centered, child-first, pro-education? What a messy circle.

Should we get our "panties in a bunch" over the negligence purported by DOE with regards to parents rights? I think that depends on how much you covet your democratic rights under federal and state law. Should we report it to the feds? That depends on whether you believe the feds will support the law. Should we chalk this up to an eschool outage? That depends on whether Eschool directly feeds to that little indicator on the school profile pages (99% sure it does not, as the indicator would likely be blank, not missing.) Should we be upset that DOE sends its online presence on vacation in July and August? Only if you give a hoot about your tax dollars. Circle, Circle, Circle.

Don't worry, I bet the DOE folks are already circling to craft their reasonable excuse for their latest failure.

What's happening to that Pesky AYP ?

2011-08-13T22:30:00.002-04:00

Yes, there are likely a million answers to this question. But, I'm only looking for the right one!

If you've visited the Delaware Department of Education website recently, you might have noticed a little change...

ALL AYP RANKINGS FROM SCHOOL PROFILES HAVE BEEN REMOVED!

Go Here: http://profiles.doe.k12.de.us/SchoolProfiles/State/Default.aspx

Under the ABOUT Tab, beneath Telephone and Web, is customarily a little box with stars and note about what the stars mean - Academic Progress, Academic Watch, Superior, etc.

Well, that happy little box has been scrubbed from all pages in the SCHOOL PROFILES file. Note that at the top of the page, the site was last updated "Summer 2011."

So, if withholding AYP rankings for the last school year wasn't bad enough, now the state has removed all pre-existing AYP data.

It's baffling, I know. And I'm sure they'll give us a sensible explanation.

In the mean time, I am forced to assume that all schools in Delaware are simply SUPERIOR!

DOE Subverts Parents' Rights!

2011-08-11T12:38:00.003-04:00

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?

11 Business Days until school starts. 11 Business days until you put your kids on school buses or drive them into their choice schools. 11 days and you have no idea how your school stacks up on the failure/success scale because the Department of Education is withholding AYP ratings from you and your school board.

The policy on face value is to withhold the findings until they have been thoroughly vetted. That's DOE's excuse. It's the national excuse for DOEs through-out the US.

HERE'S YOUR PROBLEM, PARENTS:
You and I don't know how our schools rate. Under NCLB, we have the right to transfer our children to a higher performing school if our feeder school does not make adequate progress, but we can't do this until we know which schools made AYP. Delaware DOE will release the AYP rankings on FRIDAY, AUGUST 26th. Our students will report back to school the following MONDAY, AUGUST 29th. Your child may start their school year in a failing school and then endure a transfer and transition to a new higher performing school if you desire to move your student to that higher performing school. Imagine the complications if the nearest higher performing school is in another district - inter-district transfers? Oh, my!

DELAWARE's DOE IS SUBVERTING YOUR RIGHTS UNDER NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND. This wretched policy must go. DOE needs to be held to a higher standard that ensures these rankings are released early enough in the summer for you to make educated decisions regarding your child before the school year starts.

Parents, what are you going to do to protect your rights? First, don't fall for "The Excuse." Parents in other states aren't. They are asking questions and demanding change. Second, consider "friending" the Deputy Sec. of Education and ask him to change the policy. For important links, visit: http://transparentchristina.wordpress.com/2011/08/10/doe-now-providing-preliminary-ayp-reports-to-subordinate-employees-of-school-boards-while-excluding-the-schoold-boards-netde/

Georgia released AYP results in July. Unhappy parents criticize DOE for late release: http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2011/07/21/do-ayp-transfers-create-solutions-for-kids-or-new-problems-for-schools/

Oregon DOE releases AYP in early August: http://www.lakeoswegoreview.com/opinion/story.php?story_id=131300831058681700

North Carolina releases preliminary AYP results in July: http://www.whiteville.com/articles/2011/07/28/news/doc4e2d995c95f04061558291.txt

GOD: Banned from the board room.

2011-08-05T15:48:00.000-04:00

Constitutionally-speaking, god has no place in the public school classroom and neither should he in the public school board room - at least that is the latest court ruling for Indian River. You can debate the morality of gods presence in public education until the apocalypse, but the constitution is fairly firm.

Court: Indian River prayers violate Constitution

12:46 PM, Aug. 5, 2011

Written by
SEAN O’SULLIVAN

The News Journal Filed Under
Local

The U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower-court ruling today and determined that the Indian River School District’s practice of opening its board meetings with an explicitly Christian prayer is unconstitutional.

A three-judge panel of the federal appeals court determined the district crossed the line by opening meetings -- which students regularly attended -- with prayers that almost always invoke the name of Jesus Christ.

While U.S. District Judge Joseph J. Farnan Jr. ruled the school board did not violate the law because it was more akin to an elected body than a school, the appeals court ruled the opposite was true and the prayers amounted to a state-endorsement of one religion over others.

“In arriving at this outcome, we recognize, as the Supreme Court has, that ‘religion has been closely identified with our history and government,’ ” wrote Circuit Court Judge Julio M. Fuentes in a 74-page opinion for the panel which included Circuit Court Judge Jane Roth. “But we take to heart the observation … that ‘(i)t is neither sacrilegious nor anti-religious to say that each separate government in this country should stay out of the business of writing or sanctioning official prayers and leave that purely religious function to the people themselves.’ “

And with that, the court reversed the finding of the lower court and granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs.

Attorney Thomas Allingham, who represented the anonymous “Doe” plaintiffs in the case said the ruling was a clear victory for the plaintiffs and the concept of the separation of church and state. “My clients are obviously pleased and gratified,” Allingham said.

The ruling can be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

QOD: If your governor was on a god-kick and considered his education policy despite its being the disembowelment of educators everywhere to be the mission of your lord, could the courts ban him from schools?

Big Lots Teacher Appreciation Day!

2011-08-04T22:55:00.000-04:00

Saturday, August 13, Teachers Receive

10% Off Their Total Purchase*
If your're a teacher or educator, just show your valid school ID when you're checking out and we'll take 10% off your entire purchase! Start the new year with incredible savings!
*Some exclustions apply.
In Store Only

Christina School Board Monthly Business Meeting on Tuesday

2011-08-04T21:36:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, August 9

Board of Education Meetings
Executive Session, 6:00 pm
General Business Meeting, 7:30 pm

Agenda: http://www.christina.k12.de.us/BOE/Meetings/2011/Posting-Agenda/0809.pdf

Check out www.contentdelaware.org

2011-08-01T19:04:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Content Delaware

Content Delaware is a new digital channel devoted to telling the stories of people, places and best practices here in Delaware. This non-profit media initiative is made possible by underwriters, grantmakers, and coalitions of organizations interested in supporting the distribution of information and public affairs programming that focuses exclusively on the First State. Welcome to Delaware.

Markell Leaves His Mark on Laurel

2011-07-30T10:16:00.000-04:00

From today's NJ: http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110730/NEWS03/107300329/Laurel-district-dire-straits

LAUREL -- State cuts to education have put the school district in danger of running out of money by next spring, officials said this week as they announced an austerity plan.

Laurel's schools are in "dire" financial straits thanks to the state's "extreme" cuts, acting Superintendent Dorothy Nave told a group of about 40 community leaders, residents and district employees at a school board meeting Thursday night.

While I will concede that Laurel is still experiencing the fall-out from it's own financial scandal - its former finance manager, William Hitchens, as he defaults on his court-ordered repayment plan - the crisis at hand in Laurel sits squarely on Jack Markell's shoulders. Hitchens theft of district funds is still small peanuts in education's grand financial picture.

Markell spearheaded a campaign two years ago to push off a rolling 25 % of transportation costs onto districts. While initially rebuked by the legislature, Markell succeeded in sending 10% down to the districts beginning in fiscal year 2011-12. That's 10% comes from a district's local share - school taxes. Some districts are able to assume the costs, but many more are struggling with how to carry this additional burden. It's not like we can move our schools 10% closer to our students' homes... Today, in Laurel, we are seeing how that transfer of ownership is crippling a district.

Does this make a case for consolidation? Maybe. Perhaps Laurel could blend with another district. In a state with as many fiefdom's as Delaware has, it appears to be an easy answer - if the neighboring districts are solvent themselves. But, when Delawareans yell "consolidation," they tend to think of the bigger districts, like my own. They tend to think they want to see county-wide districts. While numerous studies over the years seem to indicate cost savings in a county-wide district model system, no one really knows for sure if that would be the case. If it was certain, it would have happened already. Districts would likely realize much of the same operational efficiencies if they united in a buying collective, but that would require districts to adopt similar/same materials, etc. And, in NCCo some of the district business managers have already moved to a "collective" model for some resources. I can't speak about the Kent or Sussex districts.

As for consolidation - proponants tend to argue the need to pare down administration. They believe the districts are top-heavy. I've never seen a comparative report of school district in Delaware as to how they rank with districts nationwide. But, my own experience on my board leads me to believe that much of the top-heavy admin sits in the Delaware Department of Education. DOE needs to cut out its waste and it has plenty. Then perhaps, districts can follow suit. Though, I still struggle with which positions in Christina could be considered "wasteful," especially as DOE passes down more and more mandates under RTTT and the Partnership Zone program. I am watching my administrative positions grow - positions solely funded by RTTT that will eventually fade away as the RTTT grant dies, unless Delaware reforms its funding system. Which, based upon Markell's historical behavior, does not appear to be in the works.

So, I leave you with this question:

Will Laurel be the first casualty of the Markell Education-Spending Plan? Only time will tell...

PRIDE 7/28/2011

2011-07-27T22:46:00.002-04:00

Synopsis

What it is: Pride is excessive belief in one's own abilities, that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. Pride is also known as Vanity.
Why you do it: Well-meaning elementary school teachers told you to "believe in yourself."
Your punishment in Hell will be: You'll be broken on the wheel.
Associated symbols & suchlike: Pride is linked with the horse and the color violet.
http://www.deadlysins.com/sins/pride.html

Dog Days of Summer...

2011-07-27T06:01:00.001-04:00

A reasonable request: In What World are Trainee Teachers 'Highly Qualified'?

2011-07-22T14:24:00.000-04:00

In What World Are Trainee Teachers 'Highly Qualified'? In Mine

By Candice Johnson

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/07/22/37johnson.h30.html?tkn=MUQFcpY%2BJfK%2BTveGiIiYU0Yx7DzuhP%2B1lnrt&cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2

In May, I traveled from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., for the first time in my life. It was exciting to visit the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. But I wasn’t there to go sightseeing. I was there to ask my elected representatives why students at our country’s most challenged high schools are being taught by unqualified teachers, and why Congress is letting this happen.

They didn’t give me the answers I was hoping for. But I’m not about to let it go.
I am a graduate of Washington Prep High School in the Los Angeles Unified School District. My school is the kind of school the No Child Left Behind Act was supposed to “fix.” It’s one of California’s lowest-performing schools. Forty percent of my freshman-year classmates didn’t graduate. The student body is also mostly low-income, and a majority of the students are African-American like me or Latino. There were only a handful of white students in the entire school of 2,000 when I graduated a year ago.
I was one of the lucky ones—I’m currently in college, pursuing my dream of becoming a nurse. But my high school math experience sure didn’t make it easy for me. When I first got to college and took the freshman math-placement test, I looked at those questions and got a terrible sinking feeling in my stomach. I realized that I didn’t understand a majority of the problems on the test. As a result, I was placed in remedial classes that won’t count toward my degree.

Looking back, I realize my math problems started in my freshman year of high school, when I had a full-time trainee-teacher for Algebra 1. California calls these teachers, who take classes at night and on weekends to learn how to teach, interns. My instructor hadn’t completed his teacher training, and he couldn’t control the class. It was a free-for-all in there. We hardly did anything, and a lot of kids ended up “ditching,” or skipping class all together. I just kind of floated by, happy to finish. Like most of the interns who showed up at my school, he was gone by the time I graduated, so I don’t know if he ever learned how to be a more effective teacher.

What I do know is math gets harder, not easier. Geometry and Algebra 2 didn’t make sense without an understanding of Algebra 1. Was that teacher the only reason that I’m struggling with college math now? Of course not. And are there also experienced teachers who can’t control their classrooms? Yes. But that doesn’t make putting most of the intern teachers in schools like Washington Prep right.

I found out that more than a quarter of the teachers at Washington Prep are in their first or second years of teaching, and one-fifth are interns. You just don’t find that in richer school districts. It seems as if someone made a choice to make schools in the poorer areas the revolving door for all the new teachers who are still in training.

While I was hardly the perfect student, I think that my success in other courses proves that getting qualified teachers really does make a difference. Luckily for me, when it came to English, I had a wonderful teacher for both my junior and senior years. She had years of experience and really cared about my education. Her class was one of the few I looked forward to, and when I got to college, I was able to test out of remedial English.

“I asked: ‘Why is it OK for students like me to be taught by teachers-in-training? If intern teachers are good enough for me, why aren’t they good enough for the students down the road in Beverly Hills?’ ”But here’s the crazy thing. According to Congress, my English teacher and my Algebra 1 teacher are both “highly qualified.” How can that be? It doesn’t make sense, but last December, legislators passed a temporary law that calls intern teachers like my Algebra 1 teacher “highly qualified” even though they are still learning how to teach. The law also allows them to be concentrated at schools like Washington Prep.

That brings me back to my trip to Washington. I didn’t get to meet with any actual legislators, but I did speak to several congressional staff members. I told them what it feels like to be the student on the other end of the lie about teacher quality. I asked them to own up to that lie when Congress ultimately reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the most recent version of which is the No Child Left Behind Act. I asked: “Why is it OK for students like me to be taught by teachers-in-training? If intern teachers are good enough for me, why aren’t they good enough for the students down the road in Beverly Hills?”

A few of the staff members seemed interested and looked me in the eye. But some looked right through me and just said, “OK, thank you” when I finished. (I may be 19, but I’m old enough to know what that really meant: I don’t care.) Some told me that this definition of “highly qualified” was necessary because there weren’t enough fully certified teachers who would take jobs at schools like mine. But I want to know why the federal government is more interested in hiding the fact that poorer schools are more likely to get poor-quality teachers. Don’t tell me you’re giving me highly qualified teachers when you’re actually giving me teachers who have only just started their training and have never been in front of a group of students before. And don’t pretend you’re giving me the same quality of teachers that kids down the road in Beverly Hills are getting.

If interns really are the best you can get to teach me, my elected representatives should own up to it—and make my school district and state own up to it, too. Parents, students, and the public deserve to know what’s really going on. Then we can start working together to bring fully prepared and effective teachers to my school.

Look, maybe my story isn’t the worst out there. At least I was lucky enough to pass my math classes and get through high school. I still have a shot at a college degree and the career in nursing I’ve always wanted.

But I think those opportunities mean I have an even greater responsibility to speak up and make sure that what happened to me doesn’t happen to my younger sisters and the other students going through the system today in South Central Los Angeles.

So I went to Washington. I’m not sure my legislators heard me, but hopefully others will listen. The future of millions of kids around the country depends on it.

Candice Johnson is a member of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, or ACCE, and a freshman at California State University, Los Angeles. She is also a plaintiff in Renee v. Duncan, a legal challenge to the U.S. Department of Education regulation that permits intern-teachers to be labeled highly qualified and concentrated in poor and minority schools.

Letter From the Pencader Website - It's official!

2011-07-20T18:28:00.000-04:00

To the Pencader Family:

We are pleased to announce today that after a discussion with Secretary Lowery’s staff at the Department of Education, the Secretary will recommend to the State Board of Education that Pencader Charter High School will remain open for the 2011-2012 school year.

The State Board of Education will vote to finalize the Secretary’s recommendation at its meeting in Dover this Thursday at 1 p.m. Mrs. Minnehan and Dr. Lewis will represent Pencader Charter High School at the State Board of Education meeting tomorrow.

The Board, administration and staff of Pencader Charter High School wish to thank Secretary Lowery for this decision and the faith she has shown in our school. We are sure you will join us in working hard throughout the next school year to show Dr. Lowery that her faith in Pencader is justified.

We also wish to thank all of those who joined together and supported our school. During the past few weeks we have shown that by working together, there is nothing that the Pencader family cannot achieve. There will be a meeting this Monday July 25th at 7p.m. at the school at which time the Board would like to thank everyone involved in the campaign to save Pencader for all of their hard work and dedication. The Board and administration will also be available at that time to answer any questions the community might have regarding Secretary Lowery’s decision. Thank you all again for all you have done in our efforts to keep our school open. “We are not going anywhere!!”

Sincerely yours,

Harrie Ellen Minnehan Ann E. Lewis, PhD.

President, Board of Directors School Leader

Sec. Lowery's Recommendation: Pencader to Remain Open

2011-07-20T17:50:00.000-04:00

A lot of activity on the Save Pencader Facebook Page today indicating that Lowery has recommended that the school continue to operate!