Houston we have a problem
African American DSTP Math Scores 9th graders
At the highest 66.2% in Polytech met the standard. At the lowest 18.8% in Cape Henlopen met the standard
Whites DSTP Math Scores 9th Graders
At the highest 79.4% in Polytech met the standard. At the lowest 35.7% in Woodbridge met the standard
Of 19 school districts 10 went down from 2006 to 2007 for 9th Grade Math in Low Income
Of 19 school districts 12 went down from 2006 to 2007 for 9th Grade Math in Not low Income
sad, very, very sad
Tags: Delaware
It should be ALL Children Left Behind. And while we’re at it lets veto the bill that provides health care for kids. And if you haven’t seen the Greenpeace ad on Dailykos this morning go check it out. That little guy is so right!
One way to solve this problem:
School vouchers
There is a reason why there are so many private schools in Delaware. But of course that is only for those who can afford it. You want lower income families to have the same option? School vouchers.
The longer you all fight it, the worse things get.
yep great idea Chrissy,
Here ya go johnny I have a voucher for you. Now you can attend that school in Sussex county that is the best in the state!
thanks dad, where is the school exactly?
3 hours away, but don’t worry son, the republicans know what there doing, this will work, stop fighting it.
see you tomorrow son….
Then let’s make the private schools “for profit” because we’ve seen how well that works in the healthcare industry. I’m sure Bush’s brother Neil will laugh all the way to the bank.
We can shovel all that money into the pockets of the “privatizers” and eventually the public school system will collapse. Of course, you can’t have a democracy without an informed citizenry but these guys don’t want a democracy. We’re heading toward King Bush and his vassels. One of those vassels will be the privatized school system.
Too bad for the kids.
“3 hours away, but don’t worry son, the republicans know what there doing, this will work, stop fighting it.”
Do you ever…uh…open your eyes? You can’t swing a dead liberal idea in this state without hitting a private or parochial school.
And I suppose people aren’t looking for choice? I heard that when Newark Charter opened up last year, enrollment in one Newark elementary school dropped by a full third. Probably would have been a lot more if the Charter school didn’t fill up so fast. Now the waiting list is INSANE!
Think of the Charter School as a test case. Yes, it is still a public school, but the public school system will never be able to make enough charter schools do the trick. Let parents be able to choose a private or parochial school to spend the tax money earmarked for their children on. In some cases, it might cover the whole tuition, in some it might not, but it will certainly put better schools into the range of more people.
What is it you really fear? People getting some control over their tax money? I mean, I know that is a GIANT threat to liberalism, but hey, you guys claim to be about freedom don’t you.
Its amazing, your Pro-choice when it comes to murdering unborn babies, but anti-choice when it comes to educating those that make it out of the womb alive.
But then again, liberalism has never been about logic.
“We’re heading toward King Bush and his vassels. One of those vassels will be the privatized school system.”
As I have come to expect around here. It is not really about education, on ideology.
“Then let’s make the private schools “for profit” because we’ve seen how well that works in the healthcare industry.”
Did you read anything in my post suggesting “for profit” schools? I venture to say most are “non-profit”. But even if “for-profits” are built, the nice thing is that parents can “choose” where to send their kids. They don’t trust a “for-profit” then they will choose a “non-profit”. It will be all about options.
You are correct, the public school system may collapse, but in case you didn’t notice, it is already doing that. When something is already collapsing, isn’t it best to find a way to get as many people out as possible?
Sorry. Getting logical again….
With these folks you always have to worry about the “creep”. What seems outrageous today, like a for-profit school system, will seem like a good idea in ten years time. Because that’s how they work. They just keep nudging and nudging while the rest of us stand by watching.
To use a line from West Wing, Public Schools Are the Silver Bullet. If they are failing we can’t just walk away from them, they have to be fixed. They have to be fixed with tax dollars, not by profiteers.
All my life I’ve paid school taxes gladly. I’ve never had a kid in school. I’ve shouldered the burden for the next generation because somebody shouldered it for me. School taxes are an investment in America’s future.
Sure, those dollars have to be spent wisely and there is certainly a lot of room for improvement in Delaware. But, the system must be fixed and we must make the investment to fix it. Oh, this just might include more funding for pre-school, and home programs that prepare the very young to succeed when they reach school age. In Vermont they have proven that dollars spent on early childhood programs have a huge impact on the dollars that have to be spent in later years for incarceration. I’d rather invest in schools than prisons any day.
Rebecca, more money will not fix the problem. You attack the government of George Bush, OK, fine, I do too. They are incompetent. But so is Minner! So is the State education monopoly.
So why are you so wedded to this system? If all education were private, we could fire (decertify) any school that did not perform to our standards. The standards would still be there and we may even get testing of “private” schools if they chose to accept the payments from the State. Then parents would actually know how well the schools are doing.
We already spend over ONE BILLION DOLLARS a year, one out of every three dollars in the budget, on education. Even hinting that we need to spend more is incredibly irresponsible.
And yet another blank check for Mr. Bush’s vanity war is no problem.
Got it.
Republican fiscal conservatism is dead. George Bush ripped the guts out that fantasy.
Now that we are past that – we have to consider strategies we can use to get a better return on our current investment and start planning now to make productive future investments.
Jason says it is all about Bush. He is irrelevant, and becoming more so every day.
“Now that we are past that – we have to consider strategies we can use to get a better return on our current investment and start planning now to make productive future investments.”
I agree. But to throw more money at the current State education monopoly just does not make sense. Get the State out of the business of educating our children and let the parents have the power. If a school is failing, the parents will leave. Simple. Try closing a failing school now. You simply cannot. AND you cannot fix it either.
Talk about empowering teachers. I forsee groups of teachers who decide they can do better than their current employers forming their own schools. If we committed to this system the banks would flock to them to finance these new schools because the money would be there. Teachers who really do a good job and are motivated could get rich. Is that not what you all say you want? More money for the honorable profession?
As it is, the Unions drag spectacular teachers down to the level of the slugs. And we all know both exist. Pay everyone the same for some union or philosophical reason and you will get mediocrity at best.
I said the money had to be spent wisely and that Delaware seems to be doing a bad job of that. No question, the system needs to change. Especially since the SCOTUS ruling for re-segretation. Basing school budgets on property values is inherently unfair.
And I’m not arguing that teachers should be paid more. I think they are probably doing okay now. The DSEA seems to be more supportive of Republicans than Democrats so they must think they’re rich. Or they’ve figured out that Republicans stand for “borrow and spend” and they hope to jump on that gravy train. Whatever, my heart doesn’t bleed for the teachers. My heart bleeds for the kids.
And I am fearful for our future. An ignorant populace is a dangerous populace. Especially in a society that is masquerading as a democracy. It’s ripe for the sort of propaganda we’re seeing now.
So why would you complicate matters by putting in a voucher system, one more layer of costly administration? Why not address the issue at the school level? You don’t have to pay the teachers more and it wouldn’t hurt to get rid of some of the administration costs. The savings might be used for early childhood programs to help prepare the unprepared to succeed. Or you might spend some money getting the parents involved in the school.
If magnent schools are working, fund more of them. Although, I’ve seen studies that say the “charter” schools aren’t doing any better than the regular public schools. But that is based on standardized tests and I’m not convinced that’s a good way to measure a school’s success.
We license plumbers and electricians. Do we license teachers? I don’t know, but if not we should. There should be periodic exams for educators that test their skill levels. Maybe even a school-level peer review board. Sort of like the tenure committees at Universities. I’ve served on a couple of tenure committees and the profs who weren’t cutting it got the boot. And it wasn’t just the administration who had a say, we polled their fellow profs and their students. It would be complex and costly but a much more comprehensive way to measuring teacher performance than just looking at standardized test results.
Sorry this is way too long. Don, you hit a nerve with me. I think abandoning the U.S. public school system is tantamount to abandoning the idea of America.
“The DSEA seems to be more supportive of Republicans than Democrats so they must think they’re rich.”
That’s hilarious. My Dad created the Superstars in Education program and the Principal for a Day program and generally did more to highlight the good things teachers were doing in Delaware and the DSEA endorsed Ruth Ann in 2000.
Greg Hastings was on the state school board and was one of the most successful school board presidents in a long time, and the DSEA chose not to endorse him.
The DSEA supports two kinds of candidates: a few Republican incumbents and Democrats. Period.
And I think teachers could use a boost in pay, preferably in the form of an incentive package. I say fire half the administrators and put that money directly into the classroom. Then see what happens.
Ha, you are all nuts……
Last I looked, we are all Americans, and Americans usually when left alone, find the resources and answers to what ever need to fix.
So, provide incentives. Duh..Say perhaps…… Be a leader, set a goal and say that: if students get their scores up to this level,(Rodel 2015?) we will shorten the school year from the day after Labor day to the day before Memorial day. If you think that every student will not study their ass off, you know little about students and/or human nature.
Mission accomplished with no extra money.
If you think that every student will not study their ass off
And the teachers will stay late to help them study.
if students get their scores up to this level,(Rodel 2015?) we will shorten the school year from the day after Labor day to the day before Memorial day.
I love it.
Kavips has now officially solved this problem and I will write no more about it.
Hmmm. Motivate the students and teachers…
Good job!
sure vouchers will be great and go towards all those private schools in delaware.
so I guess I will get an $9000 voucher for Padua?
11K for Sallies,
9k St. Marks?
12,000 Ursuline
14 to 16k for Tower Hill, Tatnall even more for Sanford?
yep vouchers. the way to go for sure…..
insert Homer simpson voice:
oh look, I just found a magic pill that cures all types of cancer….wooohooo
And if our kids are going to stay competitive in the global economy we need to lengthen the school year not shorten it.
Oh Dave,
Minner was essentially an incumbent when she ran in 2000. Betcha they endorse Carney too! It’s the Delaware Way! Maintain the status quo.
Yes, Rebecca, they will. Right after he wins the primary.
Bah –
I say Jack is the next DE Governor because Carney will go after Castle’s vacant (he retires to make room for Carney) seat. (haha)
No offense, but those who promoted the lengthening of the school year were working with assumptions that had little knowledge of kids and/or what goes on inside of schools.
A student cannot learn more with a longer year. Like pouring water into a full cup, one is just given more time to learn the same thing.
Those of us with children know first hand just much time is wasted in public schools. A normal parental/student exchange: “What did you do today? We watched a movie. Cool, a documentary, what was it about?
Lethal Weapon 2.”
The way we will get our children up to world level is to give them and parents the incentive to learn on their own……
It starts in first grade with a…..”our new governor________ says that if all of you do your homework and get lots of A’s, then we can all have less time in schools, and more time to play in summer. Wouldn’t that be great?”
(It sure would be great for teachers! (Homer Simpson voice: wooohooo)
If some students lag, a special session could be held for them, giving them a longer year to catch up. After one extended session, perhaps they too will see the light……
The problem with education is that (outside of charter schools) the “Bureaus” tend to focus on “process” not results. One tends to assume that if you follow a string of processes outlined and laid before you, that one will achieve a certain product in the end. This is the current trend that does not work. The other option is to focus on results and reward those who achieve them. If a person wants to achieve the results badly enough, they will do whatever is necessary to acquire them.
CEO’s. Contractors, and anyone receiving big payouts in the form of bonuses, do this all the time.
To sum up, longer is not better. It is time to do better…….
“so I guess I will get an $9000 voucher for Padua?”
DV,
Perhaps you should enroll yourself for some remedial reading classes. I clearly said the following..
“In some cases, it might cover the whole tuition, in some it might not, but it will certainly put better schools into the range of more people.”
“oh look, I just found a magic pill that cures all types of cancer….wooohooo”
Maybe not the magic pill, but certainly leaps and bounds better than the status quo.
“The other option is to focus on results and reward those who achieve them. If a person wants to achieve the results badly enough, they will do whatever is necessary to acquire them.”
I actually like your shortening idea except for one thing….Summers are rough on two income households.
One thing that I has worked with some private schools is making learning more fun, more interesting, and letting kids shape their own education to a point. So far, in the schools my kids have been in, they have really changed them to think, given them creative projects, and incorporated the learning into fun activities. For instance, in science, they focused on butterflies for a few weeks, created a butterfly garden, planted milkweed, had a butterfly parade, etc., and attempted to track the progress of a group of butterflies heading for Mexico.
I know this SOUNDS boring, but to these Pre-k through 3rd graders it was a hoot. My kids know more things about butterflies than I ever did. They also know how milkweed grows. They understand the migration progress, etc. And the best part is THEY LOVED IT.
This is one of the great benefits to private schools, the ability for the teachers to be different, think creatively and teach creatively. I know it does happen at public schools too, but not nearly as often nor as well.
So either offer the vouchers or let parents write the education costs off the taxes.