Recap of Last Night’s Education Forum
Last night at Clayton Hall in the University of Delaware, a forum on public education was held with Tena Gladney, Howard High School of Technology parent and community engagement coordinator; Jason Bernal, president of YES Prep Public Schools in Houston; Dr. Lillian Lowery, Delaware Secretary of Education; and Frederika Jenner, president of the Delaware State Education Association.
The News Journal has a good write up of the night, but here is how I followed forum via live tweets. The tweeters are Wade Malcom (@WadeMalcom), higher education reporter for The News Journal; former blogger Mike Matthews (@dwablog); and @ED_IN_DE, a concerned Delawarean. I did the best I could getting these tweets in some semblance of order. If things seem a bit jilted here and there that is just the nature of the best of live tweeting.
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WadeMalcolm #TNJ education forum on #udel campus getting ready to start … follow tweets at #imagineDE if you’d like -
dwablog Here at University of Delaware for the Imagine Delaware discussion. Trying to get the WiFi codes! -
WadeMalcolm Panelists for #imagineDE are Edu. Sec. Lillian Lowery, DSEA pres Frederika Jenner, Yes Prep’s Jason Bernal and Tena Gladney of Howard HS.
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dwablog @SenatorCarper has just entered the building. Wasn’t he a “Yes” vote for No Child Left Behind?
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WadeMalcolm @SenatorCarper just walked into the #ImagineDE event. Anyone else here?
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dwablog Fascinating. The sponsor, PNC Bank’s Nicholas Marsini, goes out of his way to first thank business interests.
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dwablog Marsini says graduation rate of Delaware is 65%.
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dwablog Exec. Editor of The News Journal, David Ledford, is moderating. Says he’s “jumping right in…enough preamble.”
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WadeMalcolm Edu Sec. Lowery introduced, says she “probably won’t be as out of the box” as other panelists on proposing changes in school #ImagineDE
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dwablog Delaware Dept. of Ed. Sec. Lillian Lowery gives a shout out to @SenatorCarper for being the “catalyst” to education changes when he was gov.
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WadeMalcolm Lowery says education reform has to be teacher led #ImagineDE
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WadeMalcolm Lowery says we need to be tolerate of choices. “It’s not that one choice is better than the other.” #ImagineDE
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dwablog Sec. Lowery claims 85% of teachers would claim PLCs have been informative and useful. Wow. Stunning, stunning comment.
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WadeMalcolm Lowery adds it’s good to have a mix of traditional public school choice, charter schools. #ImagineDE
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dwablog Sec. Lowery: “We can not be afraid of choices.” What is she talking about? Choice? Or choices in general?
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ED_IN_DE Ledford shilling for charters uses bad stats on low income
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ED_IN_DE Asking why the delay on NCS? Lillians answer: Delaware way, relationship, would have been reckless (cont) http://t.co/IFqC7bFA
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dwablog Jason Bernal, president of Yes Prep Public School is a “rock star” in education, claims Ledford.
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WadeMalcolm “Fantastic school leadership is No. 1” to having great schools says Yes Prep’s Jason Bernal
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WadeMalcolm “We take great ideas from all over the country,” says Yes Prep’s Jason Bernal #ImagineDE
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WadeMalcolm Yes Prep pays teachers for performance not just tenure, Bernal adds. Helps with teacher burnout #ImagineDE
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dwablog Bernal says he pays his teacher based on performance rather than tenure. Always a very interesting point of debate.
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ED_IN_DE Bernal from Houston charter school says all welcome in his school
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dwablog Bernal makes an excellent point: There needs to be more career pathways for teachers instead of just administration.
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dwablog The awesome DSEA Prez Frederika Jenner takes the mic. Speaks to the value of early childhood education.
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WadeMalcolm DSEA’s Jenner says schools often struggle with changes in leadership #ImagineDE
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dwablog DSEA Prez questions – somewhat – our culture of change. A culture very busy at bandying about “change.”
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dwablog Parent Advocate Tena Gladley is the Community Engagement Coordinator at Howard High School.
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WadeMalcolm Howard HS administrator Tena Gladney works to engage families and communities in education #ImagineDE
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WadeMalcolm Gladney says its about building partnership with parents to get them involved with child’s education in meaningful way #ImagineDE
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WadeMalcolm Lowery asked about whether charters undermine traditional public schools #ImagineDE
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WadeMalcolm Lowery says she wants people to remember charter schools still public schools, get tax dollars, crowd gives her a little cheer #ImaginDE
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dwablog Sec. Lowery answers a question about charter schools. Says charter schools ARE public schools. Gets a loud applause.
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dwablog Sec. Lowery says it: Successful charter schools should be replicated in traditional public schools. We’ve only said this for a decade.
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WadeMalcolm DSEA’s Jenner says the union never opposed charters “that’s a mythology that’s out there” #ImagineDE
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WadeMalcolm Jenner says union wants to make sure charters are implemented in a way that doesn’t harm other schools #ImagineDE
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dwablog Jenner makes an excellent comment. Union has never been against charters. But, rather, the laws surrounding charters as well as the impact.
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WadeMalcolm DSEA’s Jenner says the union never opposed charters “that’s a mythology that’s out there” #ImagineDE
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dwablog Ledford asks a great question: Did Sec. Lowery hold up Newark Charter’s expansion based on the outcry the debate caused?
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WadeMalcolm Lowery not surprised that people got so upset about the Newark Charter expansion #ImagineDE
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WadeMalcolm Lowery says about Newark Charter “it would have been bullheaded and a little reckless” not to delay the vote #ImagineDE
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dwablog Now going to parental involvement. This is absolutely the biggest piece of the puzzle.Absolutely. How do we engage?How do we compel parents?
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WadeMalcolm “I think there’s a misconception about parent involvement,” says Gladney of Howard HS #ImagineDE
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dwablog Gladney is talking about her initiatives at Howard. She has some amazing ideas. I am going to share with my principal.
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dwablog We need to ask parents: “What do you want to know?” And then provide it to them. So true!
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dwablog At her school, every incoming 9th grader receives a home visit. Good! Good! Good!
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dwablog Great idea for high-needs schools. Get rid of ridiculous PD week before school and get teachers on feet for home visits!
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WadeMalcolm I hand counted about 250 people at the #ImagineDE event, more than I would have thought on a sunny spring day
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ED_IN_DE @WadeMalcolm overall about half or more seats empty though
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WadeMalcolm @ed_in_de Yes, I think you’re right. Hall seats about 500, I was told.
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WadeMalcolm “Childhood poverty can no longer stand in the way of our child’s success,” DSEA’s Jenner says #ImagineDE
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WadeMalcolm #OnlyinDE would you get a Senator, a former Senator and @LtGovMattDenn at a random Thursday night event and it’s no big thing
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BSelander .@WadeMalcolm @ltgovmattdenn – And they’re in the audience – not even on stage. -
WadeMalcolm @bselander @LtGovMattDenn haha, so true
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dwablog Ledford brings up topic of needed “culture change” in schools by asking if DSEA is really interested in change.
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ED_IN_DE Ledford weakly throws out false label: status quo. Awful. #imagineDE
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ED_IN_DE Ledford attacking union position on DCAS, spewing the weak meme of one of several components when (cont) http://t.co/cHHspZYb
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ED_IN_DE Lowery saying other 4 components are critical…then why do the not control the evaluation score…does not compute.
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ED_IN_DE Dr. Lowery trying to diminish component 5. Not working.
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ED_IN_DE Q. What does a good teacher look like. Really? This is a question for these folks.
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ED_IN_DE Lowery praising tgood teachers as ones that inspire independent thinking…..wish policies matched that good answer.
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WadeMalcolm Lowery says when she sees a quiet classroom “I’m concerned.” Wants to see dynamic interaction #ImagineDE
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dwablog Not a fan of some of the questions. “What makes a good teacher?” Seriously? Too many other issues to be asking such ridiculousness.
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WadeMalcolm Jenner asked what union’s role is in school reform. Says they’ve been on the front lines, at the table. #ImagineDE
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WadeMalcolm Jenner says DSEA isn’t the only group concerned about DCAS determining the worth of a teacher #ImagineDE
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ED_IN_DE Lowery jumps in front of union bashing question
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ED_IN_DE Audience seems averse to unions. Teacher bashing underway!
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WadeMalcolm Lowery says “we can not be in a tug of war with the union” and “we have to compromise” #ImagineDE
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dwablog Ledford asks about discipline issues in Bernal’s Yes Prep schools. It is, indeed, one of the most challenging pieces.
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dwablog Bernal says his schools do have issues with drugs and such. My follow-up question: Do you keep them or do you kick them out?
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dwablog I think this guy Glenn Silverstein was my middle school social studies teacher. He asks a great question about per-pupil spending in Houston
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WadeMalcolm grad of Glasgow HS says it was troubling for him to see the state take it over #ImagineDE
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ED_IN_DE Bryan Townsend asks about administrator accountability. Great Q
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WadeMalcolm Lowery says DSEA is just doing their job advocating for their members #ImagineDE
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WadeMalcolm Jenner says DSEA does it’s best to collaborate, teachers feel accountable to children #ImagineDE
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WadeMalcolm Did anyone catch name of the guy who asked that last question? He said he’s running for state senate in the 11th district #ImagineDE
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WadeMalcolm PTA president Yvonne Johnson suggests legislating parent involvement #ImagineDE
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WadeMalcolm Jenner responds that legislating that sort of thing is “fraught with difficulty.” Gets a laugh from the crowd. #ImagineDE
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WadeMalcolm audience member asks panel what they are doing to make sure schools are not re-segregated #ImagineDE
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WadeMalcolm Jenner talked about her experience with court ordered busing in response to re-segregation question #ImagineDE
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WadeMalcolm Jenner adds it was one of the best experiences of her life #ImagineDE
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dwablog Collective nap time when @SenatorCarper gets up to speak.
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dwablog @SenatorCarper talking about healthcare costs at an education forum. Must be a reelection year.
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dwablog @SenatorCarper says something true: We know what works to help close the gap. Yep, we do, but we AREN’T DOING IT!
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LtGovMattDenn At #imaginede education forum, Howard High’s Tena Gladney emphasizes importance of summer contact with parents of new students. (Cont) -
LtGovMattDenn This summer contact is something I have heard repeatedly from schools with successful parent engagement programs, we are trying to encourage
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LtGovMattDenn Refreshing to hear DSEA’s Frederika Jenner and Sec. Lowery’s passionate responses to ‘what makes a great teacher’ #imaginede
- this quote was generated by twtQuote
Funny how much they had to say about parent involvement, with no parents on the panel!
(although Tena did a great job representing the parent point of view within her domain, but not for all the topics). I had a question but didn’t get called on.
The discussion was completely mundane. The panelist’s views weren’t different enough to make an interesting conversation, even if the format had permitted it. There were simply too many legitimate viewpoints unrepresented on the panel. And on the charter questions, panelist were permitted to respond with superficial answers, with no follow-up questions designed to punch through the first layer.
I’d like to see Secretary Lowery take on a format where she has to answer questions on stage from one or more smart and capable critics on the panel.
Ms. Jenner made some good points questioning charters but they were very subtle and you had to read between the lines to get it.
The News-Journal dropped any pretext of objectivity on education and shilled for the Carper educational ‘reforms’. Both on the editorial pages (acceptable) and the news pages (not).
Now here we are, what, 15 years later, and the News-Journal is shilling for ‘educational reforms’ that seem to consist of charters, charters, charters, and getting kids ready to brainlessly work for Delaware’s corporate benefactors.
Same old wine in the same old bottle.
Nemski,
Thank you for this, and I LOVE being called a concerned Delawarean much better than school board member, for real! I should submit that to the DOE. We’ll become the Christina Board of Concerned Delawareans and I’ll be an inaugural member!
Mike is now an active blogger again: http://mindofmrmatthews.wordpress.com/
John, I knew it was you, however, I was just going by what people had in there Twitter profile.
Ms. Jenner once again laid out the devastating case against using DCAS to evaluate teachers of non-tested subjects, explaining that DCAS tested math and reading, but she was a science teacher.
Secretary Lowery followed up with an anecdote about how Senator Carper had suggested this solution: “Well, what if we don’t call it reading? Let’s call it “literacy”!
Which is interesting itself, because it suggests Senator Carper is more closely involved in state-level education than he lets on.
Lowery and Jenner concluded with a figuative hug, saying that they were working hard to work it all out. I wasn’t convinced there was anything specific to overcome the problem of non-tested subjects.
Bryan Townsend, who is running against DeLuca, was at the forum, asked the question on administrator accountability, and has information at http://bryan2012.com/why-bryan/ on his website, including a bit on needed education reform.
Still, I like it better, than name/title.
El Som: The News-Journal’s education reporters are still very nearly new, having both been in the state for just about two years. They’re good reporters, but lack the longevity and knowledge base necessary for this type of reporting. They take their marching orders from David Ledford, who is buddies with Markell. And because they’re married to each other, they act as one unit – which cuts down on your perspective.
That event last night was part of a continuing attempt by TNJ to position itself as a policy adviser to the muckety-mucks, a player in setting the debate rather than just reporting on what the debate is. Ledford imagines himself as whispering in Jack’s ear. A lot of reporters there think these types of events (co-sponsored with a major banking institution and major advertiser in the paper) are just flat-out wrong, but they’re too afraid of getting fired to speak up.
Oh … and this might inform your thinking about TNJ’s coverage: Ledford’s wife is a teacher at Mount Pleasant High School.
NJ’s educ reporters “are married to each other, they act as one unit –” WTF!! good to know. sheesh.
Btw, Lowery did not say that Carper ” suggested this solution: “Well, what if we don’t call it reading? Let’s call it “literacy”!”
Her comment was that when she stepped in a Secretary, Carper told her to get a group together for regular feedback – current and former Teacher’s-of-the-Year. She meets with them monthly and they were who said don’t call it reading “call it literacy”.
I am fully supportive of our efforts in 0-5 pre-K going forward and thought Lowery’s best moment was in reciting the vocabulary stats for kids going into kindergarten:
for middle upper income families – kids have a 50K word vocabulary
for low income families – kids have a 5K word vocabulary
ergo the source of the achievement gap can be drastically reduced if all children get the advantage of being surrounded by opportunities to hear and mimic a diverse vocabulary and to read and be read to in the first 5 years of life.
“because they’re married to each other, they act as one unit – which cuts down on your perspective.”
Maybe they “act as one unit,” but it’s insulting to claim it’s “because they’re married to each other.” I worked at the same place as my spouse for more than 10 years, and we did not “act as one unit.”
It might be just as accurate to say that because they’re married to each other, they challenge each other’s assumptions about education. Unless you’re a frequent guest in their home, you have no way of knowing, do you?
I know that when I gave Dobo a hard time for her crappy reporting (fairly often) I was not aware that she’s probably griping about it to the only other education reporter’s sympathetic ear over the breakfast table.
If their two-journalistic-career marriage is anything like mine, their schedules don’t allow for a shared breakfast.
Far be it from me to talk you out of a conspiracy theory, though.
Geezer – A couple working in the same place of employment is far different from a couple working together on the same stories/projects.
They bring nearly identical backgrounds to the job (went to the same college, worked for many of the same papers, now cover the same beat), and they’re far more dependent on staying in Ledford’s good races than another couple with split employment might be. (He could lay both of them off on a whim, as others have been, and they’d be S.O.O.L.)
I don’t mean to insult their individual performance. They’re really good reporters and good people; I’ve met both of them. And you’re right, I don’t know that they don’t challenge each other’s assumptions about education on a daily basis. But judging by their work product – their joint coverage so far – I certainly don’t see that in evidence.
What I find far more scandalous is that the executive editor of the state’s only big newspaper personally oversees education coverage while his wife is a public-school teacher who will be affected by whatever the state does.
It isn’t my conspiracy, dude. I am reacting to the news. And yes, I do think it is significant for the married reporters to be on the same beat.
Married couples in newsrooms, and working on stories together, is very common. There have been Pulitzer Prize winning combos. http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=1379
” Evidence of journalistic matrimony abounds. Some couples are well known, like former Washington Post Executive Editor Benjamin Bradlee and Sally Quinn, an erstwhile Style staffer at that paper. Or Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wu Dunn of the New York Times, who shared a 1989 Pulitzer Prize for their reporting on China. Or Ann Devroy of the Washington Post and Mark Matthews of Baltimore’s Sun, married competitors. Merrill McLoughlin and Michael Ruby, who are married, are co-editors of U.S. News & World Report.”
I’m not saying it’s wrong, nor did I say it was uncommon. I simply pointed out that one possible reason for TNJ’s lackluster education coverage is that both of its education reporters likely share the same perspective on education. That was one of three potential reasons, if you’ll bother to read my initial comment.
While I’m not surprised that Sen. Carper is more involved in DE DOE; I am wondering why he hasn’t exerted much influence advocating for quality education? The last school district that was the recipient of the Delaware State Quality Award Program was NCCCVT in 1994!
And, since 1993 and Pat Forgione’s leadership, little in the way of progress has been accomplished.
The new teacher hiring law will mean little as the better teachers will be attracted to better teaching situations and not toxic surroundings. It’s not too late to embrace the research based quality education
that is deployed in MD, PA, NJ and other states.