On July, 1,2014, Rep. Darryl Scott introduced HB 424:
| Primary Sponsor: | Scott |  |
| CoSponsors: | { NONE…} | |
| Introduced on : | 07/01/2014 | |
| Long Title: | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. |
| Synopsis of Orginal Bill: (without Amendments) |
This bill eliminates the ability of charter schools to give an enrollment preference to students who have a specific interest in the school’s teaching methods, philosophy, or educational focus, or who are within a five-mile radius. It also requires that admission to vocational-technical high schools be determined by a lottery system. |
Looks like Rep. Scott has handed the House his retirement gift, and I really hope other members pick up his call.
First, I’ve always had a problem with picking a career path for a 10 and 13 year old (and in some cases younger). And I’m really not sure how children that age “demonstrate” special interest. Of course, those with financially secure parents will have quite a resumé of science, math, arts camps and visits to the Met or NASA, but how does an average kid, who doesn’t have those advantages, demonstrate special interest? Especially when you consider the admission’s requirements for certain Charters, Vo-Techs and Magnet schools (Yep, magnet schools should be in this bill, too). It doesn’t appear to be enough to say, “I really like and have always been interested in science, art, math, etc.”. Or, why taking the time to complete an application to a specific interest school doesn’t demonstrate… well, interest.
We are all aware that The Charter School of Wilmington has an admissions, I mean placement test. It is used as way to determine which classes to place a student. They also require an essay to be completed on the test day, and according to CSW’s website the essay “is also used to phase students once they are enrolled at CSW.” Well, if that’s true, then why not give the test/essay after the student is accepted? Seriously, why not?
And it’s not only charter schools that have the special interest requirement. Magnet schools are doing this as well.
Conrad Schools of Science requires an interview/assessment appointment for all high school and in District applicants. This consists of an approximately 10 minute interview and an approximately 30 minute writing assessment. As well as submitting… Current year’s report card, Previous year’s report card, Standardized test scores (DSTP, DCAS, Terranova, CAT, MAP, etc.), and Student work from science class (project, poster, etc.). Conrad transformed into a magnet in the fall of 2007. In the year before the transformation, Conrad had 74% low income and 18.4% special ed. In the 2013 – 2014 school year, Conrad has 35.6% low income and 2.9% special ed. Draw your own conclusions.
Cab Calloway School of the Arts requires an assessment. They say… “Your enrollment is based solely on your performance during the assessment.” Here’s where all those expensive piano lessons and art camps pay off.
Even Vo-Tech is requiring an essay: An application is complete when the form (with parent signature), essay, final report card from the previous school year, and a most recent report card are submitted. Why is that?
Back to HB 424… Scott also wants to eliminate the 5 mile radius, which brings Newark Charter School’s policies into play. I’ll sit back and wait for the explosion.
All of these schools require more than specific interest, and every additional requirement for admission is a way, imo, to shape their populations.
I really hope someone picks up HB 424. It’s past time to address these issues. We really need to stop carving public education into slices.