Redrawing School District Lines
I have been on record saying that Delaware has too many school districts. 19 public/Vo-Tech school districts and 18 (and counting) charter districts. Each charter school is its own district. To me, that’s simply too much administrative overhead. Which brings us to the plan of reducing the number of districts in the city of Wilmington. Something I support, but know that the devil’s in the details.
When the Wilmington Education Advisory Committee (WEAC) submitted its report to the Governor, one of its suggestions was removing Christina and Colonial School Districts from the city and having the only two districts (Red Clay and Brandywine) serve the city.
As a city resident the idea of fewer school districts sounds wonderful. Having four districts fractured the city’s voice. It was hard to organize and advocate for city kids since school districts would only listen to people who lived in their district about concerns with their district. I do understand that, but it was extremely frustrating. Especially since 99% of our concerns applied to every district. But those district lines sent us off in four different directions, with less people, and were easily ignored. And, make no mistake, we were ignored. The districts’ go-to solution was always to form a committee to study the problem. Where all those committee reports ended up… I have no idea. And it was infuriating to keep bringing up the same concerns year after year only to have district administrators feign surprise and call for a new committee. So, most city residents would be happy with fewer school districts – if it’s handled correctly.
It’s no secret that I have huge issues with the Priority School’s plan. It’s about punishment, not education. That said, I did like that it finally triggered a discussion on the mess these districts had made of their city schools. And I really liked a lot of what came out of WEAC.
Now let’s talk about the realities of redrawing district lines, because this won’t be easy – which doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done.
The News Journal’s article from yesterday:
Redistricting was thrust to the front of the state’s educational agenda when the Wilmington Education Advisory Committee recommended it in its interim report in January. The group, established by Markell to find ways to improve education, proposed removing the Christina and Colonial school districts from the city and giving those schools and students to the Red Clay School District.
That would leave only Red Clay and Brandywine serving students in the city limits.
While this plan reduces the number of districts from four to two it really is all about Red Clay, because it looks like the plan is for RCCD to take over all of Christina’s city schools and to take all of Christina’s and Colonial’s K-12 students. It appears Brandywine SD would remain untouched – serving city and suburban students.
Before continuing, here’s how the News Journal sums up the plan:
If the Wilmington Education Advisory Committee’s plan for redistricting is implemented by the legislature, five schools that are currently in the Christina School District would be moved to the Red Clay district. Students who live in the city and attend Christina high schools, which are located in the suburbs, would also be moved to Red Clay.
The Colonial school district serves some Wilmington students, but does not operate any schools in the city limits. Wilmington students in Colonial would move to Red Clay under the committee’s plan.
I’m not saying this can’t work, or be for the best, but there’s a lot of details to be worked out. And unless they are – and a ton of extra funding has to be part of it – I can’t see why RCCD would agree to this (would they even have a choice?). That’s a lot of poverty heading to all their schools, which we know is extremely expensive.
First, the complexities of school funding need to be worked out. High-poverty schools like those in the inner city require more resources to serve students’ challenges, but districts usually receive less property tax money from the city than they do from the suburbs.
Christina’s tax base in Wilmington does not provide enough money to pay for the students in Wilmington, Jaques said. That means Christina would see a significant financial benefit but Red Clay would be in a financial hole if the schools were simply handed over.
It will also increase the student population at Red Clay middle and high schools. The city doesn’t have a high school and only Christina’s Bayard Middle School – which houses approx. 470 students out of roughly 1300 in their elementary schools (is there another middle school in the city limits serving city kids? I don’t think so.) – to serve these students. Does Red Clay have the capacity at its existing middle and high schools to house extra students? I’m not sure. What I am sure about is that, if this plan goes through, it’s going to be expensive. I don’t have a problem with funding high needs kids – I have always said that they deserve and need higher funding – but this plan will result in increased poverty at RCCD’s middle and high schools. That must be addressed before implementing a plan. We cannot do this the way we did Neighborhood Schools. You know, create neighborhood schools, which then created high poverty schools and then act surprised that we re-segregated! Whooocouldaknown!
I’ll end with Kilroy. I’m not sure what possessed him to write this stuff. It makes me sad.
The Wilmington committee refuses to look in the mirror and realize Wilmington needs it’s own school district but I am sure they know it. The city leaders and so-called civil rights leaders won’t support a stand-alone Wilmington school district because if they fail they won’t have the white caretakers to blame. The solution is a stand-alone Wilmington school district with a school board that has the authority to be approval and oversight authority for all charter schools in Wilmington meaning current charter schools would move under that authority. The time is now for the men of Wilmington to man-up and be the guardian of their children.
I’m not even sure what to do with this paragraph. Time for the men of Wilmington to man-up? Why just the men? White caretakers? This statement is racially divisive and offensive. Seriously, Kilroy? You’re better than this.
He goes on to call out Sen. Bryan Townsend:
“I do think there’s a need for a sense of urgency,” said Sen. Bryan Townsend, D-Newark. “There are tough logistics, there’s no doubt, but the adults have really got to be courageous and committed to finding solutions, even if they’re tough, that are in the best interest of our schoolkids.”
Let me guess, Glasgow Class of 99? The Beavis and Butt-Head generation. Slowdown rookie, left not pull the alarm so fast! And there you go saying it’s for the kids if we don’t act fast! Stop kissing Jack Markell ass! You have bright future ahead of you but please walk upright!
But earlier he praised Rep. Kim Williams – who basically said the same thing.
“I get that there’s energy around this and I agree with that,” said Rep. Kim Williams, vice chairman of the House Education Committee. “But this is not something that can be figured out over a cup of coffee. We’ve been operating this system for years and years and years, and it’s not going to just take a couple of months to figure out how to change it.”
Spot on Rep Williams! But we’re talking Governor Jack Markell who has been come so reckless with public education and cares more about his change agent egotistic image than what’s right for children and parents.
I’m confused. Both said there’s a sense of urgency/energy around this topic. Both acknowledged that it wouldn’t be easy. But Kilroy saw these as two very different statements. I don’t understand why.
Redrawing districts won’t be easy, and I shudder to think of the outcry heading our way. Even if there’s a ton of money attached to this plan it’s going to be nasty and ugly. We got a taste of this with the Concerned Neighbors of Cooke Elementary School who fought to keep the high poverty children of Lancaster Court Apartments out of their school – be sure to read the comments on that post because that’s what will be heading our way. Now take that situation and apply it district wide. That doesn’t mean I don’t see problems with this plan. I do, and have mentioned them above (financing, space, etc.). I think they can be worked out (and would have to be worked out before moving forward), but even if they’re worked out I see a major fight on the horizon – and it won’t be pretty.
Tags: Education, Featured, Priority Schools, Red Clay
Pandora,
I think you hit the nail on the head with your comments about middle schools and high schools lacking capacity. Where would those students go?
Let’s follow the events here: Priority Schools announcement, creation of WEAC, referendums, and the very huge but not spotlighted event: the takeover of Family Foundations Academy by EastSide Charter. Add to this that EastSide, Prestige, Kuumba, and Thomas Edison are all part of the Delaware Charter Collaborative. And sure as the sun rises and sets, Family Foundations Academy will become a part of this. On the surface, this collaborative is solely about how teachers are evaluated and is not part of the DPAS-II process. However, all of these schools have low-income Wilmington residents in these schools.
Tony Allen has publicly stated he expects the number of charter seats in Wilmington to double in the next five years. Is that because there will be more charters because of the Red Clay conversion? Even more questions: would the charters in Wilmington go to Red Clay, or would they become their own “district” so to speak? Who would manage this? The city? I don’t think that would happen. It would involve a charter management company to oversee everything. We all know, based on my FOIA between Markell and Paul Herdman of Rodel, that KIPP has an active interest in Wilmington. Dr. Lamont Browne of EastSide has a very strong KIPP section on his resume. It is no coincidence whatsoever that Browne was selected for the Imagine Delaware forum. The Delaware DOE continues to push for Teach For America in these schools, and will continue to do so. Another organization very involved with KIPP. Legislation was introduced by the Delaware Senate to make sure TFA continues. Markell wants a “moratorium” on charters, and Kilroy brilliantly pointed out that this will be a rush committee and we should expect more charters in 2017.
Many legislators want this pushed through and fast. Why? Tony Allen said all these events came up at once, but they were all brought about through Markell and the DOE’s educational agendas. We’ve seen this happen before: New Orleans, Philadelphia, and now York, PA. Charter takeovers of entire cities. All of this is transparent once you figure out the final destination. You just have to put the puzzle pieces together to see the big picture.
I think Kilroy is intentionally sarcastic on many levels. With Kilroy, you do need a decoder ring half the time to know what he is talking about. He drops very subtle hints in statements like that. While it may have come out wrong, it is a plea to the leaders of Wilmington to carefully look at what the true agendas are here.
The only part of this I’ll touch right now is the capacity issue if Red Clay does in fact take over the city schools. Obviously when you take so many new elementary schools there is a demographic repercussion. Christina will probably have to close at least one high school, for example.
Without claiming any authority for what I’m about to say (it all comes from my head and not participants in the process), I believe that (A) Red Clay would not accept this deal without provisions for a new high school, whether than involved new construction or relocating Cab and CSW and re-opening Wilmington HS as a traditional high school. I also think (B) that the most likely scenario for middle schools is to take most of those elementary schools and the one middle school RCCSD would inherit and turn them into K-8 schools on the rough model of Brandywine Springs. At least that’s what I’d be thinking about if–given the current state budget–there was no new money available in the state budget for construction.
I think one of the most interesting possibilities might be moving the Cab Middle School out of its current building and moving it into Dickinson or McKean, which would free up (at least for a few years) space for several high school grades there. What I like about that option is that we’d get to find out how a combined campus between a magnet, a charter, and a traditional high school (with students at all of them getting chances to take classes in the other) would work. But again, that’s just me speculating.
That makes sense, Steve, but… it would also re-segregate middle schools by turning high poverty K-5 schools into high poverty K-8 schools.
I, too, would like to see your last idea in action, but I doubt it would work out that way. What I fear is that Cab/CSW will leave and the building would revert into a high poverty high school. Presto! Complete K-12 re-segregation! Yep, I’m a cynic, but I’d really like to be wrong.
1. If Christina is severed from the City, would that not help stabilize Christina? [It might immolate Holy Angels and St. Mark’s.]
2. If Red Clay gets half the City, won’t that prove to be a candy store for its privatizing partners? [Please show me I’m wrong.]
3. It’s critical that Jim Kenney beat Tony Williams in Philadelphia, or we know who will win this struggle:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/25/us/politics/hillary-clinton-caught-between-dueling-forces-on-education-teachers-and-wealthy-donors.html
Several thoughts here from one who first wrote about Wilmington school issues 43 years ago:
First, on the urgency issue, the ball has to start rolling in this session of the General Assembly and my greatest concern is that the battle over opting out from Smarter Balanced could so consume the Education committees in the GA that it won’t approve anything on the redistricting front. Should nothing happen now, critical momentum would be lost and other legislative factions (i.e., Kent and Sussex reps and senators) will have more time to find ways to undercut essential financial components of any plan.
Second, on redistricting, don’t automatically assume that the appropriate boundary change would be to move the Christina and Colonial sectors into Red Clay. Consider the logic of dividing the city at the Brandywine, with everything north of the river (including Warner and Shortlidge) going to Brandywine, and everything to the south to Red Clay. Keep in mind that Burnett Elementary, the long-closed 8-story school, is in Brandywine territory; it could be a stopgap to serve additional middle-school enrollment generated by a realignment, or it could be razed and a more traditional-looking school built on that site — with the old P.S. du Pont athletic fields available for sharing. I can’t identify any obvious potential school sites south of the Brandywine, and putting more schools in vacant downtown office buildings will only further erode the city’s shrinking tax base.
Third, the financial concerns Red Clay will undoubtedly have must be given serious consideration, and the sighs of relief likely to be heard in Christina will quickly turn to groans, or shouts of anger, the moment someone suggests that a sense of equity requires that the financial burden of educating high-poverty kids not be Red Clay’s alone. Resolving the financial issues will take far more time than redrawing district boundaries so (See Point One above) it is important that the first steps (redistricting) be taken now so the lawmakers’ hands are forced to address funding reforms next.
Fourth, I agree with Steve on the school capacity issues, and I think he’s got a better handle on possible next steps than I do at this time. Please note that, in all the talk about suburban schools being located inconveniently for city parents, it’s easy to forget that the old Wilmington HS building, tucked in the city’s southwest corner, is hardly convenient for most residents of the Christina/Colonial portions of the city. It ain’t Glasgow, but it’s hardly a neighborhood school. In any event, it’s highly unlikely that there is sufficient space in existing city schools to serve middle and high school students who are now bused to the suburbs.
Fifth, on governance and charter schools, part of the logic behind giving most of the city to Red Clay is that, since it already authorizes three charters, it might assume oversight of the other charters in the city. Given the additional responsibilities Red Clay would have in taking on the former Christina schools and their students, adding oversight of charters smacks of piling on. In the next four of five years, as new and existing charters in the city grow to serve authorized enrollment levels, a majority of Wilmington students could be attending charter schools. In recognition of these realities, consideration should be given to creating a Wilmington Charter School Authorization and Oversight Board. Not sure whether it should be appointed or elected, and how that might occur. For starters, I’d suggest seven appointed members — two chosen by the Brandywine school board, two by Red Clay, and three nominated by Wilmington mayor and approved by city council.
Sixth, … no, I’ll stop here and see where others drive this thread.
Last night at the WEAC meeting, Dan Rich continually referenced a 90%growth in Charters in the next 5 years as something predetermined. Anyone understand this? There was also much talk about collaboration. I asked how many charter middle school seats and hs seats will be available in the city, based on current charters. Did not get a definitive answer.. Oh and continually drilled home, DE is a lone duck. Most states like CO, charters are held by Districts. Mmh…So, as Dan said, charters are here and will grow. In my cynical dark moments, I think that with conversation, public school kids can attend charter middle and hs schools. Yeah, it is about choice, awareness of all choices, and transportation. OMGG
All great points, mediawatch. This is extremely complicated and promises to be extremely expensive. I’m not thrilled with the idea of RCCD taking on more of the city – they haven’t exactly done a great job with what they have – but the idea of a city district with the existing tax base is a no go.
You mentioned the river-to-river plan. Is that still on the table?
One of the main problems I see is that very few people are actually talking about educating children, financing the high poverty schools they created, housing additional services in these schools, mandatory smaller class sizes, etc..
Instead we get labeling schools Priority Schools, redrawing district lines, more charters, privatization, etc.. I’m not saying all these things are inherently bad, but none of them address the problems and needs of poor children.
As far as moving quickly… I see, and understand, your point. That said, they better move fast before a certain segment finds out about the plan. This is not going to go over well in RCCD.
Lee, why does the only plan for our city public school children seem to be to give them away to charters?
I remember, during the last RCCD capital referendum, how Red Clay administrators and reps couldn’t answer the Highland’s community questions about their public school – instead RCCD people gushed over the incoming BofA megacharter. They kept calling it a game changer. This was their answer to public school parents’ concerns. It was stunning.
Lee,
On the 90 percent growth in charters — that’s based on projected capacity of schools already open or about to open.
Kuumba and Academia Antonia Alonso are adding additional grades. Freire, Great Oaks and Delaware Met are opening this fall. Freire starts with 8-9 and eventually becomes 8-12. Great Oaks starts with 6 and becomes 6-12. Delaware Met starts with 9-10 and becomes 9-12.
Assuming these schools attract students to fill the seats they are authorized to have, you’ll get the 90 percent increase. No guarantees here — but the schools do create choices for city residents, so they are going to have to demonstrate quality and connect well with their constituents in order to reach capacity. All of them may not.
Pandora,
On the points you made:
I don’t know if river-to-river is still on the table, but there’s a lot to be said for creating logical boundaries. Geographically it makes sense, as does giving Brandywine a slightly bigger piece of the pie (and two of the Priority Schools). Historically, Brandywine has stood apart from Red Clay and Christina in terms of attempting to resegregate city kids. And, when these students get to high school, even Concord is a shorter trip than Dickinson or McKean.
Agree with your point about not actually addressing the needs of children, but one unfortunate reality of governance is that you’ve got to decide which agency is going to be responsible for which kids and which schools before you can lay out the specifics of the educational programs. Consider the alternative: DOE determining how the kids will be educated and how much it will be cost and then telling the districts to get it done. (Oh, sorry, sounds rather like Priority Schools, doesn’t it?)
As for your concerns about more charters/privatization, for now, I’m cautiously hopeful that the new charters will turn out as positives. They have no cream-skimming preferences (like Newark Charter’s five-mile-radius or CSW’s “placement” test) and the fact that you have to apply, as with the choice program, means that there is some parental buy-in at the start.
I understand your point about the Red Clay brash gushing a few years ago over the prospect of the Community Education Building. Kind of interesting, if you think about it, how Bank of America, through a foundation created by Pierre S. du Pont, builder of schools for black children up and down the state, makes available a building to serve some 2,500 children, most of them minorities, within Wilmington, thereby furthering the resegregation of suburban schools.
A couple of quick points, I haven’t had time to dig in to all the comments:
All told – from what I have seen, the attendance zone demographics of the districts will change remarkably little with a few notable exceptions: 5% poverty increase in Red Clay going from 50-55%, bump up in AA students (smaller in Hispanic, white), 5% decrease in poverty in Christina, from 65-60%. Not as huge a change as one might think?
And in terms of the uneven capacity shift – currently, Bayard School is the only one Wilmington kids attend, according to Christina’s attendance zones…as far as I can tell from the maps on their website…how is that possible when it only serves 470 kids? Where are they going? What’s that all about…and what are the numbers of kids that then go on to the three high schools?
And yes – the 90% growth in approved charter enrollment caps. I have similarly heard that a lot of those schools are struggling to drum up interest. I’m not sure if it’s the game plan…I am sure some wish it was, but the general public is not necessarily running in that direction, despite the hype. And I have also noted a strong undercurrent of wanting charters IN districts, very much like the way it is in Denver, where “all kids are Denver Public Schools kids”…as the NACSA rep has said…
Coolspringer,
Delaware is indeed an outlier among charter authorizers. In other states, the responsibility is given to local districts or independent organziations, rather than to the state Dept. of Education.
I believe that’s one reason why the much-talked-about replication of successful charters has not occurred here.
It took DOE 19 years to come up with a charter oversight system that combines rigor and consistency. And, until this year, DOE was hardly inclined to impose its will on the districts concerning perceived curriculum improvements.
If Kuumba, for example, were a district charter, and board members saw how successful its math program was, you can bet they would be implementing it in other district schools. DOE doesn’t have the authority to do that and Team Markell-Murphy believes the best tools for change are the hammer and the sword.