Please Sign The Petition – Let’s Make Priority Schools A Real PRIORITY

Please Sign The Petition – Let’s Make Priority Schools A Real PRIORITY

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Via Exceptional Delaware:
A group of like-minded individuals who are against the priority schools initiative has created an iPetition to give to Governor Markell, Delaware Secretary of Education Mark Murphy and the Delaware Department of Education.  Please take a minute or two during the busy holiday season and make a difference!  The timing is crucial on this petition.
If you agree... please sign the petition then help spread the word by sharing the petition with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, email, etc.. I'm counting on my DL community - you guys haven't let me down before.  Let's knock this out of the park! Come inside for the Petition Link.
Screw It… It’s Time For Some Holiday Cheer

Screw It… It’s Time For Some Holiday Cheer

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My gift to you is some really easy recipes!  Lemon Tea Cookies and Sugared Pecans! Not kidding, these recipes are super easy and delicious! Both of these recipes are extremely easy.  I've made mine, and will probably have to make more!  Then again, I am not cooking on Christmas Eve.  Merry Christmas to me!
Red Clay’s Latest Idea Will Create More Hardship For City Parents, Or… Red Clay Demonstrates, once again, how Clueless They Are

Red Clay’s Latest Idea Will Create More Hardship For City Parents, Or… Red Clay Demonstrates, once again, how Clueless They Are

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I had heard whispers about this for months.  Kilroy spells it out: Red Clay's (RCCD) plan for two of its Priority Schools is to turn one (Shortlidge) into a K - 2 and the other one (Warner) into a 3 - 5 school.  And while I'm no fan of the Neighborhood Schools Act (NSA), Kilroy points out that this move violates the NSA.
Ninth Street Book Shop: Bryan Stevenson To Speak At The Queen

Ninth Street Book Shop: Bryan Stevenson To Speak At The Queen

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Via ninth street book shop - which you should totally shop at.
Bryan Stevenson, who was born in Milford, DE, will speak at a free public event at the Queen Theatre (500 N Market St) on Monday, Dec. 15th from 5:00--7:00 pm.  His memoir, "Just Mercy," is a powerful indictement of the inequities of our justice system and a call for action.  Following his presentation, he will be autographing copies of his book ($28) that will be available for purchase either there or at our store. 500 N Market St in the Olympia Room at the Queen Theatre Wilmington, Delaware
The Pandora household is trying to clear our calendar to attend. Hope to see everyone!
The Darren Wilson Interview

The Darren Wilson Interview

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I've watched the interview with Darren Wilson and George Stephanopoulos and all I got out of it was anger.  During the interview all I kept thinking was... Liar.  And while I get why he lied (Hello?  Ongoing Federal Investigation), what I don't understand is why he gave the interview so soon.  Why not wait?  Did ABC pay him?  Payment is the only excuse I can think of for doing this interview so quickly. Here's why I think he's lying in the interview.  I also think he lied to the Grand Jury, and I'll get to that later.  Okay, here's the big lie....
New Blog In Town – Steve Newton Whiskey

New Blog In Town – Steve Newton Whiskey

Steve Newton has started a new blog.  Go read! What's interesting is this:
I'd rather have a system of ethics than an ideology. So I'm starting over here, in a sense.  As a historian I know that all phenomena involve both continuity and change.  I'm still the same person, with the same background, the same interests, the same flaws, and the same leanings, that I was about seven years ago when I first started publishing The Delaware Libertarian.  I'm just unwilling to confine my ideas, my observations, or my potential solutions to that framework any more.
Attendance Zone Decision for Cooke Elementary School Results In A Protest

Attendance Zone Decision for Cooke Elementary School Results In A Protest

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An ipetition landed in my email.  Here's what it says:
Protest of Red Clay School Board's Attendance Zone Decision for Cooke Elementary School We demand that the Red Clay Consolidated School District School Board reverse their October 15 decision to deviate from the Attendance Zone feeder pattern that had been presented by the Attendance Zone Committee and accepted by the community. This last-minute decision undermined six months of work by the Attendance Zone Committee and did not give the community an opportunity to voice concerns. The students of Lancaster Court Apartments will not benefit from this decision, and the decision contradicts the Neighborhood Schools Act. The Board's action was not ethical and the decision is not acceptable.
So... I made some calls to try and figure out what happened.  I'm piecing this together from various conversations, so if anyone has additional insight please let me know.  Here's what I heard....
About Last Night…

About Last Night…

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I haven't blogged about the 2014 election... until now.  Am I disappointed Republicans now control the House and the Senate.  Yes.  Am I devastated?  No.  And here's why. Since 2010 the Republican battle cry has been that the House can't get its crazy past the D controlled Senate.  This worked for them - it was like a constant campaign commercial.  It worked for the so-called "sane" Republicans as well.  Vote to repeal the ACA for the gazillionth time?  Sure.  Why not.  The D controlled Senate would block it and the Rs would get to keep their Conservative street cred while doing nothing.  It's why there were so many votes taken to repeal the ACA - every Republican wanted a chance (or two, or forty) to go on the record with that meaningless vote. But now that vote isn't meaningless, and I'm seeing problems on the horizon.
Wilmington City Council’s Meeting On Priority Schools

Wilmington City Council’s Meeting On Priority Schools

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Last night I attended the City Council Meeting on Priority Schools. I've stared at the above sentence for quite a while, not sure how to proceed.  Mainly because I think last night was simply window dressing, a box checked off... the deal is done.  These schools, imo, are headed for charter conversion, privatization or closure.  The only question is when this will happen.  Shortly after the December 31, 2014 Plan deadline? Or after the specified four year, approximately 6 million Plan doesn't meet the standardized test bar?