Author Archives: pandora

About pandora

A stay-at-home mom with an obsession for National politics.

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

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.

Here’s the iPetition:

Let’s Make Priority Schools A Real PRIORITY

We ask the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE), Secretary of Education Mark Murphy, and Governor Jack Markell to reconsider their stated plans and time frame for the six “priority schools” located in Wilmington. The time frame provided is insufficient for districts and the schools’ communities to develop thoughtful, serious plans for improvement. Instead, the short time frame sets these schools on a path towards closure, conversion to charter and/or privatization (as threatened)—which would result in city children losing their public schools.

The following items must be considered:

1. A comprehensive review of Christina’s Stubbs and Bancroft elementary schools, conducted by the University of Delaware and commissioned by DDOE, released a report in early December indicating that these schools are making significant progress in a range of categories under their current leadership. In fifteen areas, including School Leadership Decisions, Curriculum and Instruction, and Strategies for Students Who Are at Risk, both schools received the highest possible evaluation.

2. Given such positive evaluation by a highly respected and objective organization, the removal of principals from these schools, merely to comply with federal regulations governing turn-around plans, seems arbitrary, capricious and harmful. Firing respected principals and/or teachers without careful evaluation, in order to replace them with leaders unfamiliar with the students and their communities, is a serious disservice to the professionals and children concerned. Doing this would further destabilize high-needs schools that have already experienced significant turnover. A strong school depends on trust among teachers, administrators, parents and students; this must be rebuilt whenever new staff are brought in.

3. The amount of money allocated to the “priority schools” is not enough to reach the ambitious improvement goals set by DDOE. The insufficient additional funding all but guarantees that these schools will close, convert to charter and/or privatize after failing to achieve dramatic improvement with modest resources within a short timeframe. The likely result is that city children will lose public schools obligated to serve every child in their area—in contrast to charters, which demonstrably choose which students and families to accept and retain.

We request that the following changes be implemented in these schools:

1. Provide needs-based funding—additional dollars to adequately meet the needs of low-income, special education and non-English speaking students

2. Institute smaller class sizes for disadvantaged student populations

3. Offer wrap around social services in the priority schools, to address the many factors that adversely impact educational outcomes for their students.

All of us want what is best for the children attending priority schools. The current DDOE plan is not likely to help them and may, in fact, diminish educational opportunity for many.

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!

Screw It… It’s Time For Some Holiday Cheer

My gift to you is some really easy recipes!  Not kidding, these recipes are super easy and delicious!

Lemon Tea Cookies

1 tsp lemon zest
2 tsp lemon juice
1/3 c milk
1/2 c butter
1 3/4 c flour
3/4 c sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda

Glaze:
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 c sugar

Mix milk and lemon juice – let sit for 5 minutes

Beat butter. Add 1/2 the flour, sugar, lemon zest, egg, baking powder, baking soda, and milk mixture. Mix well.  Add remaining flour.

Drop by rounded teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheet (2″ apart). Bake at 350 for 10 – 12 minutes or till edges are lightly browned.  Cool on wire rack.

Once cool, make the glaze and brush over cookies

It’s a moist batter, so no arm strain!

Sugared Pecans

1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
1 pound pecan halves
1 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (more to taste)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Grease one to two baking sheets.

In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg white and water until frothy.

In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and cinnamon.

Add pecans to egg whites, stir to coat the nuts evenly. Remove the nuts, and toss them in the sugar mixture until coated. Spread the nuts out on the prepared baking sheet. Bake at 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes.  Be sure to stir every 15 minutes, or else they’ll all stick together!

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!

Feel free to add your favorite recipes in the comments!

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

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.

§ 223 Neighborhood School Plans.
(b) Neighborhood School Plans shall consist of the following grade configurations:
(1) A lower-level school, or elementary school, consisting of either grades K-5 or grades K-6;
(2) A middle-level school, or junior high school, consisting of either grade 6 or 7 to grade 8 or 9;
(3) An upper-level school, or high school, consisting of either grades 9-12 or grades 10-12.
[emphasis mine]

Yep, this new configuration, designed to accomplish god knows what, is in direct violation with the NSA.  I wrote a comment over at Kilroy’s.  I will expand on it a bit here.

I don’t understand the thinking behind this.

First, RCCD has built 2 new suburban elementary schools in the name of NSA – even though space existed in other district elementary schools.  These new suburban schools were built for location not lack of district capacity.

One of the arguments for these new suburban schools, and the NSA, was that children should attend K – 5 in one school close to home – don’t forget, K – 5 in one school was the major point since suburban busing only existed in grades 3 – 5. The NSA didn’t work unless grades 3 – 5 and K -2 schools became K – 5.

My first point above is self explanatory.  If K-5 (or K-6) is the law, then it’s the law for everyone, not just suburban kids.

Second… another reason stated for NSA was the difficulty parents experienced in having to deal with/juggle two elementary schools. For city families, splitting Warner and Shortlidge will mean two different buses and/or two different schools for drop off, pick up, teacher meetings, parent nights, holiday/school events, etc..

And since most families (city and suburban) have more than one child, close in age, this idea will make more work for city parents. Elementary schools start and end their day at the same time so a parent walking or driving their children to school will have to leave their home earlier in order to get their children to two schools on time – which will result in one child arriving to school early (will there be accommodations for that?) while the child dropped off second will arrive without a moment to spare. And which child would a parent pick up from school first? Which child would have to wait to be picked up? Dismissal is at the same time, so will RCCD be supplying a safe, supervised area for children to wait? AND… would parents now have to leave work early in order to pick up children in after care due to timing? (The more I type the more questions I have!)

If each school has their own buses then a parent will be waiting at the bus stop for a longer period of time (will they even be the same bus stop, or will parents have to get to two bus stops for pick up and drop off?) – unless someone thinks those buses will always arrive within seconds of each other? If RCCD decides to merge Warner’s and Shortlidge’s buses then that would require an earlier morning pick up since the buses would have to drop children off at two schools – it would also mean that the children would get home from school later (same reason) and result in children spending more time on a bus (which was a major suburban complaint against busing).  Guess all these complaints only count for the suburban community.

After Care is pretty strict about pick up, so Warner and Shortlidge parents would have to leave work early in order to make two stops?  Or would we be busing, or walking, kids from one school to another in all kinds of weather?  Oh, you have an older sibling at Warner? You’ll need to go there for after care, but you don’t have an older sibling so you’ll stay at Shortlidge?

And even if they changed the schools’ start and dismissal times that still equates into more of a burden for city parents (wait times at bus stops for pick up and drop off will be longer, extra time needed for car drivers and walkers to get to two different schools).  What the hell is Red Clay thinking? This solution ranks right up there with school uniforms as a solution for struggling schools and demonstrates how out of touch RCCD is with its city community.

And the idea of two parent nights, special events, etc. boggles the mind. It’s burdensome and not conducive to the tired mantra of “parent involvement”.

Think about that.  RCCD is actually considering an idea that will create more work for city parents.  Two of everything.  Seriously, there’s something wrong with these people.  And I hope the RCCD school board points out how clueless these district employees and superintendent are.  (I can’t make the meeting because I have to pick my son up – he’s coming home from college that night.  I will be listening to the recorded meeting – thanks for pushing that, Kilroy!)

Third, if RCCD does this then would Shortlidge still be considered a Priority School? What tests would that designation be based on?

I guess this is one way to get one of your schools off the Priority Schools list.  It’s as easy as changing the grade configuration!  Maybe RCCD’s next state-of-the-art suggestion will be new and improved uniforms (with a fancy school logo!) and calling one a learning center or academy or institute?  So far that pretty much sums up their “ideas” for improving city schools. Lord knows, they never offer anything like equitable funding, smaller class sizes, desirable programs, etc..  Those things cost money so they’re off the table.  And then they sit back and scratch their collective heads wondering why these schools don’t improve.  Hey, we gave them uniforms!  That’s the solution, right?

I’ve said it before… we could get rid of 40% of district office (and DDOE) and actually see improvements in schools.  These people cause more harm than good – and are vastly overpaid for their idiocy.  Sorry if that sounds harsh, but district employees (as well as those who work at DDOE), who earn far more than teachers and other school staff and who have rarely, if ever, stepped foot in these Priority Schools are the biggest obstacle to success.  District offices and the DDOE need to cut their staff drastically.  Know what they are?  They are a condo council or a neighborhood association that exists to “make work” for others – all outward facing curtain backs must be white, garage doors must be closed, trash can lids must be attached to trash cans.  It’s ridiculous and doesn’t improve a damn thing.  It’s also a classic example of eff up, move up.  People should be promoted into a classroom, not out of it.  And that would be the case if we actually put children first – which we don’t – or we do, but only certain children.  Keep fighting, ACLU!  School districts and DDOE have given you everything you need to make your case.

Fourth, from what I’m hearing RCCD did not include the Warner and Shortlidge community in this decision and these communities are not happy.

Yep, my email inbox is filling up and my phone has been ringing.  Looks like, in typical fashion, RCCD didn’t consult the community on this brilliant idea.  Why am I not surprised?

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

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!

Oops!  Almost forgot – h/t to Dorian Gray for bringing this to my attention!

The Darren Wilson Interview

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:

Wilson repeatedly defended killing Michael Brown in August, saying he did what he was trained to do that day and that wouldn’t do anything differently. Later in the interview, Wilson told Stephanopoulos he had a clean conscience, though he said he regretted the loss of life.

and…

Stephanopolous: Guess it’s hard to have a normal life after someone is lying dead. Is it something you think that will always haunt you?

Wilson: I don’t think it’s a haunting, it’s just something that happened.

Wouldn’t do anything differently?  It’s just something that happened?  Seriously?  To me these are appalling statements, unless you’re a sociopath – and I haven’t taken the sociopath theory off the table.

There are a ton of ways to show remorse without incriminating yourself.  How about… I wish I hadn’t gotten out of bed that morning?  I wish I hadn’t driven down that street?  I wish things had turned out differently because taking a life, even though I had no choice, is something that will haunt me forever?  See?  It’s possible to show remorse without incriminating yourself, but Darren Wilson, in his own words, shows zero regret for taking a life.  Sorry, but that leaves me with him being a liar or a sociopath.  Hell, even people who end up killing their attacker have trouble coming to terms with killing someone – no matter how justified.  Taking a life is a big, effing deal.  But not to Wilson.  To Wilson it’s just something that happened.  Like the weather.

I hope it comes out that he was paid big bucks because that’s the only reason I can think of to justify him doing this interview so soon.  That, at least, would make sense.

And when you look at his Grand Jury testimony it gets worse.  Let’s start with this:  Wilson testifies that his first words to Mike Brown and Dorian Johnson were, “Why don’t you guys walk on the sidewalk?”

Know what this reminds me of?  It reminds me of the times someone tells you about an argument they’ve had and how they present themselves as calm and reasonable while they portray the other person as hysterical.  They even change their voice and tone when relating the other person’s words.

So, I’m not buying Wilson’s politely worded request, mainly because taking the time to confront kids walking in the flippin’ street paints him as someone looking to harass kids for a stupid reason.

Here’s more of this incident (Via TPM):

From the outset, Wilson’s testimony painted Brown as an angry young man. The officer testified that when he first approached Brown and his friend to tell them to walk on the sidewalk instead of in the middle of the road, Brown responded “fuck what you have to say.”

“It was a very unusual and not expected response from a simple request,” Wilson told jurors.

According to Wilson’s account, the officer swung his car around to contain Brown and Johnson and opened his door a few inches before Brown slammed it shut.

Wilson said Brown then started swinging at him through the window of his police cruiser. He described feeling “small” when he gripped Brown’s arm to try to stop the blows.

Why swing your car around to block them?  What was the point of that move?  How close to Brown and Johnson did he move the car?  Did Brown “slam” the car door shut because Wilson’s car was close to him?  Or did Brown run up to the car and slam the door? And then Brown starts swinging?  Why?  If we believe Wilson’s testimony (which I don’t) then it’s because Mike Brown is a crazy, Hulk Hogan demon – after all, Wilson has been nothing but polite.

Then there’s this testimony:

He immediately grabs my gun and says, “you are too much of a pussy to shoot me.”

But is this true?  Did Mike Brown grab Wilson’s gun.  Well… we’ll never know, because:

Talking with police investigators and before the grand jury, Wilson claimed that Brown had grabbed at Wilson’s gun during the initial incident in the police car and that Brown’s hand was on the firearm when it misfired at least once. Wilson also told police that he thought Brown would overpower him and shoot him with his own gun. “I was not in control of the gun,” Wilson said. Eventually he regained control of the weapon and fired from within the car.

Investigators could have helped to prove or disprove Wilson’s testimony by testing his service weapon for Brown’s fingerprints. But the gun was not tested for fingerprints. An investigator argued before the grand jury that the decision was made not to test the weapon because Wilson “never lost control of his gun.” [emphasis mine]

Which is it?  Was Wilson in control of his gun, or not?

And I haven’t even dealt with the “Demon/Hulk Hogan/ Feeling like a 5 year old comment.  “It looked like a demon.”  It?  Really?  And then there’s this:

Well, after the last shot my tunnel vision kind of opened up. I remember seeing the smoke from the gun and I kind of looked at him and he’s still coming at me, he hadn’t slowed down. At this point I start backpedaling and again, I tell him get on the ground, get on the ground, he doesn’t.

I shoot another round of shots. Again, I don’t recall how many him every time. I know at least once because he flinched again.

At this point it looked like he was almost bulking up to run through the shots, like it was making him mad that I’m shooting at him.

Well hell, if we believe this then Mike Brown was either a demon or a super hero, because only a demon or super hero would bulk up (grow in size?) to run through bullets.  Maybe Wilson meant the Incredible Hulk, not Hulk Hogan?

“If only our legal system offered some way to publicly weigh the testimony of different eyewitnesses who contradict each other—a sort of “trial” of the evidence, if you will.”  I can’t remember where I read this comment (Sorry), but he/she makes a valid point.  There are too many unanswered questions.  This case should have gone to trial.

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.

So, in what will probably be fits and starts, I’m going to try the next step of my personal evolution, and just be … Steve Newton.  If my ideas and observations have any merit, such merit will remain no matter what the title; if not, Libertarians shouldn’t take the fall for my transgressions (not that you can fall too hard from a distance of 1-2%).

Makes sense.

Good luck, Steve!  We’ll be reading!

“Concerned Neighbors Of Cooke Elementary School” VS The Red Clay School Board

I plan on attending the RCCD school board meeting tomorrow night (7pm at Brandywine Springs Elementary School).  This is going to be interesting, mainly because the Concerned Neighbors of Cooke Elementary School’s stated concerns regarding the addition of Lancaster Court Apartments to Cooke’s feeder don’t hold water – they also keep changing.  If you haven’t read my previous post on this issue and the comments, you should do so.  Cooke commenters didn’t hold back on this thread.  It’s quite enlightening and very sad.

Let’s go back and look at the original position that was edited to remove the line I’ve bold-ed:

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.

To understand where they are coming with the bold sentence we need to look no further than the comment left on the i-petition by the Concerned Neighbors of Cooke Elementary School:

“Absolutely agreed, Xudong! Board member Cathy Thompson (the only Board Member to vote AGAINST this motion) said that if we have an awesome turnout at the meeting, then there is a chance for the decision to be reversed!!! Show up no later than 6:30 at Brandywine Springs School prepared to share your points in 3 minutes or less. Main points can include:
1) The Board’s decision was not the right thing to do;
2) The community was given no voice as a result of their last-minute action;
3) This decision is NOT in the best interest of Lancaster Court Apartment students as they will not be eligible for Title 1 (special school funding and other benefits) that they would receive at another school. How is this helping students??
4) This decision violates the Neighborhood Schools Act;
5) Passing of the upcoming referendum is at risk if this decision is not reversed
The more presence we have at the meeting, the more of an impact we will make!!!”

This, of course, is not true.  But after I posted on this last week the line about Lancaster Court Apt. children vanished.  Guess someone finally read up on Title 1 and realized this argument had to go.

But this isn’t the only point this group is wrong about.  Let’s go through them, shall we?

1. The School Board’s Vote:

Here is what they claim: “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.”

This point has been expanded on in comments here at DL and in the comments on the petition, but is it true?  Did the board do something unethical? Illegal? Shady? Something they’ve never done before?

No.  The Red Clay School Board has the authority to amend committee recommendations.  It’s why they’re called recommendations.  In fact, had any of these concerned neighbors attended the September board meeting they would have seen the board vote to amend the Social Media policy presented by that committee.  Haven’t seen a petition on this amended vote, which should exist since this group is claiming their concerns are procedural.

Leave it to Steve Newton to ask the question: “let’s assume the board had followed whatever you think is proper procedure and still voted the same–can we then assume you would have refused to sign the petition? A simple yes or no to that one would suffice.”  He never received an answer to that question.  A part of me wishes the board would go through these brand new, never before used standards and still vote to include Lancaster Court Apartments.  I’m sure everyone would be happy… right?  This is about procedure… right?

Closing down this first point about the board’s vote… the petitioners are wrong.  RCCD school board has the authority to amend committee recommendations and has done so in the past.  People claiming otherwise are wrong.

2.  The Neighborhood Schools Act (NSA):

Again, there’s a part of me that wants this Cooke group to push this point.  It’s past time to blow this up.  So… Please proceed, Concerned Neighbors of Cooke Elementary School.  I am so fine with this.

But enough about my dreams, let’s discuss how they don’t understand the NSA.  If the NSA required the building of new schools so each neighborhood could have an attendance zone circle (or square) drawn around it then they would have a point.  But the NSA does not require the building of schools therefore neatly constructed attendance zones cannot exist.  There are people in the Brandywine Springs, Linden Hill, North Star, Highlands, Warner, etc. feeder that live closer to other elementary schools.  This is due to where the schools are physically located and capacity (the number of students the school can hold).  So this idea that the NSA must be applied  to the letter of the law is nonsense.  It simply can’t be done, unless we can physically pick up and move existing schools to new locations.

Citing the NSA as part of their argument against including Lancaster Court Apartments doesn’t hold water and if this AZ is changed because of the NSA school boards better buckle up.  They’ll be flooded with i-petitions and maps!

3.  Non-Contiguous Attendance Zones:

This point ties into the NSA.  The Concerned Neighbors of Cooke also sent out a flyer in which they claim in bold type:

“All Red Clay Elementary School feeders have contiguous boundaries (sharing a common border) in accordance to the Neighborhood Schools Act, why is this not the case for Cooke?”

Had they taken two seconds to look at the attendance zone map (they actually printed on their flyer) they would have seen that Warner has had a non-contiguous attendance zone for years.  So if their point is that Cooke should not have a non-contiguous attendance zone due to the Neighborhood Schools Act then I guess we’ll have to redraw Warner’s attendance zone.  Right?

4. Capacity

They’ve now added that new schools should have lower capacity due to potential growth.  Fine.  That’s a nice idea for all schools.  Too bad they don’t have a legal leg to stand on.  So, dare I say it?  They are wrong again.

Yep, tomorrow’s RCCD board meeting will be interesting.  Many people outside the Cooke community are watching.

I’ll say it again… Please proceed, Concerned Neighbors of Cooke Elementary School.

 

State Of Emergency Declared – Ferguson Grand Jury Decision Coming Soon

Via TPM:

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon (D) declared a state of emergency Monday, preempting a grand jury decision in the Ferguson shooting of Michael Brown that is expected to be delivered any day.

The order establishes that the St. Louis County police will be in charge of law enforcement in Ferguson in response to any unrest. It will work in coordination with the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the St. Louis city police. The order lasts for 30 days.

Nixon also issued an executive order activating the Missouri National Guard to assist local law enforcement.

Remember when George Zimmerman was declared Not Guilty in the murder of Trayvon Martin and protesters burned Sanford, Florida to the ground?  Me neither.

How about this?  Remember all the talk about how, if Zimmerman was found Not Guilty, protesters would burn Sanford, Florida to the ground?  I remember that.  I’m sure everyone remembers since the talk of riots and violence filled the airways and internet.  You couldn’t escape it.

Remember how, after Zimmerman’s verdict came in, he was a hunted man who was continuously beaten up, shot at and ultimately killed?  Wait a minute… that didn’t happen?  But I’m hearing the same thing about Darren Wilson’s future, the police officer who killed Michael Brown…

Are you starting to see a pattern?  I am, and it’s infuriating.

Now I’m not saying that there won’t be some trouble makers – they tend to exist in all large crowds.  And if these people frighten you then don’t ever send your kid to a rock concert.  Perhaps a State of Emergency should be declared whenever a large group of people gather for an event?  I’m kidding… sorta.

But the underlying message is that the people of Ferguson (just like the people of Sanford) will react violently because they’re poor and black.  They are being viewed as criminals before they step out of their front doors.  And if you go back and watch all the footage from Ferguson this past summer what you’ll see is a 99% peaceful protest with a few bad apple protesters and a bushel full of badly behaving police officers who arrested people for no reason, who called people names and threatened them, who pointed loaded weapons at people, who removed all identification from their uniforms, etc..  You’ll also see looting being stopped by protesters as law enforcement formed a perimeter around the area and did nothing to stop the looting.  As I watched all this footage I kept asking myself why the police were even there?  To form a human cage?

We really need to change our ways.  But I doubt we will.  Remember during Hurricane Katrina when we were treated to two identical pictures of people wading through water with supplies?  The white couple’s photo was captioned: “Two residents wade through chest-deep water after finding bread and soda from a local grocery store after Hurricane Katrina came through the area in New Orleans…”  The black guy’s photo was captioned: “A young man walks through chest deep floodwater after looting a grocery store in New Orleans…”

Then there’s the New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival… twitter user, AllenGirl1975 broke it down perfectly for us:

Embedded image permalink

There’s Huntington Beach, CA:

A violent crowd raged through Huntington Beach on Sunday night after a surfing competition, clashing with police, toppling portable toilets, brawling in the streets and vandalizing and looting at least one business, according to police and witnesses.

The Huntington crowd was white, btw.

And then there was the riot in our own back yard – University of Delaware.  Oh, I’m sorry.  Did I say they rioted?  I meant “wreak havoc”

Some walked on cars, urinated in public and blocked traffic — transforming what might otherwise have been a sleepy Monday night into what Newark police described as a near riot.

Near riot?  Couldn’t quite make the leap?  And when you read the articles surrounding this riot it’s funny how most of the discussion is about I’m Shmacked – as if this organization was solely responsible, as if they hypnotized the students and controlled their behavior.  Not a word was mentioned about the students’ upbringing or culture.  No one asked the white community what their problem was.  More importantly, no one at the pumpkin festival, or at Huntington Beach or the UD riots was shot.

All I want is equality in language.  Yeah, I know I’m not going to get it, but maybe we can train ourselves to recognize when it’s happening.

For what it’s worth I don’t expect Darren Wilson to be indicted – which just shows how cynical I’ve become.  And I really hope the Grand Jury’s decision comes soon.  I don’t think I can stand anymore violent prophecies that only ever surface when it comes to the black community.  Go back to Zimmerman’s trial and remember all the hysteria over violent prophecies and then tell me what actually happened after the verdict.  Can we please stop this?

 

Attendance Zone Decision for Cooke Elementary School Results In A Protest

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:

It seems Lancaster Court Apartments were added to Cooke Elementary’s attendance zone instead of Marbrook’s due to Marbrook’s plan to add Pre-K and the additional space needed for that program.  I was also told that Cooke has the space, and several people I spoke with said that Cooke was projected to be under capacity.  Let me know if you’ve heard anything different.

Redrawing attendance zones is always a nightmare.  People end up unhappy.  But this is actually the first time I can remember the fight being about keeping a community out.  Normally, the battle consists of moving a neighborhood into a preferred attendance zone.

But this petition is interesting. Let’s take a look at the comments on this petition:

“Everyone MUST show up at the 11/19 (6:30PM) Shcool Board meeting at Brandywine Springs School. It’s our chance to be heard and to get the board to reverse their decision!!!”

Fair enough.  Everyone should attend school board meetings and speak their mind.  I’m all for that.  The second comment appears to be from the organizers of the ipetition:

Concerned Neighbors of Cooke Elementary School said:

“Absolutely agreed, Xudong! Board member Cathy Thompson (the only Board Member to vote AGAINST this motion) said that if we have an awesome turnout at the meeting, then there is a chance for the decision to be reversed!!! Show up no later than 6:30 at Brandywine Springs School prepared to share your points in 3 minutes or less. Main points can include:
1) The Board’s decision was not the right thing to do;
2) The community was given no voice as a result of their last-minute action;
3) This decision is NOT in the best interest of Lancaster Court Apartment students as they will not be eligible for Title 1 (special school funding and other benefits) that they would receive at another school. How is this helping students??
4) This decision violates the Neighborhood Schools Act;
5) Passing of the upcoming referendum is at risk if this decision is not reversed
The more presence we have at the meeting, the more of an impact we will make!!!”

Um… why would they think students who qualify would not be eligible for Title 1, special school funding and other benefits.  This point is perplexing – and I’m thinking the writers don’t understand Title 1.  Are they saying that Cooke Elementary, a public school, won’t/can’t serve all public school kids?  How would that work?  If someone in the Cooke attendance zone lost their job and needed school services would they have to leave Cooke?  Of course not.  So what really is their point?

The final comment asks some questions:

“Hi, I am a concerned Red Clay parent, too, and I’d like to hear more details about the negative reaction to the inclusion of this community in the Cooke attendance zone? I think there might be some confusion about the way Title I funding works and its purpose, as well as the applicability of the Neighborhood Schools Act to our district at this time. What is the concern, really? Please advise…”

Can’t wait to read the responses to these questions, if there are any.  ‘Cause I’m not buying into their stated concern for the kids at Lancaster Court Apartments.  And I’d really like to know why they think their public school wouldn’t offer services to public school kids who need them.

And… if the board reverses their decision on this vote due to a petition then that’s the new precedent.  Which I’d be okay with because I’m sure I could generate a petition for equitably funding city schools, or changing other attendance zones… and get a ton of people to sign it.  But that hasn’t been the way it’s worked in the past and we’ve all dealt with it.  Plenty of people were upset when North Star’s attendance zone was drawn, but they lived with it.

Everyone might also want to consider the new Priority Schools.  Remember, the plan for these city schools, should they continue to “fail” – and given the lack of funding attached to priority schools, they probably will – they will be closed, converted to charter or privatized.  If these things happen where will the kids who attended these public schools be assigned?  District lines aren’t changing, so children living in the Red Clay School District will still have to be assigned to a Red Clay school.  Right?  Charters are all choice schools and don’t have an attendance zone, so if (some) priority schools become charters then attendance zones will have to be redrawn again – to take the kids not attending the new all choice charters.  If (some) priority schools are closed down then the kids in their attendance zones will have to be assigned to suburban schools in their home district.  If this happens (and I’m beginning to think it will) then we’re in for redrawing attendance zones across the board.  Just food for thought.

 

 

 

About Last Night…

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.  Given the history, come January the House should vote to repeal the ACA again and send it to the now Republican controlled Senate.  The Senate now has no excuse not to pass it, and there’s a part of me that says let them have their way, mainly because I’m tired of hearing how there’s no difference between the Ds and the Rs.  That line is old and tired.  It’s meaningless, so perhaps it’s time to make it meaningful.  Perhaps it’s time to remind people of the difference.  So maybe, in some strange, wince inducing way this isn’t the end of the world.  The voters (and non-voters) will get to see the Republicans in action, or in non-action, which is more likely.

The debt ceiling vote will come up in March 2015.  How will that work out?  How will kicking millions of people off their health insurance (those with preexisting conditions, kids on their parent’s policies, etc.) work out? Immigration reform is now dead, unless President Obama acts alone – which gives me hope since he’s really done a lot by himself – while Dems cower and mewl bipartisanship.  But don’t worry, I expect impeachment proceedings to begin sooner rather than later.  It’s what Republicans do – it’s one of the only things they do.  And I fully expect a ton of abortion/reproductive rights bills to sail through the House and Senate.  Of course, Republicans won’t have the nerve to make them stand alone bills, they’ll attach the amendments to things like the Federal Budget deal… or the debt ceiling?

Obama will veto these bills, but I’m sure there will be Democrats calling for him to sign off on them, because, ya know, bipartisanship.

And Mitch McConnell shouldn’t get too comfortable.  He’s going to have to deal with Ted Cruz and his band of merry men and women.  He might want to review John Boehner’s past experience to see what he’s in for.  There’s about to be a lot of Republican-on-Republican crime.  That stage is set and I have my popcorn.

I’m really not as pessimistic as I sound.  I’m just weary.  I’m tired of trying to pull Liberal/Progressives out of their constant, angst-y funk.  I’m tired of the “woe is me” whenever things don’t go exactly their way.  And I’m tired of their pretending to be the majority.  They (we) aren’t, and abandoning ship every time they (we) don’t get what they want is self-defeating and one of the main reasons off year election turn-out is so low.  And while I agree that we are a center-left country, we aren’t a left country.  For some reason, certain Liberals/Progressive always seem to forget the “center” part of that description. Why is that?

Last night as Mr. Pandora and I watched the returns I pointed at the TV and said, “This! This is what’s wrong with Democrats!”  What I was talking about is what everyone had been talking about – Alison Lundergan Grimes refusing to say if she voted for Obama.  Of course she voted for Obama.  Why wouldn’t she?  She’s a Democrat.  But instead of just answering the stupid question, she turned what should have been a duh moment into a national story that dogged her every step.  It’s stupid things like this that make me angry.  And it’s behavior like this that explains so much.  It’s as if Democrats decided to follow in Al Gore’s footsteps… and achieved the same results.

True confession:  I had to make myself vote yesterday.  I wasn’t excited.  I felt beaten down and apathetic.  And if I felt that way… how do you think less politically interested voters felt?  Sometimes “faking it until you make it” is sound political strategy.  And maybe losing the Senate is enough to remind everyone exactly what we’re up against, because some people need a reminder.  Hopefully it won’t hurt too much.

 

 

YWCA Delaware: Domestic Violence Awareness Month

FYI… Important info below.  Please spread the word.

 

 

YWCA Delaware Promotes Domestic Violence Awareness Month

WILMINGTON, DE – YWCA Delaware commemorates Domestic Violence Awareness Month with free workshops and additional support group meetings during the month of October.

YWCA will host workshops at high schools and community based organizations throughout Delaware to teach boys and girls the warning signs of teen dating violence, strategies to remove themselves from abusive situations, and to inspire in them the strength to stand up and report when they are victim, witness, or learn of abuse. According the U.S. Department of Justice, girls and young women ages 16-24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence which is almost triple the national average. The YWCA Teen Dating Violence one-hour workshop is designed to help youth recognize abuse and prevent future victimization. The workshop is available year round to Delaware schools and community groups and YWCA allots additional time for this outreach during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. There are some openings in Kent and Sussex counties and a few still available in New Castle County during October. The workshop is free. Call 302-224-4060 ext. 215 to schedule.

YWCA hosts monthly support groups for adult survivors of domestic violence at its Home-Life Management Center near downtown Wilmington and has added an additional meeting time in October to encourage participation from survivors of abuse who have not previously reached out for help. These safe, private, and confidential meetings are open to all adult survivors. Call 302-658-7110 ext. 204.

YWCA Delaware is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. Established in 1895, YWCA Delaware
serves all genders and is a leading advocate for women and their families by providing transitional housing, violence prevention, economic empowerment, racial justice and youth programs. Our goals are to advance equal opportunity, self-sufficiency, family stability, and social and racial justice. Learn more at www.ywcade.org

 

 

Wilmington City Council’s Meeting On Priority Schools

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?

Let’s look at this 120 day requirement.  By my reading of the MOU that deadline is December 31, 2014.  Today is October 10th.  By my calculations that leaves approximately 50 working days (more if we count weekends, Thanksgiving and Winter breaks, but I’m not seeing that happen) to agree upon and sign the MOU, locate, interview and hire a school leader and develop the School Turnaround Plan.  All of this must be completed by December 31, 2014.  If not…

If the State does not agree with the LEA’s [District’s] proposal, the State can refuse to agree to the MOU. 14 DE Admin Code provides that if an MOU is not agreed to within 120 days, the LEA’s options are then limited to closure, reopening as a charter or contracting with a private management organization to operate the school.

Based on this paragraph, these six public schools could be closed, converted to charter or privatized on, or after, January 1, 2015.  So… all this will happen if the Districts do nothing, or propose a plan that the State doesn’t approve.  And make no mistake, the State has the final say in all things.

At the meeting last night, Theo Gregory said, “It’s rolled out as a priority plan, but it’s really a takeover plan.”  I agree.

BTW, what happened to the last school the State took over?  Well…

“After more than a year of warnings, Secretary of Education Mark Murphy and the State Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday to revoke the Maurice J. Moyer Academic Institute’s charter, meaning the school must close at the end of the school year.” 

That’s one school.  How will it go with six?  And there were several people last night who called out the DDOE for being MIA and not supportive of these “priority” schools until now.  I would be interested in knowing exactly how the DDOE has been working with these six schools for the past 12 – 14 years.

Take a look at what the State says in regards to the School Leaders:

Selection: The District superintendent is responsible for developing a plan to recruit, assess and select one or more nominees for a School Leader. The plan should include a position description, a strategy for recruiting candidates, and a protocol for interviewing, assessing, and selecting a School Leader nominee.

i. The State and District must agree on the selection of the School Leader by December 31, 2014. After the District nominates a School Leader, the State will interview the nominee and approve or deny the nominations. If the State denies the nominations, the District must make another nomination.
ii. Should the District fail to produce an approved leader by the Plan deadline of December 31, 2014, the State may provide a list of candidates from which the District must select. [emphasis mine]

So after the District develops a plan to recruit, assess and select school leaders – along with their recruiting strategy and protocol for interviewing, assessing and selecting their nominee – the State must agree with the Districts choice.  If the State doesn’t agree then the District MUST make another nomination.  And… if the District doesn’t get State approval for any of their candidates by December 31, 2014, the State MAY provide a list of candidates the District MUST choose.

Take a look at those capitalized words.  Why wouldn’t the State be required (MUST) to provide a list of candidates should they reject the District’s choices?  If they choose not to provide a list of candidates (and it seems that is an option for them) then the District wouldn’t meet the MOU December 31st deadline and the schools would close, go charter or privatize.

See how all roads lead to these consequences.  And I think charter conversion and privatization is the real priority for these “priority” schools.

What’s infuriating is that we begin these discussions pretending we’ve actually tried to help these schools.  We haven’t, and the State and Districts are both guilty of this.  It isn’t as if the State and District are saying, “Hey, we tried smaller class sizes, putting more teachers in the schools, implemented equitable funding, added resources like wellness centers, school psychologists and put back programs such as TAG, Technology, Reading/Math specialists, Arts, etc. and these schools are still struggling so now we need to try something different.”  They can’t say that because they never did that.

Last night several council people and the public questioned the testing and asked why the test kept changing?  Seems as if the answer was that the DSTP and DCAS weren’t good enough? If that’s true then what have we been basing performance on all these years?  What are we basing these priority school standards on? Why do we keep changing, and paying for, tests?  I wonder where our State leaders end up after leaving office?  I can take a guess, but I’ll wait and see.

And can someone please tell me why, yet again, our Secretary of Education keeps citing Eastside, Kuumba and Howard as schools to emulate?  Howard is a high school.  It’s Vo-Tech and has a different funding mechanism.  Eastside and Kuumba are charter schools.  All three of these schools are all choice schools.  No student is assigned to these schools by an attendance zone.  And up until recently, charter school applications and requirements were constructed to control their population – mandatory volunteer hours, asking about IEPs, a parent code of conduct form, not offering free and reduced lunch, assorted fees, etc.  None of which a true public school can implement.  And I really resent the comparison.  So, let’s cut it out.

Another point made was how the 6 million over 4 years wasn’t adequate.  Sec. Mark Murhy pointed out that the schools/districts could apply for additional funding through grants and other programs.  The several teachers, parents and administrators I spoke to said they already did apply for most of these, but some monies came with heavy strings attached.  I didn’t get into a lot of detail over this so if anyone has insight…

But another point about funding kept coming up.  Secretary Murphy said several times that schools needed to look at their budgets and apply the money they already receive in a better way.  Okay, maybe that’s true.  I’m a bit doubtful since school budgets seems very specific and restrictive, but okay.  Now, here’s what I’d like to do.  I’d like to look at every cent the DDOE and District office spends and use it in a more productive way.  Talk about a ton of make-y up positions.  Just think of all the money that could be directed to the classrooms if we cut DDOE and District office by 30%.  There are simply too many people at these organizations – Talk about top heavy.  Seriously, DDOE and Districts, cut your budget, make your staffs reapply for their jobs – Do it for the children.  And, if you won’t do this then why should we take you seriously when you talk about the urgency of now and drastic measures must be taken?  Stop putting our children’s skin in the game when you refuse to put your necks on the line.

In closing, I’m not feeling hopeful.  I think the deal is done and DDOE and Districts are simply going through the motions.  Then again, I did call this years ago.  The plan for the city is charter.  At the time I said they’d have to keep one or two District public schools because they’d need these schools to take the children charters won’t take or keep, but now I see that those won’t be necessary since we’ll simply privatize those public schools.

It’s really sad.  I don’t think there’s anything the city can do to change this trajectory.  Any ideas?

 

 

 

 

Wilmington City Council To Hold Meeting On Priority Schools “Plan”

If you’re free on Thursday, you may want to attend this:
WILMINGTON CITY COUNCIL NEWS AND INFORMATION
News Release
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Wilmington City Council’s Education, Youth and Families Committee to Focus on the State’s Priority Schools Plan    
Public is Invited to the Thursday, October 9 at 6 p.m. Meeting Featuring a Priority Schools Presentation and Questions from Council Members and Citizens
Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory and City Council’s Education, Youth and Families Committee Chair Nnamdi Chukwuocha (D-1st District) announced today that City Council will give the State’s Priority Schools Plan a public airing and review on Thursday, October 9 beginning at 6 p.m. Gregory and Chukwuocha are inviting citizens to attend the council committee meeting which will be held in Council Chambers on the first floor of the Redding City/County Building at 800 North French Street in Wilmington.
The committee meeting will also be televised live by the Wilmington’s government access television channel-WITN, Channel 22 on the Comcast Network, and will be rebroadcast and available on-demand anytime at WITN22.org.
Gregory and Chukwuocha said State Education Secretary Mark Murphy will present the Priority Schools Plan to the committee to be followed by questions from Council Members and citizens. They said local school officials have also been invited to attend the meeting.
On September 4, Delaware Governor Jack Markell and Education Secretary Murphy announced the availability of nearly $6 million in resources for the state’s six lowest-performing district schools, which they said would provide the opportunity for substantial changes in their approach to improve their students’ academic performance. Markell and Murphy said the Priority Schools-Christina School District’s Bancroft Elementary, Bayard Middle and Stubbs Elementary schools; and Red Clay Consolidated School District’s Warner Elementary, Shortlidge Academy and Highlands Elementary schools- would share $5.8 million over four years to implement what they described as locally-developed, state-approved plans.
“The Priority Schools Plan has a lot of moving parts and has generated quite a bit of discussion in the short time since it was unveiled,” said Council President Gregory. “While we all hope for nothing but the best for our children and the education system in Wilmington, should the Priority Schools Plan be unsuccessful, what would happen to the children and the six City schools? Would the schools be converted to charter schools managed by companies or organizations not based in the community? Council Members, parents, administrators, school board members and other engaged citizens need to assess whether this plan will result in a school system that offers a better education for our children. The October 9 meeting will give everyone an opportunity to hear the details and ask questions. I urge citizens to attend and participate in the discussion.”
“All of us, whether we are elected officials, parents, teachers, administrators or citizens who care about the state of education in Delaware today are struggling to find the answers to an improved education system for our children,” said Council Member Chukwuocha. “We know that a child’s chances of succeeding in life start at the early education stage and progresses from there. Will the City have a role in the Priority Schools Plan to help get our schools back on track? These and other questions will be explored at the committee meeting on October 9. I encourage citizens to participate in this process by attending the meeting or watching it on television.”
John Rago
Director of Communications and Policy Development

Wilmington City Council
City government website www.WilmingtonDE.gov
WITN22 website  www.WITN22.org Friend us at www.facebook/WilmingtonDEgov
Follow us at http://twitter.com/wilmingtondegov

First, what plan?  The MOU?

Before we get into the details of the MOU we have to discuss how it was presented.  In early September, Governor Markell stood on the steps of Warner to unveil his Priority Schools plan.  Needless to say, this event was long on “a wonderful opportunity” and short on details.  I wrote about it here.  But one thing became clear.  September 30th was an important date.  It was the date that Red Clay and Christina would have to sign the MOU.

Everyone scrambled.  What would the school districts do?  What would happen if they didn’t sign the MOU?  Well, the districts didn’t sign, which led us to… the MOU is not a plan – it’s an invitation to collaborate.  Sorry, but that wasn’t the way it was presented.  Which leads me back to the City Council Meeting…

Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory and City Council’s Education, Youth and Families Committee Chair Nnamdi Chukwuocha (D-1st District) announced today that City Council will give the State’s Priority Schools Plan a public airing and review on Thursday, October 9 beginning at 6 p.m.

Exactly what will be aired?  Since the districts didn’t sign the MOU, there is no plan to be aired.  Yes, there’s a discussion to be had, but not the one this MOU addresses.

Now, let’s look at the MOU.  A few things stand out.  First, at no time are children, poverty, re-segregation, equitable funding, smaller class sizes, etc. mentioned.  This document spells out its priorities quite clearly.

Let’s look at what the MOU specifically addresses… in other words, its priorities.

The main focus is on the newly labeled Priority Schools’s CEO, um… I mean School Leader.  I’m going to summarize.  Click on the link above for more details.

The School leader shall have:

1. Unprecedented authority.  This includes lengthening the school day, calendar, curriculum, etc.

2. The annual 12 month salary of the School Leader shall be no less than 160,000.00

And there’s another thing the School Leader will have control over – Human Capital.

Not kidding, that’s how the MOU refers to all school staff, who, btw, must reapply for their positions.

Now… wait a minute.  Didn’t the State implement a teacher evaluation system?  And didn’t this State evaluation system rate 99% of Delaware Teachers effective or highly effective?  I seem to recall reading about this in the News Journal. So… is the State now saying their teacher evaluation system is bogus?  That it isn’t to be believed?  Either the State’s evaluation system isn’t worth the paper its printed on or these teachers, including the ones in these Priority Schools, are effective/highly effective.  It cannot be both.

And about that 160,000.00 School Leader salary – that’s one of the only specifics spelled out in the MOU.  Talk about priorities!  I’m not sure what principals in these schools are paid, but if it’s less then the $160,000… who makes up the difference?  Will the districts be expected to readjust their budgets to meet this salary requirement, or will the difference come out of the (roughly) 200,000.00 per year per priority school?  If it’s the latter then we’ll need to drop that 200,000.00 per year per school figure.  Right?

The MOU also states there will be additional teacher compensation.  Where is that money coming from?  The Districts? The 200,000.00 a year?  If it’s the $200,00 per year then… that’s it.  The money designated to these schools will be pretty much gone.

Know what else?  Know what you call a person who has to manipulate the population in order to (possibly? hopefully?) show improvement?  A charter school CEO?  LOL!  That’s true, but.. a leader leads.  A real leader doesn’t need to stack the deck because their message is strong enough, their vision is contagious, their motivation infectious.  A school leader that has to manipulate his/her staff isn’t a leader.  Not by a long shot.

Moving on… Take a look at this… which, imo, is the only thing in the MOU that’s truly honest.

“The plan must be submitted to the State by December 31, 2014. If the plan is not approved by January 9, 2015, the State will elect one of the following options: closure, reopening as a charter, or contracting with a private management organization to operate the school.”

There’s the end game, and in my opinion the entire point of this.  But I called this years ago.  The city schools are heading for charter and privatization.  Hey, look at how well the State has handled Moyer!   There’s your privatization. And if I’m right, how will that work?  City schools that convert to charter will no longer have attendance zones, right?  Charters are all choice schools?  So where will city children who don’t get into these charters (or children who are “counseled out”) be assigned? If the State can’t answer this question, then they have no business putting forth this condition

* I would be linking to the DDOE website, but for some reason they are playing around with (changing, changing back, who knows what) their low income data.  Is that allowed?  Someone needs to look into the legality of this behavior.

One more thing… I find it astonishing when our Secretary of Education and Governor hold up 2 charter schools and a Vo-Tech school as schools to emulate.  All of these schools are Choice schools – not one student is assigned to these schools.  And do you know what happens to the students who don’t get into these schools or who are counseled out?  Yep, they’re sent back to our true public schools.  Remember when the leadership of Pencader Charter School misspent our tax dollars and didn’t have enough money to finish out the year AND they threatened to close down the school in April unless we paid their ransom?  Remember that stunt?  Do you also remember what our public schools did?  They prepared themselves to take in these charter kids.  That, my friends, is what a true public school does.

Hope to see a big turnout tomorrow night!