Delaware
Petition To Allow Parents To Opt Out Of Testing
As usual, please sign. Here’s the petition’s wording.
The Smarter Balanced Assessment is the new state assessment based on the Common Core State Standards for Delaware. Many states have adopted this assessment as part of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, of which Delaware is a part. This consortium was approved by Governor Markell without any legislative approval.
Many parents in Delaware, as well as across the country, believe the Smarter Balanced Assessment, as well as the PARCC test in other states, is not an effective standardized test. Therefore, we are electing our Constitutional right to opt our children out of this assessment. We believe it is a parental right to choose the best educational outcome for our children. We also believe our children are not the property of the state. Many of us have experienced, at a minimum, vast confusion in regards to the opt out time period, which began in earnest in February of 2015, from our Governor, our Delaware Department of Education, our schools, and several administrators from our schools.
This legislation would help codify what is already our right, and would prevent the opted out students from adversely affecting the schools in Delaware. As well, this would also put all the school districts and charter schools in the state on the same level playing field based on a clear and distinct law.
Sunday Daily Delawhere [4.19.15]
The center of the Irish neighborhood of Forty Acres in Wilmington is St. Ann’s Church. The church was built in 1887.
The Weekly Addresses
President Obama speaks about his commitment to combatting the threat of climate change and to keeping ourselves and future generations safe.
Governor Markell celebrates volunteerism in the First State during the annual Week of Service.
DL Approval Ratings: KWS: The Democratic Tom Wagner.
62% strongly disapprove of Insurance Commissoner Karen Weldin Stewart’s job performance. An additional 19% somewhat disapprove, giving us an overall disapproval score of 81%. This is no surprise. Delaware Liberal readers have never warmed to the elected official who puts the Insurance in Insurance Commissioner. That is what happens when you succeed a true consumer advocate in Matt Denn and then go on to coddle insurance companies. 14% approve of her job performance.
So finally, we have a poll on New Castle County Excecutive Tom Gordon. I have included Mr. Gordon for the first time, because I find it likely that the man may just be our next Governor. Let’s face it: Beau Biden is not going to run. So that means we will get a primary between Carney and Gordon (which will be a proxy war between Carper and Biden), and in that race, I have to put my money on Gordon. So let’s find out what our readers think of the job he is doing this time as County Executive.
College Remedial Courses And The State Test
Even though I know there are unique and deserving circumstances, I can’t help but wonder how kids needing remedial courses are even accepted into college, especially University of Delaware which touts itself as highly selective. Okay, I don’t really wonder. Remedial courses are a cash cow for colleges so I understand why they offer them. Having parents/students pay for non-credit courses makes achieving a degree take longer than four years which adds another semester, or two, in tuition and room and board fees… Cha-Ching!
DL Approval Ratings: Auditor Doesn’t Do His Job, and He Gets Low Ratings. Imagine that.
64% of Delaware Liberal readers disapprove of Auditor Tom Wagner (R). 51% strongly disapprove of him. Only 28% approve. That he continues to get reelected will be one of the unanswerable mysteries of life. Kinda like how the Charcoal Pit is considered a good place to eat.
Here is the remaining schedule:
Wednesday — Treasurer Ken Simpler (R)
Thursday — Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart (D)
Friday — New Castle County Executive Tom Gordon (D)
Treasurer Simpler’s results should be interesting. He’s hasn’t really done much yet to approve or disapprove of, and he is not said anything overtly annoying or overly Republican yet.
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