Search Results for 'charter schools'
Ed Reform Isn’t About Education
Yes, I’ve written about this before, but in case you’ve forgotten, Ed Reformers have changed their motto from Charter Schools offer a superior education (compared to public schools) at less cost to Parent Choice! Which is really convenient since it allows them to ignore failing schools by claiming these schools are what parents want. Oh, ed reformers are quick to point out failing public schools in the name of supporting charters, but are mum on schools like Moyer Academy and Pencader.
Which brings me to an interesting article in the News Journal on Sunday…
A 10 Day Around the Horn [8.16.13 to 8.27.13]
![A 10 Day Around the Horn [8.16.13 to 8.27.13]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/HORN-240x180.png "A 10 Day Around the Horn [8.16.13 to 8.27.13]")
Sorry for the delay in getting this around the horn to you. I meant to have it ready on Friday, but I had my physical. So I delayed it to Saturday, but then I had my Fantasy Football draft. And then on Sunday and Monday I was toying with the idea of just waiting until Friday for a two week round-up. But then I started writing it and it was getting too big. So I am just going to post what I have now, and do another Around the Horn column on Friday, September 6.
So here is what the Delaware blogosphere was talking about this past 10 days. I have organized the postings into individual subjects. Organization FTW!
This week we are talking about Bloom Boxes and the Newark Data Center, Teachers and Testing, the constitutionality of Charter Schools, the New Castle Tire Incinerator, the looming and dooming Highmark monopoly.
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., June 18, 2013
Conspiracy Theory of the Week: DSEA Sells Out Public Schools, Secures Raises for Teachers.
If you were wondering why DSEA agreed to support charter schools’ grubby grab of public cash earmarked for public schools, we may now have the answer. Included in the Governor’s budget is “$8.5 million for ‘step increases’ for school employees, gradual pay raises teachers get as they gain experience and education”, according to Monday’s News-Journal article by Matthew Albright. Considering that the first $2 mill of the charter schools cash grab is also in the same budget bill, we can see how Markell bought off public education officials. Another $2.6 million is for ‘state testing computers’, yet more money down the rabbit hole of standardized testing. Need I remind anyone that we’ve got $8.5 mill for teachers’ increases, $0.00 for state employee increases. While I’m fine with raises for teachers, Strongly supportive in fact, I’m not fine with the Deal with the Devil that enabled them. Ladies and gentlemen, your Democratic governor. And the purported protectors of public education.
BTW, time for, IMHO, an important digression. Is it possible, just possible, that Jack Markell is campaigning…for CIA Chief? I’m (sorta) serious about this. The man who ran on the issue of government transparency has made secrecy the defining touchstone of his second term. First, the Port machinations. Then, the Charter Schools debacle, where his administration literally dared doubters to file a FOIA lawsuit. And, just this Sunday, an incredible piece by Jeff Montgomery in the News-Journal, which effectively lays out a strong case that Gov. Markell deliberately suppressed environmental data casting serious doubt on the environmental safety of the Delaware City oil refinery. Deliberately suppressed. Anybody getting angry yet?
Meanwhile, SB 97(Henry) “adds the term “gender identity” to the already-existing list of prohibited practices of discrimination and hate crimes. As such, this Act would forbid discrimination against a person on the basis of gender identity in housing, employment, public works contracting, public accommodations, and insurance, and it would provide for increased punishment of a person who intentionally selects the victim of a crime because of the victim’s gender identity.” SB 97 received the bare minimum 11 votes required to pass the Senate. I think it will likely have a more comfortable margin in the House.
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Weds. June 12, 2013
Let us circle June 11, 2013 on the calendar. It will go down as a day when public schools were dealt yet another blow at the hands of greed and silence. The Governor’s greedy desire to rise above his station, D’s and R’s alike greedy desire to get their hands on funds they shouldn’t have, the press’ unwillingness to function as journalists instead of lapdogs; a conspiracy of silence that rippled through the Delaware Way, leaving only the have-nots behind (admittedly, that’s a dog-bites-man story in Jack Markell’s Delaware). Here’s the roll call on the charter schools money grab, if you have the heart.
Oh, and if anyone thinks that $5 mill is the end instead of the beginning, well, you’re not thinking. So, Markell will get his Race to the Top filthy lucre and his imaginary presidential street cred, Charlie Copeland (!) will parlay his family’s expertise in bankruptcies into running a hy-ooge city charter. A Tower Hill grad who inherited his fortune will be one of the largest players in Delaware education. In the inner city. I mean, has anybody with any say-so over who gets to run a charter ever read Dissolute Recrimination?
The politicians who supported this railroad job (deliberations in private, rushed through in a week and a half) opted to serve themselves instead of the majority of their constituents. The least they could do is let everyone in on the details of the deals. A very dark day for public education in Delaware. And a black mark on the Delaware General Assembly that won’t be easily removed. Jack Markell is now officially dead to me.
HB 165 – DL Readers, You Have Homework!
HB 165 is up for a vote in the House today. If you are not familiar with this bill please read this post – More importantly, click on EVERY link in that post. Those links will take you to blog posts from other bloggers fully explaining HB 165. Lord knows, you won’t find any of these concerns in the News Journal.
So here’s your homework, CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE! No excuses. Just do it. Also, contact your friends and family and have them do the same.
I’d like to return to an email Rep. Jaques sent to Elizabeth Scheinberg over at Children & Educators First blog. This part jumped out at me:
If you took the time to read House Bill 165 you would see loads of transparency and accountability throughout. I hope you are not listen to the nay Sayers who just like to yell at the top of their voice, but most of the time don’t know what they are talking about! HB 165 has been properly vetted and has loads of support throughout the education community.
First, I know Elizabeth read the bill, and it was insulting to imply otherwise. Second, naysayers? “Who just like to yell at the top of their voice, but most of the time don’t know what they are talking about?” Is that what Rep. Jaques considers citizens who have concerns about HB 165? What’s the opposite of naysayers? Yes men? (Yeah, that ticked me off.)
And about that “loads of support” for HB 165? Well, Charter School advocates love this bill. In fact, if this bill was full of compromises like Jaques implies, surely charter supporters would point out the areas they weren’t so pleased with. Haven’t heard one complaint or concern. In fact…
Steve Newton has the emails going out to charter parents, urging them to contact their Reps and to tell them to vote for Hb 165. Read them. There’s a lot of talk about money in these emails. So much, that one would be forgiven in thinking HB 165 was a funding for charter schools bill.
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., June 6, 2013
I knew, I just KNEW, that I was gonna like State Rep. Kim Williams. I had liked her votes, I had liked her positions during the campaign, and I loved her work on simplifying school choice for students and parents. But yesterday she demonstrated why she is an invaluable member of the Delaware General Assembly with this quote, courtesy of the News-Journal:
“Until recently, I was on the Red Clay School Board, and we were never informed of the specifics of this bill. I feel that we need to get more public input.”
Or at least SOME public input.
The Markell Administration is pushing HB 165(Jaques) to the max. In fact, I think they tried to put one over even on the legislators who are sponsoring this bill. Rep. Earl Jaques made clear that this bill is not going to be rushed through:
“We have a bill in front of us, let’s discuss this bill. The time for the public to get involved is now, while we’re discussing this legislation.”
Others on this blog have done a far better job of describing the issues raised by this bill than I ever could. What particularly galls me is that we don’t even know officially where this bill came from. There was indeed a group created to review ways to improve charter schools. Hell, the list has been provided here. But, get this, even though Gov. Markell appointed the 24-member working group, he claims that this group had no real authority and, as such, public meetings were not required. So much for ‘Governor Transparency’. That is one of the most disingenuous things I’ve heard out of this Administration, which is really saying something. Shades of the Port of Wilmington deal.
But, I digress. HB 165 barely made it out of the House Education Committee, 7-6. It is far from ready for prime time. It is June 6. People are already on vacation, including teachers, students, and parents. There is no way that this bill should be worked by June 30. Let’s just see what this Governor does…
Are We Asking The Right Questions About Education?
For those of you sick of my education posts, feel free to move on! Truthfully, I had no intention of writing about education today, but then I stumbled across this Daily Kos diary, entitled: Charter Schools Not the Answer, Especially if We Fail to Identify the Question. Go read the whole thing!
Education Segregation: Delaware Black Caucus Threatens To Sue
While Race to the Top may be the trigger, the re-segregation of our schools was well underway long before RTTT with the help of Choice, Neighborhood School’s Law, and Charters. Jea Street spells it out: “The new millennium term is ‘charter school’ and ‘choice school. I call it segregation. There are black charter schools and there are predominantly white charter schools. You can call it what you want, but it is what it is.”
Rick Jensen Interviews Red Clay Officials On Referendum
Kilroy live-blogged the show. Go over to his place and read the whole thing!
Before I get into what was said during the interview let me say that it looks like we’ve found a tax increase that Rick Jensen supports.
According to Kilroy, when Red Clay was asked about building a school in the city, rather than the suburbs, their answer was to cite the number of Charter Schools that opened in the city. Seriously? Charter Schools are not Red Clay schools, and that statement sounded as if RCCD was saying, “We don’t need to consider our city residents since, if they aren’t happy with our RCCD schools, they can leave our traditional public schools and go to Charter schools.
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Wednesday, June 12, 2024
A good day yesterday. All of the good bills passed. None of them ran into trouble. Only weird vote yesterday was on a bill moving Delaware’s fleet of vehicles to an all-EV standard by 2040. All the R’s voted no, all the D’s voted yes–except for Sean Matthews, who voted no. He is spending his […]
DL Open Thread: Friday, May 17, 2024
The C. Montgomery Burns Of Maryland? $62 Mill couldn’t buy Total Wines’ David Trone a Senate seat: Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) spent $62 million of his own money on the race, only to lose to Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks by double digits. The current results show Alsobrooks winning 54 percent to 42 […]
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thursday, March 7, 2024
Today’s Big Story: In The House, ‘Permit To Purchase’=Permit To Weaken Permit To Purchase Bill. Courtesy of Speaker ‘Our PAL Val’ and her leadership henchpersons. In this case, ‘House Majority Leader’ Melissa Minor-Brown is doing the honors for her incompetent boss and the pro-gun contingent. SS1/SB 2, the ‘Permit To Purchase’ bill, passed the Senate […]
Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Weds., January 17, 2024
You know that today’s gonna be a slow day when the only ‘notable’ scheduled activity is the passage of a resolution providing for John Carney’s State Of The State Address, which will take place tomorrow. Well, time to make chicken shit out of chicken shit. There is no House Agenda today. Here are the committee […]
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