Tag: Education
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 […]
Red Clay Super’s Message Regarding The Priority Schools’ MOU
“Please be aware that the MOU and the planning process are not the same. The MOU is an agreement to collaborate during the planning process.”
So… is Merv saying that the MOU is simply an invitation to get-together and chat? That nothing in it is binding? It’s just a “Hey, could you RSVP so we can set up a time to come up with a plan that doesn’t exist – just ignore all that talk in the MOU about the school leaders’ salaries and teachers having to reapply for their jobs, etc. because none of that means anything.”
Question… the 9/30 due date is today – there’s a workshop scheduled tonight. Can the board vote at a workshop? If not, what happens if the deadline isn’t met?
Governor And Department of Ed: “Announcing New Education Initiative” Event
I just returned from attending this: Announcing New Education Initiative What: Governor Markell and the Department of Education will announce a new initiative to support many of the state’s most disadvantaged students–Joined by state legislators and education and community leaders, the Governor will provide details of the state’s plan. Who: Governor Markell Secretary Mark Murphy, […]
HB 424 – Eliminating The “Special Interest” In Charter And VoTech
On July, 1,2014, Rep. Darryl Scott introduced HB 424: Primary Sponsor: Scott CoSponsors: { NONE…} Introduced on : 07/01/2014 Long Title: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Synopsis of Orginal Bill: (without Amendments) This bill eliminates the ability of charter schools to give an enrollment preference to […]
Governor Markell on NPR Talking About Common Core
Yesterday morning, I heard the Governor on NPR in a quick (4 minutes) interview on Common Core and the fact that there is some movement in a few states to disown the curriculum/process/name. I can’t really tell what is being walked away from really. But it looks like Governor Markell is not expecting the standards to go away entirely, just the name:
SIMON: So if a lot of states pull out of the Common Core, is there really a Common Core?
MARKELL: Well, it depends what they replace it with. I mean, I think a lot of states, you know, who are talking about getting rid of the Common Core are quite likely to replace it with something that looks quite similar. If they call it something else, that’s up to them. If they want to, you know, tweak the standards somewhat, that’s up to them as well. I can tell you, in Delaware we’re going forward because we really think it makes the most sense for our students.
The College Debt Crisis in America
America has a problem that’s growing on an unimaginable scale. In the last decade student loan debt has become an issue that should be at the forefront of any agenda looking to push serious long term change. The fact is, college is a wonderful thing for the growth of a nation, and while I certainly agree that we shouldn’t be so focused on pushing everyone to go, those who want to go, and can go, should be able to attend without the nagging fear of walking out with their arms filled with an eternal debt. Innovation and change is fueled through the education of the next generation, and college is a wonderful place to further the potential of young people.
Charter School Cherry Picking Was Predicted
Mike O., The Seventh Type blog, found an interesting document in his inbox. Go over to his place and read the whole thing – the link to the entire document is at Mike O’s place. I’ll post some of the highlights from this 1995 Delaware Senate debate on SB 200 (DE Charter School Law). This document pretty much puts an end to the but, but… whocouldhaveknown debate.
Here’s part of the question and answer segment with Bill Manning (Red Clay’s School Board President at the time)
SENATOR MARSHALL: Understanding that the harshest critics of charter schools around the nation where they’ve been in place and operating, is the issue of the schools skimming off the top and creating an elitist academy with public money.
My concern is looking at the focus of the charter schools by attracting the best at times for a specific educational discipline offered by that charter school; and the concern of recruitment.I looked at children throughout New Castle County in moderate low income neighborhoods, I looked at the City, the west side, the east side, hilltop, I need to understand how your board and how you will guarantee fairness and equal access to every student from every unit.
Red Clay School District Bucks The Class Size Law
So this happened:
Parents and educators have fought for years to keep class sizes small. But as school populations grow, those efforts run into physical and financial barriers. Sometimes schools run out of space and face difficult decisions. In most cases, there are two solutions: Build more classroom space and hire more teachers (which usually means raising taxes or moving money from other priorities) or approve a waiver allowing more students in classes than the law says is ideal. In the past few years, most Delaware districts have asked their school boards to approve waivers – and boards have always agreed. That changed last week when the Red Clay School Board rejected its district’s request, deadlocking in a 3-3 vote.
Color me surprised. And while I completely understand the difficulties districts face following this law, it is a law. An unfunded, feel good law, but a law nonetheless. That said… I like what the RCCD board did.
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…
HB 165 Passes House – Time To Contact Your Senators
Unfortunately, I don’t have time to write a detailed post on what happened tonight. (Family responsibilities. Sheesh) Please read the comment section on this post for details.
Now, start contacting senators. Here’s the list. Just click on their name for contact info.
Live Blogging The Delaware House Session – Focus HB 165
Here we go – well, it will probably be a while!
Here’s the link to listen to the live-stream of the Delaware House. They’re recessed now (3pm). Anyone know what time they’ll start up again?
Mike Matthews is live tweeting the session. Follow him @dwablog Use #hb165
Meanwhile… Mike O. of the Seventh Type, via commenter Citizen, brings us this: Michael D. Thomas, Ed. D. President, Delaware Chief School Officers Association opposes HB 165. Go read the letter!
Use this thread to keep us informed.
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.
The Charter Working Group May Have Been A Public Body
Rep. Kim Williams had a few questions about the Charter Working Group: From: Williams, Kimberly (LegHall) Sent: Friday, June 07, 2013 11:23 AM To: McConnel, Ian R (DOJ) Cc: Williams, Kimberly (LegHall); Peterson, Karen (LegHall) Subject: 24 Member Working Group – Charter Good Morning Ian, I am requesting an opinion today from the AG’s […]
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