http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20120830/NEWS/308300055/-Red-flags-raised-over-contract-Pencader?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home

Another Pencader "associate", this time board member/former board member/president, Vincent DiMauro, is maneuvering his company Integrate LLC to become a contracter at Pencader.  Don't worry, folks, this contract will fall below $50,000, meaning that the board will likely not vote on it and the deal can be done with school leader, Ann Lewis.

DiMauro told The News Journal that the rate varies depending on what services are provided, and it was not yet known what kind of rate would be charged. His firm provides a variety of services and has experience working with schools, he said.
 

1. Did DiMauro provide Pencader with references?
2. Did DiMauro provide Pencader with the list of schools with whom Integrate LLC is working?
3. Did DiMauro itemize for Pencader the type of work he's down with these schools?
4. Did DiMauro provide Pencader with a menu of services offered?
5. Did DiMauro solicit Pencader or did Pencader solicit DiMauro?
6. Our of curiosity - do the services offered by Integrate LLC fall within the scope of single source procurement?
7. When will someone intercede to stop the blood-letting at Pencader?  I am fairly certain that should Pencader's board want governance assistance, they could seek it from the Delaware School Board Association for much less than $49,000/year. 

Pencader is a school.  Despite the way it has been manipulated, it was never intended to be a cash cow.  This is Insanity!

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20120828/news/308280050/famed-curtis-smokestack-newark-faces-final-days?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7Chome%7Cs

My sister, "the Dr.", is seven years older than me.  When I was seven or eight, she wrote a letter to the News Journal (I was proud of her for that) in opposition of the demolition of old theater on Main St. in Newark.  You remember the one - right next to the Malt Shoppe... And that's the point, driven home by the recent closing of the Post House... It seems all things old must go to make way for something newer...

Fare thee well, icons of Newark long ago, alive only as long as our memories endure... 

http://www.wisebread.com/what-can-you-buy-for-1-these-days

http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/cuomos-new-york-accountability-solution-feared-unworkable/

"It has emerged that the problem is that Cuomo’s solution left the details to be worked out by local school and union officials — and in many cases union officials have no intention of ceding ground. This shouldn’t be a surprise considering that the unions exist to protect and advocate for their members.

More bizarre is that Cuomo created a system with such an obvious flaw to the extent that it could be accused of being unworkable by design, when it was developed specifically to fix a 2010 teacher evaluation law which he derided as being ‘unworkable by design’.

The problem with the 2010 law was that it let the union veto any plan that negatively affected them. The problem with the new system is that it allows the unions to simply stonewall any plan that negatively impacts them..."
 

 

http://pencadercharter.net/busfin/sites/default/files/page/204/documents/Agenda%20BOD%20Meeting%20August%2030%202012.pdf

Pencader posts August 30 Board Meeting Notice Agenda.  Thank You!

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING AGENDA

Thursday, August 30, 2012

5:30 P.M.

School Main Building, 2

ND Floor Conference Room

1. Call to order

2. Review, correct as necessary, and approve minutes of July 26, 2012 Board Meeting

3. Board Ratification of July 2, 2012 and July 26, 2012 Election of Directors

4. School Leader’s Report: Mrs. Lewis

5. Curriculum Development Report: Mrs. Fraser

6. Financial Report - July Monthly Budget Report: Mrs. Scanlan

7. Financial Audit Status Report: Mr. DiMauro

8. Proposed SY2013 Budget: Mrs. Scanlan

9. Parents Teachers Organization Report on Activities: Mrs. Kennedy

10. Executive Session

     a. Strategy session with respect to pending and potential litigation

11. Reconvene Open Meeting

12. Floor Open for Public Comments

     a. Time limit 5 minutes per person

     b. Allotted time may not be reassigned to a prior or subsequent speaker

13. Meeting Adjournment

Jodi has left a new comment on your post "DOJ Ambassador Speakers Available to Address a Wi...":

LOL - I didn't even see FOIA listed there... I got all excited about some of the other topics. I wanted to sponsor some community events at the school last year to include Internet safety and Predator awareness but I never could find any resources to do it. I am so calling on this next week!! :)

Now your question - no, there was no oath. There's nothing in the law, and I agree there should be. An oath isn't going to stop someone who is really interested in doing wrong, but it's a step that should give you pause to think about what you are undertaking and it gives the community a very specific set of standards to hold you to.

I guess Reach was luckier than I realized in the composition of our new board. We have folks who have a significant amount of board experience and really understand the fiduciary responsibility it entails. They also understood how a board is supposed to conduct business - Roberts rules, sunshine laws, committees, etc. I wasn't as familiar with some things like the fine points of Roberts Rules but spent time researching on my own, and have learned a lot from my fellow board members. That being said, a refresher course is never a bad idea.

Which leads me to another random thought... going through this probation experience over the last year, our mantra has been 'We want to learn, please teach us'. Hours and hours have been spent learning the detailed mechanics of the financial/funding process, for example - we've sought out people with experience and LISTENED to what they have to say. Our school is better for it. There is no room for personal arrogance here - you can't walk into a situation like this thinking that you know better than everyone else. We've put much effort into the process for things like contract bids and HR policies. Evaluation of a single person's salary has meant researching data at the state and district levels, the mid-Atlantic region and other comparable areas of the US, etc. - the bidding and evaluation process for our new modular classrooms went beyond what was required but it was the right thing to do. And EVERYTHING is documented and replicable.

It makes me very upset to see what some folks are doing right now because it makes all of us look bad. There truly ARE schools out there with boards who take their responsibilities very seriously, and who are doing very good work. In the end it's about making a high quality education available to all students and to do so in a manner that respects the citizens who provide the funding. Anyone who isn't up to the task of doing that, needs to get out.

Department of Justice Ambassador Program

The Delaware Department of Justice regularly receives speaking requests from community organizations, civic associations, and other public and private groups. Attorney General Biden created the Ambassadors Program to provide educational seminars on-demand that provide information about Department programs and initiatives. If your organization would like to learn more about the Ambassadors Program or seek to schedule an Ambassador Speaker please e-mail your name, contact information, and requested topic to DOJ.Ambassador@state.de.us or call (302) 577-8288.

DOJ Ambassador Speakers can address a wide variety of topics, including:

Community Prosecution, Sex Offender Registry/Megan's Law, Careers in the Law, Child Abuse Laws/Prevention, Child Support and Enforcement, Debt Management/Foreclosure, Domestic Violence Drug Crimes/Drug Prevention, Identity Theft, Internet Safety/Child Predator Task Force, Investment Schemes/Securities Fraud,Juvenile Delinquency/Truancy, Lemon Laws, Medicaid Fraud, Motor Vehicle Laws, Nuisance Abatement, Open Government/Freedom of Information Act, Senior Abuse, Sexual Assault Victim, & Witness services/Victims Bill of Rights

• Early Intel indicates that the SBOE did not act on Pencader concerns
• NJ interviewing Pencader parents onsite, look for story, commentary to come

Find it here - http://delawarelibertarian.blogspot.com/

Steve Newton hits a homerun with his enlightening thoughts about the recent turnover at the Delaware Department of Education under the new leadership of Sec. of Education Mark Murphy -

There is, naturally, a lot of editorializing and opining as to what it means that since Lillian Lowery left DOE for greener (but, honestly, equally toxic) fields in Maryland, her "team" has been scrambling for the exits as quickly as possible--last but not least Deputy Dan Cruce. . . . 

Steve makes a point of reminding us that the changing of the guard always brings with it exodus and new appointments.  More importantly, he charges observers with remembering that Mark Murphy was not appointed to charge direction, but to further a plan in place and he comes to us with substantial exposure to the plan and with influential backers'.

 In other words, when a new SecEd came to town there also used to be a period of public discourse and even relatively thoughtful debate on "Where should we go from here?"

Not this time. Mark Murphy's selection was an advance decree of exactly what the agenda will be in the second Markell term: more Race to the Top, more Vision 2015, more centralized educational policy-making, continued emphasis on high-stakes testing, and continued erosion of local control of our public schools.

It's a great discourse in the lessons of Delaware Sec. of Education History.  Go check it out for yourselves...   http://delawarelibertarian.blogspot.com/2012/08/when-guard-changes-at-delaware.html

6) How are charter schools funded? May a charter school charge additional costs for specific services?

Charter schools must provide without cost extra instructional time for at-risk students, summer school and other services required to be provided pursuant to the state accountability laws.

Charter schools may not charge tuition, however, there may be select additional services such as before and after school care for which there could be a charge.

Less than two years from its inception, the Delaware Department of Education's School Turnaround Unit, the poster child for the state's Award Winning Race to the Top Partnership Zone Education Reform Elixer (a.k.a The Koolaid) finds itself in Dover desolation, a wasteland of abandon, a sea three-deep of empty cubicles... 

Just weeks shy of a new school year, with two generations of PZ schools embroiled in reformity and oodles of focus schools submitting plans at the end of this month, DOE's go-to gals have...gone... Effective today, August 11, the Turnaround Chief, the last of the trio defects to whence she came, resuming employment in the CSD.  Dep. Holston resigned effective July 28th.  Dep. Land's resignation was effective July 13th.


Rest assured, Educators, Sec. Murphy is up for the challenge of repopulating the STU, http://www.doe.k12.de.us/job/default.shtml,  Oh, Jazz, Man...

Hey Murph, you need to actually post the job openings if you want people to apply... But, don't take my word for it, ask Jack.

From an Autism Delaware Press Release:  www.delautism.org

NEW LAW WILL HELP PARENTS SECURE NEEDED SCHOOL SERVICES!

At a little before noon today, it became DE law that schools must reimburse parents for the costs of expert witnesses and evaluations when the parents successfully prove that the school wrongly denied services to their child with a disability. Previously, even if successful, parents could spend thousands of dollars proving their child needed supports with no hope of recouping their costs. Here is Gov. Markell signing HB365 with Rep. Q. Johnson, the lead House sponsor, and Lt. Gov. Denn.

I'm sorry, I'm not sure how anyone can look at Alex Pires' photo in today's paper and not see Ben...

Alex Pires, Dewey Beach's Ben Franklin Impersonator, Produces Mayor Cupcake, Runs for Senate

Two days ago, I stumbled upon "Mayor Cupcake" already in progress on Showtime.  Decent family fare for two kids on a hot summer day. Who doesn't love a movie about cupcakes?  Then I noticed to subtle references to Delaware - Bridgeville, scrapple, pumpkin chunkun', and the "lower slower..."

Imagine my surprise when I googled Mary C. Pires, the inspiration for Mayor Cupcake, herself - Mother of Alex Pires.  Al Pires is the preeminent Delaware resort bar phenom, spur in the side of Citizens to Preserve Dewey, and today, the lead story in today's News Journal as he's on the political attack to unseat Sen. Tom Carper.   Sen. Cupcake, anyone?

Since, Pires has a history of banning patrons of differing opinions from his establishments...I best not say too much more, but if you're interested in a silly little movie with an upbeat message - check out Mayor Cupcake - conspicuously missing from the NJ bio - it makes for a fun family flick...Might I suggest making cupcakes first?

Mayor Cupcake

Do cupcakes and politics mix? They do in “Mayor Cupcake,” the feature-length film in which a small-town baker brings her homespun smarts to the mayor’s office in Bridgeville and revitalizes the town.

Shot in Dewey Beach, Bridgeville and Georgetown, the movie stars Lea Thompson, of “Back to the Future” fame, as Mary Maroni, a.k.a. Mayor Cupcake. Thompson’s daughters are played by her real-life teenage daughters, Zoey and Madelyn Deutch, and her husband is played by Judd Nelson, star of many films, including the ’80s classic “The Breakfast Club.” -Much More Here   http://www.delawaretoday.com/Delaware-Today/December-2010/The-Producers/index.php?cparticle=4&siarticle=3

Department of Education schedules public hearings on regulations
Release Date: Jul 19, 2012 9:30 AM ShareThis
http://www.doe.k12.de.us/news/2012/0719.shtml

The Delaware Department of Education will be holding three public hearings next month to gather public comment on regulations under Governor Markell’s Executive Order 36, a statewide review by all agencies to identify and remove regulatory hurdles. The order requires agencies to solicit input from the public to identify regulations adopted three years ago or more for possible modification or elimination.

This is an opportunity for the state’s education community to come together and promote the necessary conditions for our students’ success.

“Our goal is to remove burdensome barriers to ensure a singular focus on our state's vision: college and career-readiness for every child,” Secretary of Education Mark Murphy said.
Do you have specific ideas about which regulations should be modified or eliminated? If so, we want to hear from you.

The department’s hearings are in the first round of agencies to take place as part of the review. Other agencies will be holding hearings throughout the next year. The DDOE hearings are scheduled for:

- Thursday, Aug. 9, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the University of Delaware’s Carvel Research and Education Center, 16483 County Seat Highway, Georgetown.

- Thursday, Aug. 16, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Department of Agriculture office, 2320 South DuPont Highway, Dover.

- Thursday, Aug. 23, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the New Castle County Government Center, 77 Reads Way, New Castle.

Public comment also will be accepted through Oct. 1. Comments can be submitted at the hearings or online here. Full schedule of all agency hearings in the first round also is available here.
Executive Order 36 is a mechanism to review existing regulations and eliminate outdated, inconsistent, or regulations that no longer serve their purpose. After formal comment, DDOE will consider the input received and streamline or change regulations accordingly. A report on changes goes to the Governor and to the Delaware General Assembly in June 2012. Read more about the executive order here.

                                                                

More than 340 Delaware kindergartners this fall will begin their study of either Mandarin Chinese or Spanish in an elementary immersion program and be able to continue that study into middle school, thanks to the launch of the Governor’s World Language Expansion Initiative.           
Youth in Asia and Europe typically begin learning additional languages as early as 5 years old.  click here for more - http://www.doe.k12.de.us/news/2012/0801.shtml

Published Online: July 31, 2012

Questions Dog Common-Test Development

By Catherine Gewertz

On the verge of signing a contract to help design assessments for the common standards, ACT Inc. has withdrawn from the project amid conflict-of-interest questions sparked by its own development of a similar suite of tests... http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/07/31/37act.h31.html?tkn=ZXVFSl%2F2rWZCDNImcorY0CtxgAZSnYgmrC3K&cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2

 

 

Traditionally, summer was a quiet time, back when disgruntled school board members tic'd off the days 'til the State Board would vote to lift the embargo on DSTP/DCAS data.  Not so, the last two years...for the bloggers and reporters.  When I was a journalism student, a wonderful and revered professor at the University pointed out that when a scandal involving the great name of the University occurred, the resolution would come during the summer months, when the impact would be least to the school's reputation.  Fewer eyes to read the local paper bodes well for brick and morter institutions of higher learning.  And so it seems, more and more K-12 schools have taken the same course.

Adversity doesn’t develop character as much as it reveals character.
 — Dr. Tony Baron, The Art of Servant Leadership

Most of the corruption and disruption in the corporation is the result of leaders’ failure to lead themselves.
— Dr. Tony Baron, The Art of Servant Leadership

Trust is a function of two things: character and competence. Character includes your integrity, your motive and your intent with people. Competence includes your capabilities, your skills, and your track record. Both are vital.
— Stephen M. R. Covey, Speed of Trust

Courage never takes away fear; courage simply redistributes fear to get the job done.
— Dan B. Allender, Leading with a Limp

I've been asked for the back story of this statement -  So, I offer the following post (original tome) which first ran on September 16, 2009. Gleam from it what you think you need.  And remember, if it wasn't in writing, it wasn't motioned, wasn't seconded, and wasn't voted upon - It never happened.  Just because the voices in your head say it - doesn't mean it's true.

Ground Rules
Sep 16, 2009
By Elizabeth Scheinberg
 

There's a saying in the health care industry that folks from direct care givers to management live and breathe by. Million dollar lawsuits have been won and lost on eight easy words; If it wasn't written down, it didn't happen!

Incident reports, the distribution of meds, doctors notes, care plans, etc. I could tell you that I gave Mrs. Wilson her prescription every day for the last year. And you might believe me. Or I can give you a log of the dates, times, and doses and suddenly my word takes on new meaning.

Though I left a career in health care many years ago, I continue to practice this philosophy in every facet of my professional life. And I've found that the implication of those eight words translates well into my role now as school board member. If you have a plan, write it down. If you have results, don't just tell me. Show Me. If you have policies and procedures, they need to be in writing because the unwritten rule is the one that seldom gets enforced uniformly and with fidelity.

The flip side to this coin is that it implies that I lack trust in our system. But, it is not an issue of trust as much as it is one of accountability. It's not about people, it is about climate, system change, function, and value. It is very much about evidence-based practices, best practices, data-informed decisions, common sense and compassion.

I have reached a point in this journey where I have had to ask myself very some difficult questions. While running for this position, I publically urged both our state and district-level educational leaders to make bold decisions, to move away from an era of what appeared to be rubber-stamping, and to start questioning everything, to build policy that promoted growth, and to back-up their good intentions with results.

Ultimately, I have to be able to sleep at night. I have to know that I have considered and valued the balance between what is right for our tax payers with what's good for all of our students. The breadth of my experience is minuscule compared to that of some seasoned board members and I respect that. I am guided by an awareness that history can and does repeat itself, a strong strength in my convictions, and a dedication to both students and constituents.

And, in the end it will always come back to these eight words, If it wasn't written down, it didn't happen.