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Gun Violence is a Markell Problem, not Just a "City" problem


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
Sixteen-year-old D’Andre Green was outside the Brookside Community Center late Saturday with his best friend, waiting for a ride to pick them up, when shots rang out and everyone scattered. The bullet did not hit the gunman’s intended target, but instead cut down the unsuspecting teenager, according to the victim’s father.

 In the hours after the news of D'Andre Green's murder, the comment section on the News Journal filled with posts about crime and gun violence and its creep from the City of Wilmington to local suburbs.

There's is no denying it - the City of Wilmington has a per capita gun violence and murder rate that has thrust it into the top 1% of most violent places to live or visit.  In fact, Wilmington has been at critical mass for several years.  Meanwhile calls for intervention have been largely ignored.  It's clear that the City itself lacks the resources to maintain peace, even its Mayor has failed to produce a detailed plan for intervention, despite running a platform that promised to reduce violence.  And its city council recently sent a Hail Mary shot to the Center for Disease Control begging for assistance in addressing their crime pandemic.

 But, Wilmington isn't the only Delaware city facing higher than average crime statistics.  D'andre Green was murdered in Newark while waiting for a ride home.  He was an innocent bystander and not an intended victim.  He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  He was in Brookside, 3.9 square miles and one of Newark's roughest neighborhoods. 

The locals will tell you that Brookside is far from surburban paradise.  Although originally built to house workers for the now dismantled Chrysler plant, the current neighborhood carries a bit of a reputation for crime, drugs, violence, and poverty. However, it would be unfair to fail to mention that there are small enclaves within the 4 miles that comprise the census designation tract of respectful, friendly, caring residents. 

 Brookside's challenge is its central location in Newark, DE, a city a with crime rate similar to the Dover, Milford, and Seaford, and a violence rate that according to the FBI exceeds the national norm.  While Newark still pales when compared to Wilmington, the reality is that what appears to be an increase of crime within the suburbs likely has little to do with sprawling urban violence.  Newark's violence isn't something new.  It's just something that is seldom publicized - which likely makes Newark even less safe than Wilmington.  Folks going into Wilmington know what they are putting on the line.  Folks coming to Newark often think they are heading somewhere "safe" and they let their guard down.  They stand at the end of long lane waiting for a ride.  They end up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 Wilmington's problem isn't just Wilmington's problem.  Violence is a statewide problem - one our Governor has failed to address, year after year, over two terms. It's time for Markell to put his money where his mouth is and declare war on violence and crime.  Delawarean's deserve better. Certainly, D'andre did. 


1950s Construction of Either Brookside Shopping Center or Brookside Elementary School

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GOLD Alert: Please Help Find Dale Shortlidge!


By Elizabeth Scheinberg

We see them often enough - Gold Alerts - issued for a special class of the missing: the elderly, the disabled, and those at risk for suicide.  Gold Alerts work like Amber Alerts - they cause us to be more aware of the people around us as we go about our day. If the alert works, someone thinks they may have seen the missing person and calls the police.  That tip may be the tip that brings a family member home.


We hope it's never you or yours - because this Gold Alert hits especially close to home - the uncle of our son's friend.  If you've seen Dale or think you might have seen Dale sometime since December 19th, please call it in to the police.  Please help us bring Dale back to his family.

From the News Journal: http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131226/NEWS/312260058/Police-seek-help-locating-missing-Glasgow-man

Police seek help locating missing Glasgow man

Dec. 26, 2013 9:39 AM   |  
Dale Shortlidge
Dale Shortlidge / New Castle County Police
New Castle County police are asking the public’s help in locating a Glasgow man who was heard from a week ago when he texted his family he was “headed to the beach.”
Dale Shortlidge, 42, who lives in the 100 block of Bartley Drive in the Pleasant Valley Estates community, was reported missing on Wednesday, said Cpl. Jacob Andrews.
Family members told police that they received a text from him on Dec. 18 indicating he was going to the beach, but he had no known access to a vehicle, Andrews said.
Officers checked surrounding areas and places that Shortlidge was known to frequent, but could not locate him.
Andrews said his medical status is such that there is real concern for his welfare.
Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call police at (302) 573-2800 or visit the website at: www.nccpd.com. Tips can also be phoned into Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800) TIP-3333.

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Starlight Foundation's Gift to Chronically and Terminally Ill Children in Delaware


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131222/NEWS03/312220037/Teaching-sick-children-boosted-by-tablet-gift
...the school serves a tiny student body with unique needs. Its students all have some kind of major medical condition that makes attending a regular school difficult or impossible.“Most of our students would be home-bound if they weren’t here,” said Coleen O’Connor, the Fist State School’s director...

The First State School is generally unknown to most.  I had my first knowledgeable introduction to the school when a friend found her daughter a candidate for the program.  It's made all the difference for our Maura Grier, who in her own right is a quite an amazing young lady with an amazing family to match, and whom the NJ article highlights:

But the equipment is especially helpful in dealing with some of the symptoms the First State students have to overcome if they are to learn.
Take Maura Grier, who’s in 7th grade. She has several health issues, including a connective tissue disorder that makes many of her joints and limbs weak.
Maura’s mom, Colleen, says the tablets allow her to read and watch educational videos in the positions that are most comfortable for her.
“If she isn’t feeling well, she can work from any position. She’s supposed to keep her head straight as often as possible, so she can set the tablet up on books so that it’s basically at eye-level,” she said. “It’s so light that she can carry it with her and put it where she needs it to be. You can’t read a book like that, and you certainly can’t write like that.”  
Writing can be painful for Maura, especially if she has to do a lot of it. So typing on an iPad presents a huge advantage.“If I have to write a lot, my hands start to hurt. I get frustrated and it’s hard to concentrate,” she said. “I just can’t learn very well like that.”
And since the general fiscal year is not quite at a close and we know many of you are still contemplating your your end-of-year write-offs - here's our endorsement of the school and it's directors pitch for donations:
It’s a huge advantage for our teachers, because they can take one student aside and work with them individually while the others work at their own pace on the tablets,” O’Connor said.Ideally, the school would have a tablet for every student, though they’re getting by now by sharing. Potential donors can help by visiting starlight.org and clicking on the “Starlight Wish Lists” tab.



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Cecil County to Host KKK - Call it the Duck Dynasty Phenomenan...


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
From the News Journal:  http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131220/NEWS/312200041/Klan-group-gather-Cecil-County-tonight

 By now, y'all know that I was feral child, who enjoyed the freedom and safety of rural childhood. I spent the first 10 years of my life living in the back woods of Cecil County, Maryland.  Back then, our address was 301 Beggars Row Rd.  (Street name has since been changed) the one and only conduit to Elkton's 5th Avenue - And yes, Elkton, MD has a 5th Avenue.  5th Avenue was a dirt lane that ended in large gravel cul-de-sac. 

When you grow-up rural, you live by the sun and the moon.  We could count on the nearby stream to nurse bullfrogs for catching and the old oak woods to leaf up each spring, always ripe for exploring.  While our house had real plumbing, several of the home owners still relied on out-houses.  A nearby farmer once brought my mother a just-slaughtered chicken to cook for Thanksgiving.  (We weren't just rural, we were poor.)

I grew-up oblivious to our poverty, a childhood filled with mostly fond memories.  But, there is one particular memory that I have never been able to shake - what happened on 5th Avenue.  Beggar's Row Road was generally a quiet and peaceful place.  But, at least once a month, as dusk settled across the farmland and forests, a caravan of cars and motorcycles sped down the lane and turned onto 5th Avenue destined for the gravel dead-end - for their regular KKK gathering. It was on these nights that my parents kept us - all five children - very close to home. In fact, all five of us were put on notice early on that we were to never go down 5th Avenue.

 So, it is with a heavy heart that I read the NJ article.  It's been more than 25 years since our family left Beggar's Row Road to call Delaware home.  Yet, it seems that no matter how much things change, they tend to stay the same.

The Klan will march in Elkton, their right is guaranteed by the constitution.  They will cloak their message of hate through their mastery of peaceful protest. But, there is something we can do about it - we can ignore them.  Because negative attention is positive attention and no attention at all is even better than negative attention.


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Guess who got to carve the Thanksgiving Turkey?


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
Happy Thanksgiving!


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Rally for Reach Tonight


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
 From:  http://keepreachopen.wordpress.com/

PTO Message on Rally for Reach!!
On Thursday November 21, 2013 at 6:00, we will be Rallying at Reach Academy for Girls 170 Lukens Drive, New Castle, DE. We anticipate that there will be media in attendance. Show our girls that Reach matters!!
Wear pink, make a sign, show your support.  You know these girls are learning or you wouldn’t have them at Reach!
Reach Academy  Parents we need you. Our voices need to be heard, 468 students need you to speak out for them. Every one of us has a story of why we are at Reach Academy. You may think yours is not significant, but it is. Write your story down with as many details and facts as possible.
  • Maybe your story is that your feeder school is bad and if you choice your daughter, you would have to provide transportation for her to get to a better school, but you can’t. Since Reach has bus service your daughter is able to have a better opportunity at Reach Academy.
  • Maybe your daughter had given up on school or even herself and Reach has given her the love and support she needs to try harder and achieve more.
  • Maybe your daughters test scores were worse than they are now and though they may not be Meeting proficiency yet you have seen great growth.
  • Maybe your daughter experienced something unusual while she was taking the test.
  • Maybe you just like that we are an all-girls school.
  • It doesn’t matter what your story is they need to hear from ALL of us.
BRING your story with you
Also
 Mail, e-mail or personally deliver it to anyone in power in our state there is a list on the Reach website of just a few under “what’s news”. There are many other people you could send it to that you may know, lawyers, judges, state representative, Joe Biden, other educators that are for our school, definitely Governor Markel. Someone out there knows someone and no one is insignificant!!!
Do not give up!! Your girls need you to fight for them. They need you to stand behind the CHOICE that you make to send your daughter to Reach Academy For Girls.
 You may be that one voice they need to hear from!
BE THERE!
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Dear Mr. Duncan, kindly go fornicate yourself, preferably where our children can't see you.


By Elizabeth Scheinberg

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan told a group of state schools superintendents Friday that he found it “fascinating” that some of the opposition to the Common Core State Standards has come from “white suburban moms who — all of a sudden — their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were and their school isn’t quite as good as they thought they were.”  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/11/16/arne-duncan-white-surburban-moms-upset-that-common-core-shows-their-kids-arent-brilliant/


 Dear Mr. Duncan,

 I'm going to say what all mothers are thinking today.  I might use some allegory, allusions, maybe even some three syllable words.  As the son of the founder of the Sue Duncan Children's Center, created in 1961 by a Caucasian woman in the urban, poor predominantly African American Hyde Park district of Chicago, I think, if you just bear it out to the end, you'll get the point.

Kindly go fornicate yourself, preferably not in the public spotlight this time.  When you're finished, please throw away your socks, don't wad them up and toss the ball into the hamper for your white surbuban mom, Sue, to wash.  That would be terribly disrespectful.

 Let's get to your meat, Mr. Duncan.  You're 'fascination with "white suburban moms" really has nothing to do with us - moms of any kind, urban, country, suburban, and striped.  However, your choice of words - and don't think for one second that we believe your utterance was accidental - actually says a lot about you and what's happening in your psyche.
 
We have already shared the legacy your mother has beget to you - a history that, according to you, was frought with threats and firebombs.   And it must have difficult to play second fiddle to your father's, Starkey, research - a philosopher  researcher who buried himself in social non-verbal interactions.

 And somewhere along the line, it all fell apart, didn't it?  Mom and Dad, each submerged in his and her own work... the marriage that succumbed to competing interests. Your own words tell us that you are still holding on to some resentment for childhood experiences missed.

 You don't really have a problem with "white suburban moms." You take issue with "educated women." Yes, your three words, "white suburban moms" are code for my two words, "educated women," women who through their hard work (and the collective work of the family) are able to support their household on one income. You despise these women because, despite this hard work, they have found the time invest themselves in education advocacy. And if you want to get right to the hard and dirty - you hate them because they are what you claim children need - involved parents. These mothers resemble your own - a woman so deeply involved in the lives of other children that she sometimes neglected the psychological needs of her own.

The meat, Mr. Duncan, is that you had the opportunity to redefine public education and instead you embraced a Bush-ian education agenda to privatize education.  It is a two-part plan that began with making a civil right into a competition. You counted on the under-educated urban masses to embrace your reform word game.  You called their schools failures and swore those failures belonged to the adults - not the children.

 Remember the lovely speech you gave at your confirmation hearing:
I come to this work with three deeply held beliefs.
First, that every child from every background absolutely can be successful. Rural, suburban, urban, gifted, special ed., ELL, poor, minority -- it simply doesn't matter. When we -- when we -- when we, as adults, do our job and we give them opportunities to succeed, all of children can be extraordinarily successful.
Secondly, maybe the flip of that, when we fail to properly educate children, we as educators, we perpetuate poverty and we perpetuate social failure. And that's not something that I want to be a part of.
And third, our children have one chance -- one chance at a quality education, so that we must work with an extraordinary sense of urgency. Simply put, we cannot wait because they cannot wait.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/19/AR2009011901116_5.html
Hard to believe the same man that uttered these eloquent, albeit inaccurate words, would later and very publicly, disparage mothers - mothers like your own.  

Phase I was relatively easy.  You were counting on a certain demographic - the pure opposite of "white suburban moms" to be so detached from their children's education, to be so under-educated, that they could never mount a cogent argument against your plan - your competition. Call schools that serve the urban poor failures.  Blame the educated masses - primarily women - that were working within those schools.  Close these now-deemed failing schools and empower profitable charter schools to replace them. Rather succinctly, it all fell into place when you were directing the Ariel Education Initiative.  How very capitalist of you. In fact, you thought you pretty much had this one wrapped up in a rubber with shiny bow.

Phase II - Implement Common Core Standards across all schools, not just the ones that you've deemed failing.  With full scale implementation of a national curriculum that is not developmentally appropriate and the aligned high-stakes testing, these more affluent schools will earn themselves the failing label as well.  Check the label, wash out the "public" part of education and spin in some charters and vouchers.  

Only this phase has proven more difficult to implement.  You've encounter women like your own mother - educated women who simply cannot sit out on the sidelines and let politics and capitalists destroy public education - women who see through your agenda and are willing to fight for all children, not just their own. Women who recognize that education is a civil right and not a competition.

Facts are facts, Arne.  And when a high-powered idiot such as yourself make comments as  incomprehensible as yours, it's usually indicative of a chink the armor.  You chink is your resentment of your educated and empowered mother. 

 How very, very sad.






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Tomorrow's PLC Wednesday!


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
Whoopee!  My little guy is thrilled!  He'll be at the school-wide barn dance while his teachers are playing PLC!  Thank you, Gov. Markell.  Thank you for wasting my child's time, his teacher's time, the admin's time.  Cause there's nothing like a good ole fashioned hoe-down during the school day!

Yeah, and you want to make me make my kid take the test after you've taken away his learning time?  

God Save Us All!
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Family's Loss is Community's Loss


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
I'm not sure that many in the K-12 educational set know of Dr. Scott Mackler.  I didn't know him as Dr. Mackler.  He was my neighbor in Oaklands during my childhood.  Husband, father, soccer coach, swim team dad.  Consummate community member. If you didn't know him, you might not have never noticed Scott.  And if you never noticed him, I'm very sad for you.

 Scott's work made him famous. At the Perelman School of Medicine at UPenn, he was reknowned for teaching medical students, residents, post doctoral fellows, nurses and other Penn faculty in many different departments in the area of substance abuse.  Dr. Mackler was remarkable as a brilliant researcher who studied the science of addiction.

 But, he was inspirational to me and many others for far more than his work -

When Scott was only 40, he was diagnosed with Lou Gerhigs Disease, also known as ALS. This husband, father, respected neuro-researcher could run a marathon in three and half hours, yet his nerves were slowly degenerating, with his body betraying his brain.  Eventually, Scott would become "locked in,"
his amazing brain functioning at its prime while his body was nearly paralyzed.  Scott and his family took the challenges as they came.  And if there was ever a family that would defeat ALS, it appeared the Mackler family would.  Scott exceeded every expectation.  He wasn't going to succumb in five years like most of those with this terminal diagnosis.  And it was in Scott's honor that Newark celebrated its 14th 5K Walk/Run for ALS this past October - adding to the more than $1 million raised by this family to ensure all people with ALS have access to adapted communication technology.

In 2009, Scott was featured on CBS' "60 Minutes." His mobility and conventional communication stolen, Scott was utilizing then-cutting edge technology to facilitate communication which enabled him to continue his work  in his beloved Perelman lab.  And he was still there last April, 15 years after his formal diagnosis.  And I think he would have been there today, if he hadn't lost his fight late Wednesday night.

 My dad called this morning.  Scott Mackler has left us.  His facebook page bears this message,
It is with an incredibly heavy and sad heart that we pass on word that Scott passed away last night, after a brave 15-year battle with ALS. We are comforted by your messages; it inspires us to hear how Scott inspired you.

Early on, Scott recorded this voice message for his sons, ""I know the future holds lot of love and joy and pride and that life goes on and I'll be watching you along the way and I love you very much and I'll see ya."  While Lou Gehrigs takes most voices, Scott would not let this disease take his.  

 Yes, Scott was remarkable, not for having ALS, but for fighting for his future when ALS threatened to take it.  I have often thought of Scott during the last 12 years, since the gift of my daughter whose own voice is constrained by autism.

 This little post won't do Dr. Mackler justice.  I can't pretend to try.  But, as I go into this night, my heart is with his family, the neighbors.  When you wake-up tomorrow, be sure to use your voice.  You don't know how blessed you are.
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Dear Reach Parents, It's time for a civil protest


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
For some reason, four hundred (and change) families have chosen to send their children to Reach Academy despite poor high stakes testing scores. Maybe it's b/c they know the test is bogus. Yesterday, the state dealt the death knell to Reach and ordered the charter closed at the end of this school year.

I am struck by one particular thought regarding the families that found value in Reach.  Your school is closing because your children took a high stakes test and failed.  According to an arbitrary measuring system, DCAS, your children failed to express the content knowledge they had gleamed from their teachers.  This does NOT mean that your children did not learn, that your teachers did not teach, or that your school leadership could not lead.  

 Reach parents, Opt Out Now.  No school in Delaware or this nation has ever been closed because students did not take "the test."  As you now know, first-hand, schools are closed because students do take "the test." 

Now, Delaware claims that it does not have a mechanism for opting out.  But, that does NOT mean you can't do it.  Today, opting out in Delaware is a form of civil disobedience, a method of protest, and technically a right, called parent directive, as defined in the constitution and affirmed by case law.  Yet, the state will tell that you can't opt out.  There is a way around it - find out when your child  is scheduled to take "the test," you know, the one that just obliterated your school.  Then keep you child home on the testing days. 

 Fearful? You've already lost your school.  What more can the state take from you?  They cannot punish your children. They cannot punish you.  They may try to frighten you.  But, what else is there to loose?  Really?  

 Reach Parents, Opt-Out.  You may not be able to save your school, but you can make your voices heard. 
Opt. Out.
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Sec. Murphy to take calls today regarding NEAP results -


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
For those who may want to participate:

 The call in number is 1-800-391-2548 Passcode: 30673549#  Time: Noon.
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Who's Trying to CORRUPT Delaware School Choice???


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
Data Service Center? We've heard of charters "creaming" students - whether you believe it or not.  But, now we have Third Party Vendors trying "cream" the charters?  Really? What's next?  Scratch that. I don't want to know.

--------------------------------------------------

I have sent the following letter to the Lt. Gov, Sec. of Ed Mark Murphy, and DOE PIO. And, yes, I'm hot and horrified that the state DSC is attempting to subvert the enrollment of certain Delaware charter schools. (Yeah, I know, I'll be told this whole thing was an error, it was the website.  DE hired a Canadian company that had been fired by Canada when if goofed up their school choice application process.) I was wrong, but it was a 3rd party vendor and that's pretty wild, too.

While we wait for a response, I urge you all to go ahead and try to choice your child, real or imaginary, into a Delaware charter school that exists and is open to enrollment and has been excluded from the state's DSC website for common application.  Go ahead, try to choice...  www.schoolchoicede.org. 

Dear Ms. May,

I writing in hopes that the department can answer some school choice questions.

Last night, I reviewed schoolchoicede.org, the website that appears to be created by the Data Service Center to facilitate school choice using the common application.  This following statement is on the website:
SchoolChoiceDE.org provides you with a central location to submit a Choice application for participating public School Districts and Charter Schools in Delaware. SchoolChoiceDE.org allows you to apply to the school of your choice, edit your existing application(s) as needed and monitor the status of your application(s) throughout the Choice process.
View School Choice Application for a comprehensive list of participating School Districts and Charter School

When I clicked "View School Choice Application" for a "comprehensive list of participating School Districts and Charter Schools" I was surprised to learn that the charter school of my choice was not listed.  In fact, there appear to be several charter schools left off of the state's website. 

I will note for you that Title 14, Chapter 4 states:

§ 403. Pupil application; withdrawal.
(a) Any parent of a school age child may apply to enroll that parent's own child in a school or program in a receiving local education agency by submitting a written application, on a standard form provided by the Department of Education, to the Department of Education or to the receiving district and to the district of residence on or before the second Wednesday in January for enrollment during the following school year, except that a parent may apply to a receiving district until the first day of the school year for enrollment in a kindergarten program during that school year. The Department of Education shall distribute applications to the appropriate receiving local education agency no later than 10 working days after the application deadlines set forth in this subsection. Receiving districts may require the submission of information beyond that contained in the standard form provided that it requires the submission of the same information by the parents of children residing in the attendance zone for the school. Notwithstanding the requirements of this subsection, charter schools may accept applications submitted after the second Wednesday in January.

Thus, I am compelled to ask:

1. Why does the website state that the list contained therein is "comprehensive" when it clearly is not?
2. Why is the state engineering the choice process by directing parents to only some charter schools and not all? 
3. How will the state compensate the parents who have already completed their applications, blind to the schools left off the website?
4. How will the state compensate those charters who will experience decreased applications b/c the state the left them off the website?
5. How many choice applications have been processed by the website to date?
6. Why were some charter schools disenfranchised from the school choice process?
7. Does the state realize that this website implies that the charters not listed on it are not open for enrollment next year?

Sincerely,

Elizabeth A. Scheinberg
Tax Payer

What did DOE say:


-----Original Message-----
From: May Alison
To: montagnebeau ; Murphy Mark ; Denn Matthew
Sent: Thu, Nov 7, 2013 11:28 am
Subject: RE: School Choice


Thank you for reaching out and providing us the 
opportunity to clarify this for 
you.

The charter schools listed on the DSC website are only 
the charters that are using the DSC services. 
The SchoolChoiceDE.org website states:

SchoolChoiceDE.org provides you with a central 
location to submit a Choice application for 
participating public School Districts and Charter 
Schools in Delaware. SchoolChoiceDE.org allows you to 
apply to the school of your choice, edit your existing 
application(s) as needed and monitor the status of your 
application(s) throughout the Choice process.

View School Choice Application for a comprehensive 
list of participating School Districts and Charter Schools.

This web site is not the State's website.  The State's 
website is 
http://www.doe.k12.de.us/infosuites/schools/choice.shtml

Alison
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Reblogged from PoC - Sometimes Silence is the Answer


By Elizabeth Scheinberg

From Parents of Christina, http://www.parentsofchristina.org/2013/10/sometimes-for-doe-silence-is-answer-of.html?showComment=1383758533518#c871259923039927943

Sometimes for the DOE Silence is the Answer of Choice


Sometimes the clearest answer someone can give is silence. After all when you ask a question that requires a straightforward response the lack of such a response speaks loud and clear.

In researching the reach of for profit and corporate back educational “reformers” have in Delaware I asked the following question to senior staff of the Delaware Department of Education:

“I am doing a story on several companies closely affiliated with the DOE, they are Wireless Generation, Smart Balanced Assessment Consortium, OtisEd, and Double Line Partners(including affiliates). Have you attended any social or professional event, seminar, presentation or training sponsored by any of these organizations? If so do you know how your attendance was paid for specifically?”

A straightforward question certainly. Here is a a partial list of the people who were asked this question via email together with their response;
1. Mark Murphy, Secretary of Education - SILENCE
2. David Blowman Deputy Secrtary of Education - SILENCE
3. Susan Haberstroh, Associate Secretarty of Education - SILENCE
4. Karen Field Rogers, Associate Secretary of Education - SILENCE
5. Michael Watson, Chief Academic Officer T&L - SILENCE
6. Keith Sanders Chief Officer School Turnaround Unit - SILENCE

There were others of equal or lesser standing within the DDOE who were asked the same questions and provided the same response, the list is too long for a single commentary. As I said sometimes the answer that reveals the most is silence.

Perhaps these people don’t read their emails, maybe a secretary didn’t think it important enough to forward maybe..........

Harry
Category: 3 comments

Where'd Publius Go?


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
Reknowned blog commenter, Publius, has gone AWOL.

Publius?  The porch light is on and its time for dinner... Won't you please come in?
Category: 1 comments

UPDATED: Delaware Opt-Out Update - DOE Issues Official Response via Public Relations Officer -


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
Sunday, 10:00 pm - Thank you for the many pm's with suggestions.  Our response has been sent. 

----------------------------------------------------------

We promised to keep our journey public... the latest installment:

DOE response sent shortly before 5 pm at 4:11 pm on Friday, Nov. 1st. We offer our gratitude to DOE for giving us the weekend to craft an appropriate response - that'll be written tomorrow.  

However, we are open to all of your suggestions - so please feel free to examine, research, and extrapolate for strategy.  And we'll see if the direction readers offer matches the response the already milling about...


-----Original Message-----
From: May Alison
To: 'Elizabeth Scheinberg'
Sent: Fri, Nov 1, 2013 4:11 pm
Subject: your DCAS inquiry





Ms. Scheinberg,


The Delaware Department of Education recognizes state testing is an important part of understanding how schools, districts and the state are doing in educating and preparing students for college or careers after high school. This is the primary way we know if schools are making appropriate progress toward educating children on the academic standards. Student testing also helps districts and schools identify if there are specific populations within their school that are behind and may need extra assistance. And state testing helps parents understand how their child is doing in comparison to students in other schools. This is important as grading policies are different across the state and are difficult to use as a comparison.


There are no provisions in state or federal regulation that allow Delaware to have a system to “opt students out” of the assessment. In addition, state and federal laws are clear that there is an expectation that all students will participate in the state assessment system. The only instances in which students can be excluded relate to exemption requests. Only two reasons are allowable for requests for exemptions: extreme medical incidents or for reasons of mental health of the child (each requires documentation from a physician). I have posted some of the relevant sections below for you.

 

Sate Code: http://delcode.delaware.gov/title14/c001/sc04/index.shtml

Title 14, Chapter 1, Subchapter IV § 173.

Data reporting violations.

School districts and individuals shall not:

(3) Exclude a student from participation in the state assessment except in accordance with the regulations of the Department;

 

The State Code reflects Federal Regulations that assessments must include all students. See highlighted sections below. (for clarity, some parts that were not relevant have been removed)

 

ESEA, Subpart 1, Subsection 1111(b)(3): http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg2.html

ACADEMIC ASSESSMENTS-

(A) IN GENERAL- Each State plan shall demonstrate that the State educational agency, in consultation with local educational agencies, has implemented a set of high-quality, yearly student academic assessments that include, at a minimum, academic assessments in mathematics, reading or language arts, and science that will be used as the primary means of determining the yearly performance of the State and of each local educational agency and school in the State in enabling all children to meet the State's challenging student academic achievement standards …


(C) REQUIREMENTS- Such assessments shall--

(i) be the same academic assessments used to measure the achievement of all children …


(vii) beginning not later than school year 2005-2006, measure the achievement of students against the challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards in each of grades 3 through 8 in, at a minimum, mathematics, and reading or language arts …


I hope this provides clarity.



Alison May

Public information officer

Delaware Department of Education

401 Federal Street, Suite #2

Dover, DE 19901-3639

302.735.4000 (T) 302.735.4654 (F)


** My new email address is  alison.may@doe.k12.de.us. Please update your address book.  My old address will continue to work for a limited period.**




This email and any attachments are confidential or legally privileged.  Any dissemination, copying or use of this communication by or to anyone other than the designated and intended recipient(s) is unauthorized.  If you are not the intended recipient, please delete or destroy this communication immediately.


P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
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Update: Former Head of School Turns Himself In - Is the former Tower Hill Head of School on the Run?


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131101/NEWS01/311010060/Search-continues-ex-Tower-Hill-headmaster-wanted-child-pornography-charges

This story gets more twisted every day:


Wheeler’s total compensation at Tower Hill was $360,876, according to the school’s latest IRS filing, for the 2012 tax year. That amount consists of base pay of $282,500, retirement benefits of $22,600 and other nontaxable benefits of $55,776. It was not clear Thursday whether Wheeler was still on the school’s payroll.

Looks like the former head of school might have the finances to afford it... why don't the police know where he is?

The Delaware Department of Justice and Wilmington Police Department are asking anyone who may have information to assist in locating Wheeler to contact Wilmington Police Detective Cecilia Ashe at (302) 576-3649.
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The Delaware Opt-Out Update


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
It's official!  Today, we finally received a response from the Christina School District.  You'll note some subtle nuances in the series of emails that follow - such as CSD makes absolutely no effort to claim ownership, nor support for high stakes testing or the results that these tests beget.

Go ahead, read between the lines:


-----Original Message-----
From: KEEFER PHILIP D
To: montagnebeau
Cc: GANC JEANETTE R
Sent: Tue, Oct 29, 2013 9:52 am
Subject: Letter to XXXX


Ms. Scheinberg,

Thank you for your letter to Ms. Ganc at XXXXX Elementary School.  The DCAS and subsequent SBAC assessments are State of Delaware Department of Education assessment programs.  We here, at the Christina School District, do not have the authority to opt students out of state required summative testing.  Please contact Helen Dennis at DDOE with your concerns and requests.

Thank You,


Philip Keefer, Supervisor

Title I, Grants, and Testing Programs

Christina School District

600 N. Lombard Street

Wilmington, DE 19801

Work Phone (302) 552-2683

Work Cell Phone (302) 354-5961

FAX Number (302) 552-2656

To which we responded: 
-----Original Message-----
From: montagnebeau
To: KEEFERP
Cc: GANCJ
Sent: Tue, Oct 29, 2013 11:11 am
Subject: Re: Letter to XXXX
Dear Mr. Keefer,

Thank you for your response.  Would you please provide me with Ms. Dennis' contact information. 

Given that CSD concedes that the district does not have the authority to opt students out of state required summative testing, I am exercising my constitutional right and my parental authority to direct the education of my son and must insist that CSD refrain from subjecting my son, XXXX Scheinberg, to the DCAS and SBAC and any other high stakes test that may be administered during the current school year. 

Per our original letter:


Parental rights are broadly protected by Supreme Court decisions (Meyer and Pierce), especially in the area of education. The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that parents possess the “fundamental right” to “direct the upbringing and education of their children.” Furthermore, the Court declared that “the child is not the mere creature of the State: those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right coupled with the high duty to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.” (Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510, 534-35) The Supreme Court criticized a state legislature for trying to interfere “with the power of parents to control the education of their own.” (Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390, 402.) In Meyer, the Supreme Court held that the right of parents to raise their children free from unreasonable state interferences is one of the unwritten “liberties” protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. (262 U.S. 399). In recognition of both the right and responsibility of parents to control their children’s education, the Court has stated, “It is cardinal with us that the custody, care and nurture of the child reside first in the parents, whose primary function and freedom include preparation for the obligations the State can neither supply nor hinder.” (Prince v.Massachusetts, 321 U.S. 158)
Therefore, I renew my request for the following:


I respectfully request that my son's class grades, class placement, high school diploma track, and school choice eligibility not be affected by our constitional right to refuse these tests. Please advise my son's school leadership to contact me at (302) 494-8076 so we can discuss the alternative class work XXXX will be given during test preparation and testing. After this phone call, I would also appreciate a written acknowledgment of this email and our phone call to be sent to my email address, montagnebeau@aol.com, or sent home with my child. Please include verification that my child's grades, class placement, diploma track, and school choice eligibility, etc. will not be affected by this refusal. In addition, please document which activities my child will be participating in while his fellow students are preparing for testing and during the test-taking sessions.

Your cooperation is deeply appreciated,

Sincerely,

Elizabeth A. Scheinberg
Robert Scheinberg
Parents of XXXX Scheinberg

Which Garnered this Response:






-----Original Message-----
From: KEEFER PHILIP D <KEEFERP@christina.k12.de.us>
To: montagnebeau <montagnebeau@aol.com>
Cc: Dennis Helen <helen.dennis@doe.k12.de.us>
Sent: Tue, Oct 29, 2013 11:22 am
Subject: RE: Letter to XXXX

Ms. Scheinberg,
Please contact the Helen Dennis (information below) Once again, the Christina School District cannot opt your son out of testing.  It is simply not our decision.  Once you have discussed the matter with DOE, please have DOE contact me with their decision.
Phil Keefer
Helen Dennis
Education Associate, Student Assessment
Accountability Resources
Delaware Department of Education
401 Federal Street
Dover, DE 19901
Tel (302) 735-4090
Fax (302) 739-3092
Where upon I pushed back with:

From: montagnebeau@aol.com [mailto:montagnebeau@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 29, 2013 11:26 AM
To: KEEFER PHILIP D
Cc: Dennis Helen
Subject: Re: Letter to Brader



Mr. Keefer, CSD concedes that it can't opt my child out.  However, I have not forfeited my right to direct my child's education.  I am more than happy to pursue the issue with DOE.  However, until there is a resolution, I expect that CSD will honor my parental directive. Thus, we should all plan accordingly.

Thank you,

Elizabeth Scheinberg   
With a return volley:
  
-----Original Message-----
From: KEEFER PHILIP D <KEEFERP@christina.k12.de.us>
To: montagnebeau <montagnebeau@aol.com>
Sent: Tue, Oct 29, 2013 11:30 am
Subject: RE: Letter to XXXX

The district will not plan on doing anything until they hear from DOE.  This is not a district issue, it is a state one.

I understand completely that you do not want your child to take the test, but at this point there is not opt out option for parents either.

Please contact the DOE with your concerns and if something changes, I will be more than happy to plan accordingly.

Thank you,


Phil K.
To which I responded:
 

From: montagnebeau@aol.com [mailto:montagnebeau@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 29, 2013 11:32 AM
To: KEEFER PHILIP D
Subject: Re: Letter to XXXX


Mr. Keefer,

Could you please refer me to the code/law/reg/rule that clearly states that a parent has no right to refuse to the test?

Thank you,

Elizabeth A. Scheinberg
Robert Scheinberg
And the debate finally concluded this:

-----Original Message-----
From: KEEFER PHILIP D
To: montagnebeau
Sent: Tue, Oct 29, 2013 11:35 am
Subject: RE: Letter to XXXX

This is a state testing program.  DOE will have to cite that code for you.


Category: 0 comments

And the attack on Girls continues - Pastor/Radio Host Declares Beware the Lesbian Communist Girl Scout Cookie. (SMH)


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
And the attack on little Girl Scouts continues:

First, Ravitch announced GSUSA was pushing Common Core (in Delaware, at least, our council folks have heard nothing about a GS Common Core Initiative - but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist), then Rep. Morris of Indiana (he called Girl Scouts radicalized feminists who were "promoting sex" and a "tactical arm of Planned Parenthood.")  Now the Religious Right is calling for a boycott of little girls selling Lesbian, Communist Cookies.  

It's America, every idiot gets a mic, but that doesn't mean we have to listen to them!


From: http://hopatcong-sparta.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/pastors-plea-dont-buy-lesbian-communist-girl-scout-cookies-hopatcong-sparta

Pastor’s Plea: Boycott Lesbian, Communist Girl Scout Cookies

Conservative radio host fears that the Girl Scouts of America organization is turning its young members into communists and lesbians.
Posted by , 
patch
3 Comments  Recommend  
Credit: Princeton Patch
Credit: Princeton Patch 
Kevin Swanson, the host of a conservative Christian radio program “Generations with Vision,” unleashed a bit of internet hell-fire with a plea to Americans to boycott Girl Scout cookies. Swanson is particularly worried about the promotion of socialism, lesbianism, abortion and female independence that, in his estimation, the Girl Scouts of America are all about.
Swanson warns, “if you want a communist in the White House in the year 2020, you have got to get more daughters raised with the worldview, the independent mindset, the worldview that is presented by the Girl Scouts of America.”
It’s hard to imagine that Swanson isn’t aware of the fate that befell a state representative from Indiana, Bob Morris, who eventually apologized for his sharp words about Girl Scouts last year after critiquing what he perceived to be their affiliation with Planned Parenthood.
“You need to be very careful when you start attacking little girls,” said Colleen Walker, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas. “After he [Morris] made those comments, there were girls who went door-to-door selling their cookies and suddenly they get slammed with ‘I can’t support you — you’re in bed with Planned Parenthood!’ Can you imagine? Let me tell you something: A little girl doesn’t even know what that is.”
The official Girl Scouts website  declares: “While we are a secular organization that refrains from teaching religious or spiritual beliefs or practices, we believe that the motivating force in Girl Scouting is a spiritual one, and we greatly value our longstanding partnerships with religious organizations across many faiths that share the values of the Girl Scout Promise and Law.”
Kevin Swanson, on the other hand, sees lesbians, “lots and lots of lesbians.”
Category: 2 comments

Allegations Shake Tower Hill Commmunity


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131023/NEWS03/310230064/Tower-Hill-headmaster-steps-down-amid-investigation-school-says

Apparently, private schools are not immune to scandal.  Yes, that's sarcastic.  The allegation is child abuse, the victim has not identified by the Office of AG (nor should be) and school's statement indicated that they have not been told that the accusation relates to a current student.

There's very little information out for public consumption as is usually case in these types of investigations.  Click the link to read the NJ has to say.

No need to leave comments.  It is what it is.

The headmaster of Tower Hill School, the elite private school in Wilmington, has stepped down after allegations of child abuse led to his house and school office being searched by the Delaware Attorney General’s Office, according to an alert sent by the school to parents today.No charges have been filed against 53-year-old Christopher D. Wheeler, but the message to Tower Hill parents said this was a criminal investigation involving allegations of child abuse.  http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131023/NEWS03/310230064/Tower-Hill-headmaster-steps-down-amid-investigation-school-says?gcheck=1
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COD is Back... Like a school buy/sell fundraiser...


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
http://blogs.delawareonline.com/firststatepolitics/2013/10/22/christine-odonnell-seeks-donations-for-legal-fight/


Surprise! Christina O'Donnell is back in the headlines.  You just can't keep that cat down!



Category: 0 comments

Correction Update -County Councilman Street Calls Councilwoman Diller's Outburst "Outrageous." Now, that's OUTRAGEOUS.


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
10/21/13 - Correction Per Commenter Nancy Willing:  Gordon and his administration did not call upon the NAACP.  The NAACP entered the picture after Mr. Norman Oliver, host of a public access television show, showed the outburst for three consecutive weeks, chastising the community "for not getting mad about her behavior."

 Perhaps Gordon and admin deserve a small pass for this debacle. Clearly, this group immediately recognized that the content of Diller's comments was directed toward job performance and expectations and had nothing to do with race or discrimination and thus inherently knew that the best response was to let the matter quietly pass. For if the heart of the issue really did capture the public's attention, PR would have to create a spin (as has now occurred) to deflect the political damage to the Gordon Administration that would also justify the lack of response to a council member's request that to most members of the public seems reasonable. Real Time example number #1: Foxfest and Wilmington Mayor Williams.

It's a shame that the 3rd, 4th, and 5th parties are not as reality-oriented.  Or perhaps, they are and this eye-soar is an intentional attack on Diller b/c she is a woman in politics. 

In the end, it doesn't really matter what I think.  I'm just a constituent who sees a situation in the newspaper that appears rather contrived.  Ultimately, the voting public has the power.  If we believe Diller to be an ineffective council member, we'll vote her out.  That results of this future election will be the only absolute in this tale. Until then, having lived in the glorious (sarcasm) limelight of politics and having had a member of county council cast shadows upon my character, I continue to believe that there is a war on women in politics and power. Every elected seat that a woman earns is one more lost by the good ole' boys.  As the presence of women in politics grows, the threat to established political marriages becomes more real with every election. It's time we see the forest for the trees. 

------------------------------------------------------------  

Seldom do I laugh at matters of council. But, this morning's NJ had me rolling!  

The Set-Up - Council and the Gorden Administration are at eachother's throats, again. Gorden's designee in reference to the meeting and topic - building houses on the old Pike Creek Golf Course - called in the NAACP after Diller, who is white, female, and an equal opportunity-blaster of incompetence, admonished the job performance of the county executive's designee for failing to brief the county council on the legal side of the land use issue.

 The NJ ferreted out the complaint and polled certain council members as to their opinion of Diller's behavior:
Jea Street, the council’s other black member, called Diller’s behavior “outrageous.”“I’ll just leave it at that,” he said. http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131017/NEWS02/310170052/Councilwoman-Diller-says-Gordon-administration-waging-war-women-

If you know Jea, you know he has a rich history of histrionics during the public meetings of other bodies.  He's inflammatory, at best, and a dangerous man with a mic.  You can't hate Jea, he keeps folks on their toes. But, come on, he's the poster child for "Outrageous!"

Can you tell, we're on Diller's Team Women!  Sorry Tom. 
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