The Echo

 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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

For those who may want to participate:

The call in number is 1-800-391-2548 Passcode: 30673549#  Time: Noon.

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.

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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:


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.

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

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.

Reknowned blog commenter, Publius, has gone AWOL.

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

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

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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...

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.