The Echo

Looking for FOIA findings in Delaware?

Start here:

http://opinions.attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/?s=foia

(302)654-3608 (Nah, I haven't called it.)

Courtesy our Governor's own Jonathon Dworkin.



With Special Thanks to John Young at Transparent Christina for breaking an incredible story that confirms what all of us conspiracy theorist believe about the course of education in our state!

ReBlog from Kavips:  The Post that Shall Not Be Named:

It was with supreme dismay I returned to stumble over a riff between two local gurus of education.  No references shall be given.  All readers here have adequate resources to discover of whom I speak.
Point is: if Stalin and Churchill could work together to defeat a common enemy during the Second World War, one should expect petty misconceptions easily put aside considering the greater cause at hand.

More Here:   http://kavips.wordpress.com/2014/11/30/33236/

https://exceptionaldelaware.wordpress.com/2014/11/25/gateway-lab-school-recommended-to-close-but-de-academy-public-safety-security-gets-a-pass-something-is-very-wrong-here-kilroysdelaware-ed_in_de-rceaprez-apl_jax-tnj_malbright-wdel-wboc/#comments

In reviewing the decisions made by the Charter School Accountability Committee for Delaware, there is an obvious bias against Gateway Lab School.  Delaware Academy of Public Safety & Security (DAPPS), with their special education population of 12.6%, had their charter renewed.

Wow! The words of parents, friends and family members tell the Gateway story.   These statements are just a small excerpt of testimony - public comment - available for reading on the  DOE website, http://www.doe.k12.de.us/Page/399, where approximate 70 statements have been submitted in support for GLS.  The public comment period is still open, so I expect that testimony will continue to be submitted and posted.
 

• I am appalled to hear that Gateway is in danger of having its charter revoked.  Please consider the standards by which you analyze data for a school in which students are unable to thrive in a mainstream learning environment. 
• I am writing to let you know that I am disheartened to hear the news for this charter school.  It has been literally a godsend for so many children with special needs. The focus on testing in our state...and in many cases across the country has gotten extremely out of control.  The students at this school are coping with such a diverse population of special needs, that traditional testing shouldn't be a measure for charter renewal. This school has been an answer to many parents prayers...a place that their children can go to receive services that they need to learn, and to successfully get through the day. Success shows itself in many ways.
• It is my opinion that putting standardized test scores above the needs of children with learning disabilities amounts to nothing less than DISCRIMINATION against children that desperately need the environment that Gateway provides. 
• This school is the only school in DE that caters to children who cannot thrive and perform well in a traditional school setting... To take my child out of his setting, in which she is excelling to put her back into the system where she was struggling is a grave mistake and disservice to not only my child, but all of the children of Gateway. 
•  You do not realize what it is like to see someone who struggled throughout his young life, socially and at school, gain confidence and gain a certain level of success.
• The Gateway Lab has helped so many students by giving them the necessary foundation to complete their educational goals over a long term period...The Gateway School builds confidence in so many. It gives them a sense of belonging to a group just like themselves.
• As a grandparent of an eleven year old child who has multiple learning disablilities, I cannot understand how this decision was made.  After spending three years in the pubic school system,and not thriving, our grandson went to a private school that could not meet his needs. Once the Gateway Lab School had been established for two years my daughter decided to send him there. Not only was he provided with quality teachers and aides, he also qualified for a 1 on 1 aide, who helped him stay on track every day/ At an IEP meeting, my daughter was told that there was significant improvement in his scores. I do not see how the panel, or the State, for that matter, can use test scores as the only means of progress for children such as my grandson.
• I feel that if gateway is closed,students like my son will have no other option but to move out of state to receive public education that accommodates their needs. 
•  My autistic son attends Gateway and LOVES school again. Finally!!! He improved in the Delaware Autism Program, but that caused him to be dropped from services here are precious few places for these kids. He rarely passes the state test and that has always been true. All you are going to do is move him to school with kids who can pass the test thereby masking his poor performance. Good news for DOE, but that leaves my son exactly where he currently is educationally, but where he is miserable, lost in a sea of kids that live in a different world from him. His autism will prevent him from having academic success as easily as his neuro-typical peers; closing Gateway won't change that. What it *WILL* do is rob him of his day-to-day happiness, his ability to takepride in his accomplishments as compared with his differently-abled peers, and friendships that are hard for him to form. 
•  Gateway has been a warm and encouraging environment for kids who have not and cannot thrive in standard schools. The smaller classes are just right.. The point of the school is not to produce academic stars but to enable kids who fall below standard to still be valued and given hope and skills to reach self-sustaining competences. Delaware benefits as happy learners grow up to be responsible and productive citizens.
•  This is ridiculous - closing a great resource like this where special challenged kids can focus on improving in a supportive environment without the social pressures of being 'wierd' in the eyes of other children

There are so many more.  But, don't take my word for it.  Go read them! http://www.doe.k12.de.us/Page/399

Those who read me know that I seldom invoke my children, my family, my employer (whoever that may be at any given time) and my children's school when I blog.  Today, I am breaking all my own rules and creating a few new ones.  I will write about the things I don't write about and I will censor any negative, mean, or slanderous/libelous comment that gets left behind.

I have been many things in my life. There is the obvious - my four years as a publicly-elected school board member - for which you all know me and the reason why this blog exists.

And then there are the other roles
1. A graduate of Partners in Policymaking
2. An education advocate for children with disabilities
3. A recent winner of the Charter Networks Idea Awards (for starting a really cool nutrition program from scratch and working to take it fully scratch) (yes, anti-charter friends, you may laugh while my pro-charter-wth-a-cause friends, you may smirk.
4. My degree in English/Journalism - a dying art
5. A lunch lady - as the my Pencader detractors would love to point out with a snicker
6. A recipient of the Lindt Unsung Heros of Autism Award - Nationally recognized.
7. A one-time commentator on Campbell Brown of CNN - back when people knew C.B actually was.
8. A recent face on WDEL - a station everyone in Delaware knows.
9. A wife for 15 years while a daughter for 30-something.  Ask my kids, they remember my age better than I do.
10.  I am a closed head injury survivor who struggles daily without narcotics to overcome indescribable pain in order to be the best mother, spouse, and employee that I can.
11. I have been D's mother for 13 years, while simultaneously, H's for eight.
12. I am a Gateway employee (less than one year).
13. And in my most important role today, I am a Gateway Parent.

Last week, while sidelined with yet another bout of Bronchitis, I heard the devastating news - The Charter School Accountability Committee had voted to recommend non-renewal for our charter.  Their decision was based in solely on our academics as described by the charter framework.  In our case, we passed the other two-thirds, organizational and financial.  However, CSAC believes that the academic framework outweights the other two combined.  Does it? Who knows? We are talking about the Academic and Testing Branches of DOE, a groupthinktank that hides in the dark.

So, let's move the conversation into the sun - GLS failed the academic portion of the framework.  By conversion, as if it could ever happen, a whole lot of our traditional public schools fail the test as well.  Most will never be placed on the chopping block. But, GLS was something different, it is a charter - an experiment - something I've often said about charter schools.  I am a parent who knowingly put my children into an experiment rather than keep my children in failing districts.  I did so as a believer in two kinds of education - traditional and charter-with-a-cause - and as a reasonable person who knows "the test" - whichever one of the three different tests in five years - is bunk.

For my daughter, my decision to try a new charter school was driven by need - she needed curriculum delivered in a sensory friendly way that would inspire her love of learning again.  She stopped thriving in the lecture-based inclusion classroom.  I could tell you how she was lonely, friendless, socially delayed, and how her team refused to work with us to address those critical elements.  But, in the end, it was the need for a new environment and delivery model that inspired our choice to be inaugural Gateway parents.

For my son, it was frustration over people.  He is twice exceptional.  He has a huge IQ that swallows us whole and an amazing vocabulary that puts his peers to shame. No, I'm not gloating. The problem was that his vocabulary was masking his social skill deficits and his perception of the world around him. I just didn't know it.  What I did know was that between preschool and 1st grade he had broken his dominant arm in three places during two different episodes and that he complained and cried about how handwriting was painful.  For my part, I thought his writing was difficult to read.  The first time I requested OT eval with a drs note, I was denied by the IEP crew at his traditional public school.  Hand-in-hand my son developed school refusal - a nightmare sub-dx of separation anxiety.  In addition to the tears about his hand, we had to fight daily to bring our child into school and to leave him there.  It took 9 weeks of begging the school for help and the intervention of District-level admin to finally inspire our principal to take his condition seriously.  That principal would go on to be an asset to us, working diligently to help our son adjust in a world where he felt seriously out-of-place.  Unfortunately, when he returned for second grade, she did not. And, no, we didn't have any issues with his new principal.  She tried hard to help us.  But, the help that could be offered wasn't enough.

In his second grade year, I again asked for an OT eval.  The school complied but first insisted on every other cursory testing under the sun before we got to OT.  If the IEP process could be called a contest, he won a consult once or twice a month.  When I look at the testing and read the results, I am floored as it points to Non-Verbal Learning Disorder.  But, the team wouldn't give him that diagnosis - he got developmentally delayed.  Okay, we said, we'd take it.  Whatever label got him services. By this point, my son had become close friends with a number of school psychologists over the years, and we had even paid for therapy by a private psych who came into the school to work with him.  So, we quietly celebrated what we had.

Was his IEP adherred to?  Probably.  Remember, it was people who would drive my decision to put my son into an experiment. By the time we received his IEP, we were tired of fighting over our twice gifted child.  Because he scored so well, his academics made him low man on the totem pole in the classroom. I often felt that his teacher resented when I asked her to give him some extra assistance or to help him with his social skills.  And then, half way through second grade, she just stopped responding to me.

Could this same series of events happen in another school? Yes.  But, I already had his new school picked out.  He would join his sister at Gateway, where we had seen tremendous success in both her academics, social, and medical life. For the first time ever, my special needs daughter would attend the same school as her brother - they would have a shared experience, a bond built through education.

And in the three months my son has spent at Gateway, his school phobia is almost eradicated!  No more fights or tears.  He's opened up to learning and has made friends. He loves everything about school - except gym.  

An experiment? Yes. The right decision? Absolutely. 

You see, it doesn't matter where my children take the test that DOE requires.  The setting, the school, the state... My children will test the same.  All DSTP and DCAS ever told us about my daughter was that her severe disability interferes with her ability to take standardized tests, accommodations or not.  Meanwhile, my son recently took an ELA assessment that scored him at college-ready.  Really?  He's eight.  I'm not about to enroll him in college. It was, afterall, a standardized test.

So, here's my plea - Whether you support public charters or traditional public schools, please take up Gateway's cause.  It's time to cross the charter/traditional divide and unite to take on high stakes testing.  These types of tests don't help schools or students, as we can all see - it hurts them. 

Yes, high stakes testing hurts kids.  From Partnership Zone to Priority to Charter Frameworks and everything in between - these tests are disrupting our children's academic life and causing undue hardship to students and their families.  Because of the tests, we are constantly destabilizing schools, communities, and families.

There has to be a better way.  So, please, submit a comment to the public record!  You can do it here: http://www.doe.k12.de.us/Page/399 or by emailing infocso@doe.k12.de.us.

You may choose to advocate for Gateway or you may choose to use the above forum to tell DOE how you feel about the effects of high stakes testing.  Be part of the public record!  Help us Help Kids!

http://wdel.com/story.php?id=64154

Gov. Jack Markell on an Education Jaunt to the New Orleans Reform District

Some people seem to think that I should have an opinion - one way or the other - of the state's takeover attempt of the 6 Wilmington schools recently named "Priority."  But, it's not opinions that count right now.  What we, the Tax-Paying class, are witnessing in the actions of the Governing Class was written into state law long ago - specifically four long years ago - by our legislature behooved by the guidance of former Sec. of Education and Markell lap puppy, Lillian Lowery. Gone is the promised inflatable hammer of Lillian sidekick Dan Cruz.  Replaced by a gym-show-throwing Coach who's not above the same bullying behavior of the accused Tamika Louis (Del State BBall Coach.)

Opinions, bah.

Go Read the Playbook written in New Orleans Reform District!  That's where this story is going.

Remember when, in the beginning of RTTT,  we first learned about Mass Insight?  That economically well-connected think tank was singing the praises of School Turnaround in Chicago.  Before the year was out, thought, the first data considered "longitudinal" and "long-term" had started to creep out and by year end, Chicago was quietly branded a FAILURE.

Yes, Chicago was out.  And New Orleans was in.  But, it wasn't all roses as the Deformers would have you believe:

"Rather than following the common paradigm for school takeovers nationally – that is, taking over entire school districts with all their dysfunctions, central office bureaucracy, employees, and restrictive collective bargaining agreements, the Recovery School District takes over only individual schools, their employees, their students and their funding."

This lovely quote first graced C&E1st on December 29, 2009.   Echo familiar today?  Reality:  The source document is gone, probably squirreled away the day after this post first went to print.  Although an enterprising young reporter or blogger with far more time than I may choose to do a search for it...

Is there anything I really have to add to the reform discussion?  Sadly, no.  I've said it all before.  But, the ears weren't listening in 2009.  And they are still not.

Here's the original post: http://elizabethscheinberg.blogspot.com/2009/12/race-to-top-and-louisianas-recovery.html

A little research and maybe it's not all roses in Louisiana:  (If it's big and in bold text, it's my comment. If it's red, it's a link.)

In 2003, the Louisiana passed legislation creating a Recovery School District, administered by the Louisiana Department of Education.  The RSD is designed to take underperforming schools and transform them into successful places for children to learn.  After the hurricanes of 2005, the majority of schools in New Orleans were turned over to the RSD. 

"Rather than following the common paradigm for school takeovers nationally – that is, taking over entire school districts with all their dysfunctions, central office bureaucracy, employees, and restrictive collective bargaining agreements, the Recovery School District takes over only individual schools, their employees, their students and their funding."

The RSD employs a number of strategies to turn around struggling schools, and a key strategy is charter schools. The District is supporting both charter conversions for struggling schools and charter conversions for schools that are improving.  To learn about the The RSD Strategy, click here.

How does the LA state intervention work?
Schools that fail to meet state minimum academic standards for at least four consecutive years are eligible for state intervention. These schools can be placed into the RSD or retained by the local school board under the terms of a supervisory Memorandum of Understanding and related School Recovery Plan.

What is a Memorandum of Understanding?

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is a binding agreement between a local school district and the Louisiana Department of Education (LDE) that outlines necessary actions that must be implemented at a failing school in order for it to avoid placement in the Recovery School District (RSD). If the district fails to comply with the terms of the MOU or fails to make progress toward the implementation of the school recovery plan during the first year of the agreement, the Department may exercise the option of placing the school in the RSD. The degree of oversight involved in each school’s MOU will vary and will be based on the level of intervention Department officials deem necessary for the school to succeed.

The 2009 School Performance Scores (SPS) report released October 13, 2009 by the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE shows the Recovery School District is improving school performance in New Orleans schools.

Prior to being transferred to the RSD, most schools were labeled Academically Unacceptable for at least four consecutive years, meaning they failed to meet the minimum score of a 60 SPS. Of the 60 RSD schools that received scores in the LDOE report, 26 have raised their scores to a 60 or higher. Additionally, the District Performance Score (DPS) improved from 51.4 to 54.0 from 2008 to 2009.

The strong performance of RSD charter schools is particularly noteworthy. Three-quarters of the District’s charter schools received scores above 60, giving them a rating of one-star or above.  Cick here for Accountability information.

Sounds a lot like Race to the Top???  Maybe that's why I keep seeing the RSD referenced in my RTTT Research.  Yet, RSD is not Immune to the challenges facing education today.  Check out the flip side:

• The Recovery School District responds to allegations made by the  Times-Picayune about their Alternative Programs at Schwarz Academy  http://www.rsdla.net/media/NoticesAll/NoticeSingle/09-06-28/RSD_responds_to_Schwarz_Academy_allegations.aspx
• The Recovery School District looks to make charters pay rent.  The Recovery School District and the Orleans Parish School Board, the two major overseers of charters in New Orleans, have historically provided their charters rent-free building space.  But, in certain cases, it's been unclear whether the district or the charter school bears responsibility for maintenance or repairs on the buildings. Such issues have typically been resolved on a case-by-case basis.  "What we are doing now is not sustainable," said Ramsey Green, the district's director of operations, who said nearly half of his staff's time goes to handling the charter requests...  More Here:   http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2009/12/recovery_school_district_looks.html
• Recovery School District lays off dozens of teachers (August) -- Many replaced by Teach for America.  http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/recovery_school_district_to_la.html
• Recovery School District to close four schools.  "The changes reflect a mix of broad goals. The cash-strapped district, which has spent heavily under Superintendent Paul Vallas, is struggling to balance its 2009-10 budget as it braces for the loss of millions in one-time federal dollars next school year. At the same time, the state-run system is moving forward with plans to convert most of its schools to charters, representing one of the nation's largest public school privatization efforts. http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/03/recovery_school_district_to_cl.html

Amidst all the education crazy this week  - CSD's BOE failed to pass a motion to join the Delaware School Board Association.  A first in a million years of George Evans's.  At a savings of approx. $22 thousand.

And what was that budget snaffu:  Oh yeah, the CSD BOE voted 5-1-0 (Minnehan voted no while Saffer was absent) to pass a $14 million deficit preliminary budget.  Nice.  $14 mil = how many teachers?

Projected Receipts:  $222.434,406
Projected Expenditures: $236.985,624

Projected Deficit: $14,551,218.00

Yep, that's a deficit! 

July tidbit: It seems that DOVER failed to approve the CSD Consolidated Grant.  It was submitted in July 2014.  So, what's happening with all those school-based POs? Nothing.  Common Core Curriculum?  Nope.  Workbooks?  Nada.  Instructional Supplies?  No Way.  

July was a busy month - the CSD BOE voted to turn Douglas into a high school and over to a EMO???  Wonder how far $20.00 / teacher goes over there?

In April, we ran the post below:  The Game of Clue - Politics in Delaware Version.  It's been a couple months, but we finally know who made it out alive and who didn't:

Who was Mr. Boddy?  Chip Flowers, of course.  

The Who and How? Markell in the basement with a Benner.
Who'd a thunk it?

Next time you're invited to Woodburn for a dinner party, pull a Jennings and decline!

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

I'll take Jennings in Woodburn's cellar operating suite with a syringe of glove cleaner... 

The Game - Clue, The Delaware Way Version
In 1944, Englishman Anthony Pratt filed a patent on a murder/mystery game he had invented to pass the time during air raid drills in underground bunkers  Though it was quickly acquired by Waddington's, the game was not launched until 1949 when it was simultaneously released in the U.S. by Parker Brothers.  Notably, the version that reached publication included 324 possible combinations of room/weapon/offender. 

The Setting - Woodburn, the Governor's Mansion where a select few have been brought together to hash out Delaware's political future over a dinner of stewed poultry and rare local cheeses courtesy Roos Foods.  Desserts to be supplied by Serpe's Bakery. 

It should be noted that Woodburn's residents share their home with several benevolent spirits and one particularly evil manifestation - the ghost of a southern slave raider who died while hiding in a poplar tree that still graces Woodburn today.


The Rooms -

The Weapons -  A Candelstick, Knife, Revolver, Syringe, Wrench, and Lead Pipe. 

The Players -

Current AG. Beau Biden, a man with a mysterious medical

Mysterious Illness? Maybe...

condition whose silence has sparked the ire of the local newspaper and a handful of Republicans.  As the son of the current Vice President of the United States, he has recently announced that he will not seek another another term as State Attorney General.   He's eying Governorship and has made the critical decision not to use an elected position as a springboard for his gubernatorial aspirations. Despite the unexplained lesions in his brain, he continues to be revered as Delaware's Golden Boy.

Lt. Gov. Matt Denn, rode the coattails of "change agent" Jack Markell into an office view of The Green. The two-term shadow

Out of the Shadows, Education Advocate

of the Del Dem Markell, he had already mounted a quiet campaign for Governor in 2016, the heir apparent to the term-limit-bound Markell..  The surprising announcement that our Golden Boy is not seeking another four years as A.G. has derailed Denn's presumed candidacy.  Potentially fearing another debilitating primary, the Democratic Party breathed a little easier Monday morning when Denn announced he would not seek the Governorship after all.  He has filed for the Attorney General's race instead.

Gov. Turned Kids into Rats

When Governor Jack Markell campaigned for "change" seven years ago, his successful primary split the Democratic Party wide open and has nursed a rift that continues through this day.  He has strayed from his public platform and sold much of the state to the rascals that control the Star Chamber of Commerce and out-of-state investors.  Under Markell's reign, the Great Recession has taken hold in Delaware and the middle class has been decimated.   Though no one group has offered a vote of no confidence in this politician, it is widely hoped that the outgoing governor will receive his due political appointment in Washington D.C. essentially sending him packing.

Respectable Attorney

Kathleen Jennings, a prosecutorial star and a Biden insider, knew that Beau was withdrawing from the AG's race before the public did.  Known both for her masterful prosecution of a former Delaware serial killer, and her swinging door at the AG's office (she's an on-again/off-again state employee when not in private practice) rumors are on  the upswing that she'll rival Denn in a primary for the AG seat.

Flowers in Alaska

Chip Flowers, a political dote who has crafted a hate-love/love-hate relationship with his electorate, is eying what?  Well, it's hard to say with Chip.  He crafted his political status as a commentator on PBS, back when PBS had a mild interest in Delaware and gained enough name recognition to find himself elected as State Treasurer - a position once held by Gov. Markell.   However, Chip's time in office has been bizarre. We've seen the powers of the office restricted since Flowers planted his roots.  Which is hard to do - root-planting - when one spends as much time traveling out-of-state as he does.

I'm You!

Christine-I-AM-NOT-A-Witch O'Donnell, more affectionately known to Delawareans as COD, deserves to join the Clue Murder/Mystery Party for no other reason than her notoriety as the tea-party celebrate who single-handedly took down Delaware's Republican Party, ensuring that the state's only previously held Republican seat among our D.C. delegation, represented for nine terms by  Mike Castle, went to Democrat Chris Coons.  She's no golden girl, but the Dems owe COD a wealth of gratitude. And with unpredictability her modus operandi, it's a given that COD will somehow wiggle her way into the political fray come campaign season. 

With Countless Possibilities, Who killed Mr. Boddy? Will Boddy be the only victim?  Who will survive dinner with Jack?  Who will make it out alive? And who will leave without a raging case of listeria?  

Yep, I call Jennings in the cellar with a syringe.  

Now, it's your turn to play.

UPDATE:  DOE's Chief Turnaround Officer, Keith Sanders (of Miller-McCoy testing scandal fame) has resigned from his position in Dover effective July 15, 2014.  I suppose it's just another hop, skip, and jump through Delaware onto greater fame and controversy!

While we are still awaiting confirmation, the rumor on the street is that DOE is planning to enact the next level of intervention in a Wilmington school.

At least one PZ schools is rumored to have failed to make AYP for in two years for two years. Here's the letter:



You can read the state's fancy description here: DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENTS

Here's a PZ reminder without going too deep into the code/regs/law:

Partnership Zone was established by former DE Sec of Education, Lillian Lowery, in conjunction with Gov. Jack Markell.  The zone was written into Race to the Top as an ancillary item, intended to show the state's available resources and muscle when it came to affecting "change" in persistently low achieving schools.

The DE Dept of Education helped author language in a bill that codified the Partnership Zone.  Our legislators passed this bill into law following the RTTT "win."  Funding for PZ schools was a part of the consolidated grant. To access the allocated funding, local education agencies (districts and charter leadership) had to offer a plan (MOU) utilizing one of four (flawed) intervention models, Transformation, Turnaround, Charter, or Closure to DOE.  To be relieved of PZ status, the school had to make AYP in two years for two years.

The regs also prescribed the next steps should a school fail to succeed in two years for two years under the chosen intervention model. In level one of PZ,  the LEA could use one of the four intervention models.  Most LEAs chose Transformation (not all) as it appeared to be the least disruptive for students.  In the second level of PZ, Transformation is entirely off the table.  These schools must choose either Turnaround, Charter, or Closure.

In Christina, the board was permitted to enact a model that merged both Transformation and Turnaround.  Not sure if DOE ruled CSD schools were officially one or the other - regardless I do believe there is audio of the state's former PZ authority defining the CSD model as a "hybrid." 

Thus, if a CSD school enters stage 2 of PZ, it's possible that both Turnaround and Transformation will be off the table, leaving the LEA with the choice of Chartering the school or closing it and sending its students to higher scoring schools elsewhere. 

Hey, DOE, what's it gonna be?

http://perryville.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/officials-call-for-investigation-into-group-home-where-boy-died9105714

Maryland lawmakers are asking why the state has given $18 million in contracts to LifeLine Inc., the company operating the group home in Anne Arundel County where a 10-year-old “medically fragile” boy recently died.

The boy, identified only as Damaud, breathed with the help of a ventilator and died on July 2, Patch reports. He was under a “do not resuscitate” order, authorized by social services officials, according to Connie West, his education supervisor. Something as little as his tube clogging and not being changed fast enough could have killed him.

The LifeLine Inc. home, operating from a Laurel apartment complex, was already under scrutiny by the Maryland Health Department for allegations of neglect and staffing patterns, according to CBS Baltimore. The company has contracts with the state to provide care for developmentally disabled children, but the health and safety of children were allegedly not maintained.

The facility lacked the number of employees needed to actually provide 24-hour care for the children, according to Patch.

The other 10 children living in the facility have been moved, though the change is not linked to Damaud’s death.

Officials are waiting for an autopsy report to determine the cause of Damaud’s death.

We've started a dialogue over at Kilroys, More Proof Delaware's Sec. of Education Lacks Capacity to Lead,  about ICT and placements for children who need more services than are available in the State of Delaware.  And since we are finally talking about this small, but important subset of children, we've been combing annual reports that date back 10 years.

Who's Lou? In the Annual Report issued for FY 2009, Lou is a composite profile of students served by ICT.  

Meet Lou:
ICT, Annual Report February, 2010

Lou is a 12 year-old student who has an educational classification of Emotionally Disturbed with Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder, Bi-Polar Disorder,and Borderline Intellectual Functioning. He has a serious history of aggressive and violent behavior towards others,often harming peers and staff. He is non-compliant and threatening.

 

His home life has been characterized by instability and domestic violence. The local team has worked with Lou since kindergarten and Lou has had a behavior plan that is constantly reviewed and modified to meet his needs. 

 

Lou and his family have been involved with the Division of Family Services in the past. He is currently active with the Division of Child Mental Health Services receiving outpatient services. In the past, Lou has experienced two hospitalizations at Rockford Center and day treatment at the Terry Center but behaviors continue to be serious.

 

Educationally he is making some academic progress but his behavior interferes with his ability to learn. Most recently he has engaged in behaviors that would require the school to contact police. He has moved through all the specialized programs the district has to offer and is currently being served through homebound instruction.

 

The local team presented the case to ICT requesting consideration for a specialized day program where there would be structure, supervision, behavioral and emotional support, and flexibility in regard to contacting police.

 

The ICT agreed that Lou was a student in need of additional support. Lou was referred to one of the private school programs used by the ICT.

* “Lou” is a fictitious student, but the traits described are representative of many of the ICT students.

Here's the great thing about Lou: I didn't have to make him up!  The Delaware Department of Education did that for me!  They created a fictional character to explain the severity of the needs of those children who pass through ICT's Gate!  

As best as I can tell, Lou makes a one-time appearance in the history of online Annual Reports.  Apparently, giving a face and name, albeit fictional, to this special population didn't sit well with others and he gets scrapped in future years. 

But, we can't let this snapshot in time go without some discourse:

Where should Lou be served?  Let's first dispose of that gut reaction to send Lou as far away as possible - this kid is going to be incarcerated and who among us wants to be his victim?  

Where should he be served?  Delaware.  
What's the likelihood?  Well, he's pretty much run the gambit of all services available, Rockford, Terry Center, out-patient mental health treatment.  Lou's cure seems pretty elusive. 
What does he really need? A structured day program where a call to the police is not the first option for treatment for his aggressive outbursts. Lou needs a locked day facility with staff who have been educated, trained, and developed to utilize a safe best practices-driven protocol to curbing teen violence acerbated by mental health defect.  

Can Delaware provide that for a 12 year old?  Crickets.

This story shouldn't sound all that different from the one published last July:  http://elizabethscheinberg.blogspot.com/2013/07/delawares-14-million-question-why-does.html  

However, if you happen to be up for re-election, you might want to read through to the end.  The story hasn't changed that much- more students have more severe needs so we send them away to other states. However, on the tails of a scathing report from USDOE that confirms what special needs parents have been shouting for years, it's time we start the legislative fix needed to address ICT and keeping Delaware's children near home.

It's time to end the Delaware Solution of exiling our children - and to build capacity in our state to take care of our own, we must stop sending our neediest out-of-sight and out-of-mind. The Delaware Solution is not a secret:

And all of this is okay with our Governor, his Budget Director, the President Pro-Tempore, the Speaker of the House, and the Controller General.  As it stands, ICT issues one annual report, in February, to the aforementioned state leaders. 

Let's breakdown 2013:

In a room somewhere in Delaware a small committee of agency heads (or their designees) meet to determine the future of some our state's most severely dis-advantaged students. 
 
These nine individuals and a designated coordinator compose the Interagency Collaborative Team,  ICT, which is charged with determining whether a child's educational needs due a severe needs can or cannot be addressed through the existing resources of a single agency - specifically, the Delaware Department of Education and the programs, districts, and schools who receive their funding through the DOE conduit. 

The Interagency Collaborative Team (ICT) is authorized in Title 14 Delaware Code, Chapter 31, Section 3124. The purpose of the ICT is to provide a collaborative interagency approach to service delivery for children and youth with disabilities who present educational needs that cannot be addressed through the existing resources of a single agency. In addition to planning for individual children, the ICT identifies impediments to collaborative service delivery and recommends strategies to remove them. 
 ICT is comprised of representatives from:

• Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services, 
• Division of Family Services
• Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services
• Division of Developmental Disabilities Services, 
• Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health
• Office of Management and Budget
• Controller General 
• Exceptional Children Resources Group, DOE
• Chief Academic Officer, DOE

Collectively, this group charts the future for this very special subset of children and their families. These children are defined as having or requiring Unique Alternative Services. Often, the ICT decisions will permanently impact a family - geographically moving children out of the State of Delaware and away from their families.

In 2013, the cases of 120 children were brought before ICT - 15 more than in 2012. This committee evaluated 43 new cases, while privately placing 117 children and providing three with other unique alternatives, namely deeming these children eligible for 1:1 services in their existing public school setting. Sixty-six of the 117 privately placed children were served in private day programs while the remaining 51 were moved to residential programs.

Of the 51 students who moved into residential programs, 19 were served in-state at AdvoServ, located in Bear, DE.  The remaining children, all 32 of them, were moved away from their families, their homes, and their support systems, and sent out of state by ICT. Ten of these 32 were fortunate enough to be accepted at one of two nearby facilities in Maryland (within an hour drive of the state line).  The rest?  Scurried great distances away, nearly ensuring that these families will never be reunited under one roof for an meaningful period of time.

The annual cost range of placing a student in a residential program:  $107.985 -$441,924.  Collectively, Delaware spent an average of $14,022,680.00 on residential services.  ICT averaged additional costs of $3,291,823.60 on day placements - for a 2012-13 average expenditure of $17,314,504.00.  These costs do not include ancillaries like transportation.
Three million more dollars than in the previous year.

We don't argue against the needs of these students.  We do find fault in a state that fails to develop the service system these children need to remain close to their families. 

Children and youth with severe disabilities, mental health concerns, and significant behavioral needs present unique challenges to schools and families. Gaps in services that support families and children

in their homes and communities continue to exist. This has contributed to an increasing number of students’ placements in residential settings by multiple agencies. Often these students can be provided an appropriate education within the local schools, but their mental health or behavioral needs prevent their ability to remain in their homes with existing resources.- ICT Annual Report FY13

Delaware suffers from a considerable gap in services - a tremendous shortage of in-state private placements for eligible children. Through the educational lens, these placements are envisioned for students whose disability is so severe that it precludes a child from meaningfully participating in the least restrictive environment (LRE) a public school or district has to offer.  In fact, administrative teams are required to prove that every possible environment has been exhausted - including what the layman would call the "most" restrictive environment. Unique Alternative Funding, established by Delaware code and accessed through ICT, was the mechanism by which a child and/or school's representatives could seek a private placement.
However, in practice, ICT has become the stop-gap coverage for placing disabled students whose disabilities impede their success at home - the results of which may spill over into the school setting, but that school officials lack the authority to mitigate because they cannot access the genesis of the behavior or impairment.  According to the 2012-13 ICT Annual Report, "Often these students can be provided an appropriate education within the local schools, but their mental health or behavioral needs prevent their ability to remain in their homes with existing resources" - a word-for-word quote taken from the 11-12 ICT Report.

And here is where the devil is in the details, and these children find themselves before ICT -frequently facing expulsion, not just from their schools, but from the state in which they live and the people who love them because this state has failed to invest in or attract the services and providers that these children need to remain here.
In 2011-12 upon meeting the requirement threshold, 23 families were forced to acquiesce to send their children out-of-state for the services they need. In 2012-13, the number of students in need rose to 32.  We sent these children to other states who have developed capacity to serve not only their residents, but to generate income by serving ours.


There is no debate regarding whether or not these children need residential placements.  ICT has repeatedly chanted the mantra that these cost of  residential placements is prohibitive and drain on current resources.  Our state's failure lies in the fact that a state as small as Delaware has been unable to establish nor meaningfully invest in the services that the complex needs of these students demand.
Currently, only one in-state residential program, Advoserv, offers the types of services required.  And this organization lacks the capacity - either the appropriate model or the physical facilities - to absorb additional students.
The data is clear.  In 2004, ICT residentially placed approximately 80 students.  Placements trended downward in the ensuing five years to a low of approximately 30 in 2009 when the state moved away from educational classification as the gateway for special services to the Needs-Based Funding Model currently employed universally across the state. Since 2009, the need for residential placements is scaling upward with FY 12 demanding the same need as FY 07.  FY13 is substantially similar to FY06.  
The need is rising and has been since DOE implemented Needs-Based Funding. Is one tied to the other?

Day program placements have sky rocketed to a 10 YEAR HIGH!  Why?

The road from point of crisis to placement is excessively long in Delaware.  Short-term placements are just that, short in term and lean in services. The families of beyond-complex students fight their way through the red tape to be rewarded on the other side with the message that there is no home for your child in our state. And our statewide leadership has no qualms about sending this message.  They already know what awaits these families - b/c they receive the ICT report annually.
But, the drama doesn't end for these families when their children are ferried away.  Imagine fighting your way into a residential placement for your child, sending him or her off to a facility hundreds of miles away, and then undertaking the weekly or monthly travels necessary to maintain some relationship with that child.  Imagine learning that, after your child has been served in another state for untold years, that if you relocate to that state to be near your child, your child will loose their services offered under Delaware's ICT umbrella b/c he or she will cease to be a resident of the state when you move out of it.
Children seldom improve enough to simply leave ICT placements. That would be akin to a massive miracle cure.  It is far more likely that child that is residentially placed will age out of Delaware's system to be assumed by the home state of their residential provider upon the age of maturity - ultimately shifting the cost of lifelong care out of Delaware.  Again, the devil is in the details.  It's far less expensive to send 32 children out of state today, knowing that there is a determinate end to the expense of their care - 18 or more likely 21 - than there is in committing to assist in funding their lifelong care.
Forty years after IDEA, the State of Delaware has institutionalized discrimination against our most disabled citizens - denoting them to nothing more than second-class citizens.  Where's the outrage?  Where are the politicians?  Where are the resources that are so desperately needed to ensure families have a chance to be families?

And again, the devil is in the details: While the conversations among the varying state agencies are on-going, according to the latest annual report, ICT's hands are tied to the system currently in place - "the provisions of  Delaware Code are specific in their requirements."

If we want to see a change within the ICT system, we need a legislator to step up for our children and fight for them.  Townsend?  Kowalko? Williams?  These children need you!

 

• It's DOE Burn and Churn:

  Read it here:   https://eboard.eboardsolutions.com/Meetings/ViewMeetingOrder.aspx?S=190001&MID=333

  Ryan Fennerty, Executive Assistant to the Secretary of Education, resignation, effective June 27, 2014.

  Wendee Bull, Aide to the Secretary of Education, resignation, effective June 6, 2014.

•  3/21/13   https://eboard.eboardsolutions.com/Meetings/ViewMeetingOrder.aspx?S=190001&MID=289

 

SB 253, passed by the Senate and out of committee in the House.

Sen. Blevins, McBribe, and Rep. Mulrooney crafted this gem:

Go here:  http://www.legis.delaware.gov/LIS/LIS147.nsf/vwLegislation/AE839B1F2392DF4185257CF200635226?open

AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE AND APPROVE THE CONVEYANCE OF CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY IN NEW CASTLE COUNTY TO THE COLONIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT AND PROVIDING FOR THE FUTURE SUBDIVISION AND CONVEYANCE OF A PORTION OF THIS REAL PROPERTY TO FAITHFUL FRIENDS.

That "certain real property" is the DMV recently vacated by the Delaware Department of Transportation.

It's all in the whereas...

WHEREAS the Airport Road Division of Motor Vehicles facility (the “property”), located in New Castle County has been vacated by the Department of Transportation; and

WHEREAS Section 111 of the Fiscal Year 2014 Capital Improvements Act provided for public input be gathered before a final disposition of the property; and

WHEREAS the Colonial School District has proposed using the property as a pupil transportation hub and facility; and

WHEREAS Faithful Friends has proposed using ten to twenty acres of the property to construct a Pet Adoption and Community Resource Center; and

WHEREAS the surrounding community has indicated support for these two proposals along with their desire for future transportation improvements to alleviate traffic congestion.

The Cost?  $1.00

Pays to have friends in Dover.

With a heavy heart:

Education Blogger Harry Curriden has passed away. He will forever be known here, at C&E 1st for his brave advocacy for his daughter, the children of Christina, and the students of our State. No obituary could even come close to telling the story of his character and dedication to his family.  Our heart goes out to his wife, Melanie.  May she and her loved ones find the peace and the strength needed to continue on Harry's mission.  

Harry "Hank" Curriden, age 67, of Newark, DE went to rest on Monday, June 16, 2014.
Hank was a loving and dedicated husband, father, and grandfather. He was an educational advocate for children. Hank was full of pride when he taught Social Sciences at Drexel University. He enjoyed learning about military and native history and loved spending time at the beach with his family.
Hank will be missed by his wife, Melanie; daughters, Katherine Roman (Aaron) and Victoria Curriden; grandson, Jacob; and nephew, John Davis. He was preceded in death by his father, Harry F. Curriden; brothers, Jack and Watson Davis; and sister, Mae Curriden.
A visitation will be held on Sunday, June 22, 2014 from 6-8 pm at the Strano & Feeley Family Funeral Home, 635 Churchmans Road, Newark, DE 19702. A graveside service will be held the following afternoon at 2 pm at Lawnside Cemetery, 1017 Rt. 40, Woodstown, NJ, 08098. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Strano & Feeley Family Funeral Home for Victoria Curriden's education fund. For directions or to express an online condolence, please visit www.strano-feeley.com

It's become a tradition here to share an Owl City song whenever we observe the passing of an inspirational figure.  Today, we'll offer two songs:

Fireflies was a favorite of another brave soul who challenged the status quo and left this world much too soon.  




And When Can I See You Again, a newer song, dedicated to Harry's family...

Below is my original, unpublished blog post regarding the CSD's Board of Education's Emergency Meeting.  Working on a newer post regarding the latest developments, per the NJ.

If there was one apparent during the recent emergency meeting of the CSD Board of Education, it's that, despite being joined on stage by its legal counsel, the board itself has no formal, or rather legal, definition of "harassment." 

harassment (either harris-meant or huh-rass-meant) n. the act of systematic and/or continued unwanted and annoying actions of one party or a group, including threats and demands. The purposes may vary, including racial prejudice, personal malice, an attempt to force someone to quit a job or grant sexual favors, apply illegal pressure to collect a bill, or merely gain sadistic pleasure from making someone fearful or anxious. Such activities may be the basis for a lawsuit if due to discrimination based on race or sex, a violation on the statutory limitations on collection agencies, involve revenge by an ex-spouse, or be shown to be a form of blackmail ("I'll stop bothering you, if you'll go to bed with me"). The victim may file a petition for a "stay away" (restraining) order, intended to prevent contact by the offensive party. A systematic pattern of harassment by an employee against another worker may subject the employer to a lawsuit for failure to protect the worker. (See: harass, sexual harassment)

Copyright © 1981-2005 by Gerald N. Hill and Kathleen T. Hill. All Right reserved.   - http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/harassment

 Last Tuesday, the BOE condemned one of its own for alleged "harassment."

It has been brought to the attention of the Board of Education that Board Member Shirley Sutton-Saffer is alleged to have engaged in inappropriate behavior by harassing a District employee and engaging in an unsafe act. The Board has not conducted an independent investigation to determine the veracity of the allegations. The Board disapproves of any such alleged actions and does not condone any such alleged actions by any member of this board or any employee of the Christina School District.
In all events, even if the conduct as alleged is true, the Board lacks the authority to remove a board member under Article XV, Section 6 of the Delaware Constitution.

The limited evidence relied solely on the hearsay of the board president and vice president.  They alleged to have viewed a recording of fellow board member Shirley Sutton-Saffer  allegedly walking around a school bus from the door to the driver's window.  Additionally, the board president claimed to be able to hear Mrs. Sutton-Saffer identify herself by name and as a member of the Board of Education. Yet, despite being pressed repeatedly by other board members, the recording was not made available to the board at-large or the public.  (My legal eagles assure me that the recording is perfectly FOIA-able, should one want to request to view it.)

The evening, and I witnessed it in person, had all the makings of political drama, from the president who claimed that he "accepted (viewing the recording) as a burden" on behalf of his board-mates to the infamous esquire who despite allegedly sleeping through most of the 90 minutes of debate, still managed to extoll the last word, a sermon from the pulpit if you will, rambling on about how the "supreme court does not wait (for investigations or evidence, when it) dispenses an order." Which anyone who is mildly familiar with 8th grade history knows is a perfectly erroneous and ironic statement to have come from a member of the bar. Allegedly.

The 1:05-minute snapshot of the altercation was uploaded to YouTube last week and has garnered thousands of views and dozens of outraged comments. Some commenters said the trooper was just doing his job. Others contend excessive force was used.  http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Recorded-Scuffle-Between-Teenage-Girl-and-Officer-Prompts-Review-261007431.html

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