The Echo

From Kilroy's:

http://kilroysdelaware.wordpress.com/

In a letter to Reach Academy, Dep. Sec. of Education Dan Cruce states that John Carwell, the head of the DOE Charter School Accountibility Committee will be their hearing officer.  John Carwell heads the committee that recommended closing the school. 

How can John Carwell be a non-partison player in a hearing that his committee set in motion when it recommended closing the school?

Gov Markell,
How will you ensure that Reach and Pencader receive fair hearings when DOE is stacking the deck with biased officers???

DE Legislators,
What will you do to ensure fairness and integrity is inflicted into these Charter processes?  Background checks is barely a start? How about ensuring the Department of Education follows the laws you pass? 

Remember the voters today, because they will remember you in November...

From the Vision Network Newsletter:

THE VISION NETWORK NAMES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Nationally acclaimed coalition of public schools gains new leadership for work ahead

Following a national search, former principal and school leadership expert Mark T. Murphy has been named as the new Executive Director of the Vision Network, a coalition of 26 public schools in Delaware.

Delaware Secretary of Education and Vision 2015 member Lillian Lowery, Ed. D, said Murphy's appointment comes at a critical time. "The Network's growth and the work ahead present a real opportunity for our schools to benefit from a top-notch leader, and Mark's talents are right on target." Vision 2015 member Paul A. Herdman, President and CEO of the Rodel Foundation, added that Murphy is ideally suited for the role. "His expertise in building strong school leadership will help ensure that all students have the opportunity to get an excellent education." That's exactly what we need."

As a Delaware resident for four years with children enrolled in public schools,  Murphy is excited about working in the community where he lives. For the past five years, Murphy worked at New Leaders for New Schools (NLNS), directing programmatic work at the national level and serving as Executive Director of Leadership Development. Prior to joining NLNS, Murphy was an assistant principal and principal in the St. Mary’s County Public School system in Maryland. "I'm excited about the opportunity to work hand-in-hand with our schools, building on  he successes so far, and partnering to take student achievement to the next  level; truly aligning and focusing our efforts on the critical drivers of  student achievement," he said.

Is going to be very subjective. I think every board member walked away with a different interpretation.  I personally considered live blogging the conversation, as I called in remotely.  That quckly became impossible (two kids home sick, my less than speedy typing skills, an at times bad connection, and I never asked anyone if I could.)  So, I took notes for about 75 percent of it. 

In the interest of the same transparency that Sec. Duncan spoke about with board members, I am now offering my notes up to the public.  You're not likely to learn anything that you didn't already know.  Nor can you consider these any kind of minutes.  But, I know that there are many curious minds out there who want to know what was discussed.  This is my interpretation:

2:05 pm
Okay, we're live.  Not a great connection. 

Sec. Lowery welcomes all of us. Some folks in are Dover for the conference call, others are calling in remotely.

Sec. Duncan (this is a paraphrase of his key points):

It's relatively easy to put reform plans on paper, a lot of courage to make the changes. He offers thanks school board members for their courage and acknowledges that "everyone must do things differently."

Duncan points out tht "Truly meaningful teacher evaluation that have been lacking, not just in Delaware but around the country." 

He tells boards that "We have to be willing to do things differently... Boards have to have those hard conversations... This will be critical for state and country."

The real hard work is a head.  Sec. Duncan talks alot about the courage that board members needs to have.

Operator  notes connection problems

Lowery:  Starts question period with  board members located in Dover. 
Question: A board member starts by talking about the access that Delaware board presidents have to DE Sec. of Ed.  this is a positive. Our boards have much better access than boards in other states.
Duncan:  "Lillian is a major superstar there."

Question from Dover:  Local board in DE are concerned about sustainability beyond NCLB and RTTT.

Duncan:  He expects "bipartisan authorization of NCLB this year"and as for RTTT - "in this for a long haul."  He states that his "Department is part of the problem.  We Haven't invested in success.  If all we do is formula-based programs won't see success."

Question from Dover:  "Thank You for sending OCR inspectors to my district."  We've made meaningful changes to code.  What they present to us will help us.  Met a couple of those guys.  And already moving forward.   Delaware is willing to offer "blistering criticisms" - its the only way we get bettter.  These (RTTT) reform models don't actually lend to results - How will that be different in DE partnership Zone?

Duncan: Some schools have been drop out factories for decades and  no one has done anything to change outcomes for students.  He states that we are deliberately being a distruptive voice b/c of staggering level of complacency.  He says there is sots of research behind the reforms.  A huge a amount of research that great teachers make a lot of change.  "In Education talent matters tremendously." 

To "Attract, retain and nurture great talent, you need great principals."  Great talent is important, but new talent is even more important.

"I think we will have amazing successes." 

Duncan says we "Have to look at things on a comprehensice nature." He urges distric's to look at Charlotte Mecklenburg.  They've been turning around schools longer than USDOE has.  Its "Systematic turnaround each year and getting results."

"At the end of the day its trying to get the most talent to those children and communities."

First Remote Question:  In light of us being repeatedly told that there will be no testing wariver for the DCAS- can we have embargo to keep data between boards, school chief, and sec. of ed.?  To Avoid distraction such as fighting with press or parents who move their children between schools after just the first year of data.

Duncan:  This is a question that many states are facing.  Tenn. NY State.  He says we are just starting to tell the truth.  "A lot of places do the dummy down standards.  What our job here is transparency.  ARe the conversation hard?  yes.  Are they difficult to have, yes.  ... But, you are absolutely on the right side of history."

Boards need to over communicate it.  Trying to bury it makes it harder to sustain the momentum we need. He talks alot about transparency here.

This is where my connection gets spotty and my notes start to falter.  I'm going from memory now:

Dover: Why did this conversation take so long to happen? Will it happen again? Also expressed concerned about the MOU.  It was an understanding, not a contract.  What we are doing now is not the same as the MOU. 

Duncan:  Says he can be available to have these conversations as often as needed.  Says he regrets not starting them sooner.

Dover: If you take more than four years to finish high school you're automatically counted as a drop-out  and the district is punished.

Duncan:  Thinks this is wrong.  He doesn't care how long it takes to graduate from high school.  If kids need more time, then they need more time.  What's important is graduating with skills for career or college.

Dover: Some schools in my district have the same abject poverty, yet they were not all chosen for the partnership zone.  What do we tell the families of those children, the ones across the street, whose schools don't receive the extra resources?

Duncan:   He says that we're finally "in the game."  This is just the beginning.  Delaware's Board Members are doing brave work. He proceeds into his closing remarks.

Okay, but what's really Genius is the THE SMALL CLASS SIZES! The mantra of teachers nationwide and right here in Delaware.  And this school has found a way of providing the small classes with more support for students and teachers while not exceeding the 180 day work year in teacher contracts nor raising the cost of educating the students who benefit from this program verses the "typical" high school model.

From Education Week:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/03/10/24brooklyn_ep.h29.html?tkn=NM[FDZj%2F%2FXlKQLqb1nWVcd6rdaG9PGXcgZSR&cmp=clp-edweek

Check out the whole article for an education strategy that is built on teacher planning time, student interest, and small class sizes:

Teachers here attribute the collegial atmosphere to the public school’s novel way of differentiating teachers’ roles and staggering their schedules. At Brooklyn Generation, teachers instruct only three classes a day, get two hours of common planning with colleagues each afternoon, and have a highly reduced student load—as few as 14 students per class. Yet the restructured scheduling costs no more to operate than a traditional schedule.

Opened in 2007, Brooklyn Generation now serves about 230 students in grades 9-11, most of whom are black and qualify for federal school-nutrition programs. The school will add a 12th grade next fall and expand to the middle grades over the course of the next few years.

The school’s schedule is both dynamic and flexible. Each morning, one group of educators teaches foundations courses in mathematics and the humanities. In the afternoons, those same teachers take on one studio course—science, the arts, and electives. They are also given daily breaks at the same time as their “instructional team” —colleagues in the same grade and content area—allowing them two hours of common planning time.

Twice a year, these dual-role teachers receive a monthlong reprieve consisting of three weeks of vacation followed by a week of professional development with their instructional teams. A second coterie of educators steps in to teach monthlong “intensives,” focused on aspects of college and career readiness, from internships through the college-entrance process and financial-aid applications.

Class sizes for the foundations and intensive courses are small—around 15 students—and expand to about 25 for studio classes. The staggered schedules mean that students receive 20 additional instructional days, but no teacher actually works longer than the 180 days set in the New York City teachers’ contract.

With the smaller class sizes and more support, the school’s leaders expect teachers to engage each student in the school’s college- and career-bound culture.

Such class sizes, 9th grade math-foundation teacher Dianne Crewe-Shaw says, help her better monitor her students, who tend to have the most challenges with algebra. “The small class size was like heaven,” she said. “With weaker students, I have to dig deeper for activities that will engage them.”

We do a lot of waiting here. 
For snow removal. 
For schools to reopen. 
For the Gov. to forgive snow days. 
For the State Sec. of Education  to announce the schools that will pilot the Mass Insight Turnaround Zone. 

The News Journal initially pegged last week for the big "announcement," but those who've been around a while know that DOE is more strategic than that, or rather their waters are too muddy for the transparency tax payers deserve.  If they had played the transparency card with Race to the Top, chances are some school boards would not have signed on.  And so, I can't help but hypothesize as to why our turnaround schools have yet to be named.  Perhaps, they are busy lining up their lead partners, partners, DOE employee Dan Cruce earlier speculated, that must be local due to Delawareans' deep trust issues.  (Any wonder why we have trust issues?)

Or perhaps, they are busy aligning to Mass Insight's latest Turnaround Strategy -- Internal Lead Partners.

Or waiting for M.I. to release any of the following reports:

Leveraging Title 1 School Improvement Grants (scheduled for release in February 2010)
Provides recommendations to states on the most effective process to allocate the Title 1 School Improvement grants under the new federal guidelines.
Best practice state policy (scheduled for release in March 2010)
Offers advice on how policy can be created to encourage optimal conditions for school turnaround, drawing on promising practices from existing and forthcoming state legislation.
Building a District Turnaround Office (scheduled for release in May 2010)
Provides guidance on creating a District Turnaround Office, an organizational structure designed specifically to manage turnaround efforts within the district.
Building a State Turnaround Office (scheduled for release in April 2010):
Describes the structure and functions of the State Turnaround Office, an office of the State Education Agency responsible for all turnaround efforts within the state.

It's all conjecture, but in lieu of transparency and hard facts, conjecture is all we have.

Last Wednesday, Dr. Lowery noted that the DOE has recently engaged with Mass Insight to assist in some of the many reforms that Delaware is undertaking, regardless of whether we receive RttT funding or not.

In referring to Markell's Blueprint for Education, published while he was still candidate Markell and not the Gov., Dr. Lowery stated, "if we don't get RttT, this is going to fall apart, but we are doing this" as she stood before a large screen projection of "Exhibit 1" of the State's application.

Then, tonight, I'm trolling Mass Insight's website and stumble upon this little nugget of information:

STG's (SCHOOL TURNAROUND GROUP)continued work produces organizational strategies, work plans, and manuals for states, large urban districts, and outside funding partners to turn around low-performing schools through a new system of turnaround zones with improved operating conditions, Lead Partners, and other supports. The "Partnership Zone Initiative," which has received startup funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, with matching support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will establish turnaround zones”in up to three states in 2009-2013 to serve as proof-points for these school turnaround and district redesign strategies.

And I can't help but ask, "Why am I spending time looking for the peer-reviewed model, when it appears that is the role that Delaware will play for the nation?"

Which would be fine and dandy, if there was proof that it worked.  And if we knew for certain that any district could opt-out of the MOU at any point without penalty?  Right now, the Fed language is "mutually agreeable."  And if DEDOE would put it in writing that if a district fails to succeed in meeting AYP or mutually opts-out that said district would only have to return the unspent portions of the sum and will not be responsible for repaying spent funds.

And I did ask for that in writing last Wednesday? You bet, but it was laughed off.  Only, I must have a longer memory than most b/c not too long ago we were settling lawsuits out of court that we incurred b/c we didn't have to funds to pay for the contract we engaged upon ...

And the moral of the yet-unwritten story is this:  If Delaware is the MODEL, DOE will never mutually agree for a district to opt-out nor will any be permitted to fail and thus, we could in fact see local control thoroughly eroded ...

Click to read the entire article at the NJ website:

Many Del. public high schools fail to meet federal goals
By JENNIFER PRICE • The News Journal • July 31, 2009

Twenty-one of Delaware’s 29 traditional public high schools failed to make adequate progress this year under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Middle schools did slightly better, whereas elementary schools showed far more progress.

Twelve out of 30 middle schools and 83 out of 99 elementary schools showed progress toward federal proficiency goals.

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

The good news for Christina:
The restructuring plans at Gauger-Cobbs Middle School seemd to be working. Gauger was one of only two schools that made adequate progress this year. If these schools have the same success next year, they will no longer be “under improvement.”

The bad news:
All three district high schools (Christiana, Glasgow, and Newark) and Bancroft Elementary were among the eight schools statewide that failed to make adequate progress for the sixth consecutive year despite restructuring last fall.

The worst news:
Pulaski Elementary and Red Clay School District's A.I. duPont Middle become the first schools in Delaware to enter the seventh year of “under improvement” status. Under NCLB, states are allowed to take over schools when they continue to fail, but Delaware law forbids the state from total intervention. (News Journal)

Before the week is over, Sen. Karen Peterson is expected to present legislation in Dover to consolidate Delaware's 19 School Districts to four:

1) North Wilmington to North of the Canal

2) South of the Canal and Kent County

3) Sussex County

4) One statewide Vocational District

Rumor has it that the bill is only eight lines long, but it opens the door for serious consideration of Delaware's educational system.

There can be no argument: Delaware must do education differently if we are to produce successful, competent young people. Whether you believe education is a community issue, as I do, or think of it only as a parent's responsibility, we need to examine alternatives to the 19 fiefdoms. There are far larger school district in this nation that produce better prepared students.

It is the responsibility of our board members to make brave choices and advocate for their students. Is consolidation the right decision? Will it lower the cost of educating our students? Will local communities retain a voice in their schools? Will it lead to a lighter administration and a more teacher/classroom-centric environment? How will our district leaders enforce administrative accountability? We won't know until someone provides a comprehensive plan for all to study. But, it's time to open our minds and explore our options.

Sec. of Education Dr. Lillian Lowery has presented a plan to consolidate administrative services for public and charter schools into four state centers. It's a start. Such a plan could lead to a Reduction in Administrative Force as we eliminate duplicate effort. How our school districts respond to this first step in eduction reform will set the stage for what is to come.

The show has just begun.

Christina district revises plan to appoint new head
The News Journal • April 16, 2009

The timeline for appointing a new superintendent in the Christina School District has been revised because of scheduling of site visits for each of the remaining two candidates.

Those two finalists are Marcia V. Lyles, deputy chancellor for Teaching and Learning in the New York City, Department of Education, and Freeman Williams, the interim superintendent in Christina.
It was announced initially that a decision on a new superintendent would be made on or before Tuesday. But the district's school board now plans a site visit in the Christina School District April 24 and a visit of the New York City Public School system April 27.

The board now plans to appoint a new superintendent on or before May 19.

Former Superintendent Lillian Lowery left to become Gov. Jack Markell's Education Secretary.