The Echo

Feds to issue new swine flu advice to schools
Associated Press, via www.delawareonline.com • August 7, 2009

WASHINGTON — Swine flu is expected to return when kids go back to school, and the government is hoping its new advice on when to shut down schools during an outbreak will prevent the panic and confusion that led to hundreds of school closures last spring.

The government was to issue new guidance today for schools to follow when swine flu strikes. Unlike regular seasonal flu, this virus has not retreated during the hot and humid summer months and so far has infected more than 1 million Americans.

"We hope no schools have to close, but realistically, some schools will close this fall," Education Secretary Arne Duncan said this week during a forum with administration officials that was broadcast online.

The decision to close actually rests with local school officials. But those officials are looking to the federal government for advice about the new flu strain that has caused a global epidemic, or pandemic.

"I'm dealing first and foremost as a parent," Duncan said Friday on a nationally broadcast news show. "I want to keep my children safe and keep them learning." He said officials are asking parents to "use common sense" and encourage their children to vigorously wash their hands several times a day and take other safety precautions.

"We want to provide as much facts as we can" to local officials, he said. "Basically, this will be a tiered response. If there's a handful of children at a school who might be sick, we want the parents to keep them home. If the numbers escalate dramatically, then we might have to close the schools."

Duncan said officials anticipate the vaccine will be available by mid-October and that they want schools to be principal sites for getting the shots.

The administration wants to avoid the chaos of last spring, when more than 700 schools in half the states closed their doors. There are about 132,000 public and private schools in the U.S.

Students got an unexpected vacation, but many parents wound up scrambling to find child care.

School officials had been acting on advice from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which at first said schools should shut down for about two weeks if there were suspected cases of swine flu.

Then the CDC changed course, saying schools did not need to close because the virus was milder than feared. Instead, parents were told to keep sick kids home for at least a week.

Duncan said at a swine flu summit last month that closing school should be "a last resort, not a first resort."

He said earlier this week that school districts should use common sense. "If you have one child sick, that's one thing. If you have a whole host of children getting sick, that's another," Duncan said.

While this particular flu virus is new, the matter of school closings is not. Every winter, regular flu outbreaks prompt a relatively small number of schools to close for a few days because of high absenteeism among students or staff.

In addition to new guidance for when to close, the CDC and Education Department said this week they have set up a new monitoring system to track school closures across the country.

Still up in the air is whether schools will be turned into vaccine clinics, though Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has said that seems logical.
"We're seeing schools as potential partners," she said at the forum with Duncan.

Children are on the priority list for the first doses of swine flu vaccine, but because of time needed for testing and manufacturing, inoculations can't begin until school has been in session for more than a month; the government is aiming for Oct. 15. Many questions remain, including whether people will need one shot or two for protection. That is in addition to the regular winter flu vaccine that is also recommended for children.

States and school districts should be preparing for the possibility of mass vaccinations, federal officials have said.

They also should make plans to keep kids Learning when schools do close, Duncan said.

Duncan was interviewed Friday on CBS's "The Early Show."

An absolutely genuine soliloquy with universal applications!

Published: July 29, 2009

Are Schools Wounding Kids?
By Kathie Marshall
Premium article access courtesy of TeacherMagazine.org.

When I returned to the classroom this year after six years as a literacy coach, I chose to teach a reading intervention class other teachers actively avoided—a mix of 6th and 7th graders reading at a mid-2nd to early 4th grade level.

It was a year of change for me as a teacher. I was returning to the classroom for the first time since No Child Left Behind prompted my district to introduce mandatory instructional programs. These included a scripted reading curriculum for our intervention students.

Teaching struggling readers wasn’t new to me. In the late 1990s I had created a language arts intervention course using service learning as the primary vehicle for motivation. Now, however, I found myself pushing students through a massive workbook each day. Their general response was, “It’s boooooring!”

Pretty quickly I found myself “cheating”—changing up the curriculum on Fridays. We read plays from Action Magazine, wrote and illustrated poems, did word games, and sent letters to pen pals and authors. I began letting my more creative side breathe a bit. When the theme included a story about wacky inventions, we had a contest in which students devised their own. When author Elisa Kleven’s scrap art was introduced, students invented their own scrap-art figures and wrote character sketches. Throughout the year, there was this constant tension between what I was supposed to be doing with students and what I was actually doing.

And what was I supposed to be doing? To me, hand-in-hand with the goal of improving reading was the equally important goal of providing my at-risk students with positive learning experiences. Many were already beaten down and convinced they were losers. Bringing some fun and win-win into the classroom equation would help them, however cautiously, to try once more. Was this not important, too?

Teacher-consultant Bill Page defines at-risk students as “Children who are expected to fail because teachers cannot motivate, control, teach, or interest them using traditional methods and prescribed curriculum.” This is precisely what I observed in the early months with my intervention students.

To shine a light on these issues, one day I had my kids sit in a large circle. One child at a time answered the question, “When did you turn off to school?” In my years as literacy coach, I met privately with intervention students who had the lowest grade point averages, and they always had an answer to this question. Most often they turned off in 3rd or 6th grade, when they realized they were struggling and others around them seemingly were not.

Interestingly, seven of my 7th graders this year had turned off to school in the 2nd grade, when they were part of a district experiment that retained the lowest performers. They still had not forgotten what it felt like to be left behind as their friends moved on. At least now I was able to tell them how sorry I was this happened to them. Surely these students deserve a chance to heal the hurt and rethink their identities as learners, something no scripted curriculum I’m aware of can address.

‘Teachers’ Little Comments’

Recently, I came across Kirsten Olson’s new book, Wounded by School. I immediately devoured it and found more insights into the world of at-risk students. See Also Help Wanted: Leader to Promote a Culture of Learning By Kirsten Olson.

Olson explains that her book began “with a desire to understand the experiences of highly capable learners, virtuoso explorers who showed unusual vitality in learning.” But she was “quickly diverted by the repeated and powerful descriptions among my research subjects of educational wounding and laceration in school.”

As I read this, I immediately saw an image of myself as a 6th grader. I was walking back to class after recess, and for perhaps the fifth day in a row I asked my teacher, “Can I go to the nurse? I have a headache.” “What’s wrong with you?” shouted Mr. Wright. “Why do you always have a headache?!” It was another 15 years before my migraines were diagnosed. I warily hid my headaches from others after my teacher taught me to believe something was wrong with me as a person.

Wounded by School delineates a dozen different types of school wounding and their effects, including:

• Feeling you aren’t smart and your ideas lack value.
• Feeling you don’t have what it takes to be successful in school.
• Feeling ashamed of your efforts.
• Suffering a loss of ambition, self-discipline, and persistence when faced with obstacles.


In a section called “wounds of rebellion,” I found my intervention kids and their defensive symptoms:

• The only way to protect yourself is to rebel.
• In response to being unsuccessful or told we are unworthy, we become hostile.
• We are unwilling to see another point of view.
• We act out, as an adaptive response and it becomes fixed, maladaptive, and self-destructive.


Olson quotes one student, who remembers a crushing moment in 7th grade that led him to declare, “I quit! I just really quit!”

The student saw himself as a screw-up: “Basically I became motivated to not do well—like what I could do well was not to do well. ... Kids that struggle are so much more sensitive to moments—especially bad ones. These moments shape their whole lives, their sense of themselves. Teachers’ little comments had a huge effect on me.”

These lines could have been spoken by any one of my intervention students. In an essay about three strengths of his, one of my students wrote: “I am good at three things. I can draw (graffiti), I like to be bad, and I get in trouble a lot.”

Olson’s book is not directed only at struggling students. Her research clearly shows that all students are vulnerable to school wounds. She nails what I observed this year among the most capable 6th graders in my English and history classes. She writes:

“Rather than making them more dutiful, more competent, and more disciplined, they grew weary of school and learning … risk averse, overly intimidated by authority, or likely to underestimate themselves … simply deadened—less enlivened by the world and its possibilities than they might be.”

I wonder if this was why some of my most successful classroom projects from past years seemed less engaging this time around. Although these students were strong oral readers and tested well, they didn’t enjoy reading, were often highly apathetic toward learning, and resisted staying on-task if the work was challenging. As a result, I was disappointed at times by their response to assignments that had once excited and engaged my students before I became a literacy coach.

On our last day of school this June, as I dismissed the class with the cheery words “have a great summer,” one of my best students turned back and said, “We’ve been waiting for this day since September.”

What is within our control to do differently?

After eight years as a literacy coach, Kathie Marshall returned to her Los Angeles classroom in the fall of 2008 to teach middle grades language arts. She writes frequently about instructional practice and the teaching life.

Former Christina Superintendent Joe Wise weasels his way back into the picture!

Thank You to fellow board member, John Young, for sharing this information via his blog http://www.transparentchristina.wordpress.com/

I took Delaware's Department of Education to task in yesterday's post for failing to create a firm and thorough request for bids for the assessment system( DCAS) slated to replace the DSTP. The original RFP (Request for Proposals) resulted in not one, but two lawsuits filed against the department, including a suit filed by the company to whom the DOE wanted to award the contract, NORTHWEST EVALUATION ASSOCIATION (NWEA).

According to yesterday's NJ story, "Subsequently, at the end of June, the department selected Northwest Evaluation Association -- the only vendor that bid on all components and whose Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) test has been piloted in several Delaware school districts and charters -- as the winner and began negotiations despite AIR receiving the highest scores on technical ability and price for the summative test and end-of-course exams. According to documents obtained by AIR through Delaware's Freedom of Information Act, AIR was the first choice overall for 54 percent of teachers who observed a demonstration of the tests."

DOE then announced they would scrap the first RFP process and start over with a tighter (and more in line with Delaware law) request.

So who is Wise to NWEA? He is currently a member of the NWEA's Board of Directors, although his bio briefly touches on his stint in Christina, and speaks of only great things during his brief and questionable time in Duval County, Florida (the district for which he resigned from Christina to lead.)

I feel it is also important to disclose NWEA is also the company that provides the Christina School District with Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment. I do not know if Wise was an NWEA Board member prior to our district's adoption of that assessment, nor am I advocating that we scrap it. My teacher intel share's that this is a model our educators find helpful in tailoring their approach to meeting student needs.

The disclosure aside, I was not a board member, and barely a district parent during the Wise years. I was a tax payer and like many still carry a deep resentment for Wise. His time with our district fostered an incredible distrust from stakeholders, that unlike our financial affairs has yet to remedied.

So, yes, I do question the decision of any Delaware agency that would do business with a company that values Mr. Wise. As I imagine I will state frequently over the next four years (when my time with the board comes to an end) what every smart shopper knows, the cheapest product is seldom the best.

I am further concerned that DOE entered into negotiations with NWEA despite the fact that another company received higher scores on technical ability and price for the summative test and end-of-course exams. This company was the first choice overall for 54 percent of teachers who were involved in the demonstration process.

Finally, I call into question the fact that NWEA has threatened to file suit against DOE.

According to a letter issued by Sec. Lowery to all entities that bid for the contract, NWEA had indicated that it would also file suit against the department regarding requirements of a performance bond -- an insurance policy on the vendor's performance. The letter says that what was written in the bid request and what was told publicly to vendors conflicted with what Delaware law requires. The threat of suit comes from the company with whom the DOE entered negotiations and from whom DOE already has an existing relationship. Come on!

It all reminds me of the old saying: keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer...

Of course, I am writing this as I listen to the rain wick off my new roof (one day old) into my new gutters, currently being installed as I speak ... yes, in the rain. That's work ethic! I vetted the companies that bid on my home and chose not the cheapest, but certainly not the most expensive. I chose the company that had the right product at the fairest value, who also happened to have a fantastic rating the BBB, great reviews from past customers, and who had never done business with Mr. Wise.

Okay, I fully expect to take a beating for this opinion from many in education administration throughout Delaware. But, if our board members can't ask questions openly, will we ever have any answers? This is the road to transparency and accountability.

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)

I've devoted some posts this week to the CSD's (Christina School District's) AVID program (Achievement Via Individual Determination) in response to the recent News Journal article chronicling some methods used by districts downstate to positively affect high school graduation rates.

After reading that article I felt it was important to investigate the specifics of Christina's programming, how we target our students, and how successful our interventions are. Dr. Lyles, CSD superintendent, provided me with a list of programs that our district utilizes and I have been diligently culling information that I believe is useful to parents and our tax-paying public.

The honest truth is that I know that I have much to learn to be an effective policymaker for our district. In keeping with my mission statement to this blog, I am hoping to educate as I learn.

The following information is from:

Electronic Draft FY08 Report November 30, 2008
Evaluation of Federal and State Program
Goals and Objectives
Included in the Consolidated Application
Fiscal Year 2007-2008
Submitted by Dr. Lillian Lowery, then CSD superintendent and now Delaware's Secretary of Education to Gov. Markell.

The full text of this application is available at:
http://www.christina.k12.de.us/BudgetFinance/ConsolidatedGrants/FY08-ExecSummary.pdf

Goal 5 of the Consolidated Grant reads:

Improve School Climate and Student/Staff Relationships


"The Delaware School Climate Survey shows that middle and high school parents and teachers have a higher satisfaction with school safety than students by at least 12 percentage points. It also shows a higher satisfaction with middle school safety than high school safety. Only 52.9% of high school students feel safe in their schools.

In addition, the Delaware School Climate Survey puts more emphasis on student-teacher relationships in ways that help teachers to expand their capabilities for positive engagement with students. Professional development and implementation efforts include: (a) Continue to support and expand PBS, (b) Investigate and potentially implement other complementary classroom management programs,(c) Provide coaching for teachers on classroom management techniques, (d) Implement student success plans, (e) Provide resource books on potential intervention strategies to support students, and (f) Continue to focus coaching on adult behaviors to de-escalate issues. These efforts started in FY08 and should continue in FY09. Part of the intent is to develop an intensive support system for students who exhibit severe behavioral issues.

Strengths
The AVID program provides the district with an inherent broad focus on accelerating the academic achievement of students at all performance levels. Because AVID is for middle performing students from historically underrepresented groups, it increases the assurance that improvement efforts will be at their inclusion rather than at their expense. AVID is a program that touches Goals 1-5. It also requires a high Level of encouragement to students from teachers."

--------------------------------
Why did I choose to include this particular section in my blog? I frequently hear from parents of the in-between kids that their children are being left behind. They consider their children, bright, some with learning differences, or maturation issues, who are not the highest achievers (gifted/talented) nor the poor or lowest achievers. Sometimes we see these children as the half-hearted learners, those who may not apply themselves to the best of their ability, or at the other end of the spectrum, those children who work their hardest yet may never see a 100% on a test or paper, but through their diligence stay well above failing. I highlight this application of AVID because it speaks to these children as a program that may keep them engaged in their learning environment. It is a practical application that seems to apply specifically to this population.

In the coming weeks and months I will visiting our schools. I look forward to seeing AVID in our middle and high schools in action.

Ratings for 195 Delaware public schools to be released
Stimulus funds add to 'improvement dollars'
By JENNIFER PRICE • The News Journal • July 31, 2009

The Department of Education will release ratings today for 195 public schools.

The designations -- "superior," "commendable," "academic progress" and "academic watch" -- tell parents how well their children's schools are progressing toward federal goals.

And in buildings considered "under improvement" for failing to make adequate progress for two consecutive years, they also can force sanctions, such as being required to offer free tutoring to struggling students or to restructure by hiring a new principal or changing curriculum.

Schools that are "under improvement" receive "school improvement" dollars to help make changes in the building. Title 1 schools, which receive federal funds for having a high percentage of low-income students, will be receiving a boost in their school improvement dollars thanks to the federal stimulus package. Last year, there were 111 Title 1 schools in Delaware, most of which were elementary schools. Individual districts choose which schools to designate as Title 1 schools.

This year, Delaware Title 1 schools will be receiving a total of $2.94 million to improve schools, including $1.29 million in stimulus funds, compared to $1.53 million last year.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has set a goal of turning around the bottom 5 percent of the nation's schools over the next five years. He expects schools that receive the money to transform their buildings by making bold changes such as replacing teachers, reopening as a charter school or giving principals more flexibility around budgeting and staffing.

Schools that don't have Title 1 status but are "under improvement" receive state "school improvement" dollars. Last year, they received $1.5 million, but due to budget cuts this year, they'll be getting $1 million.

Delaware officials determine school accountability ratings based on three components: annual progress toward federal goals in student reading and math performances; more rigorous state requirements that also consider science and social studies performances; and the school's accountability history.

The so-called "adequate yearly progress" toward federal No Child Left Behind goals is calculated using Delaware Student Testing Program results to measure the academic performance of all students in a school, as well as the performances of subgroups such as racial minorities, English language-learners, children with disabilities and those from low-income families.

Elementary and middle schools must show the percentage of students failing the DSTP decreased from last year, and high schools must have 82.5 percent of their students graduate or show progress from the year before.

Because NCLB mandates that all students be proficient in reading and math by the 2013-2014 school year, Delaware raises the targets schools must meet each year. This year, schools had to have 73 percent of their students pass the reading portion of the DSTP and 58 percent for math.

This year, only students in grades five, eight and 10 took the writing portion of the DSTP due to budget cuts last year. Because writing was only assessed in three grades, it was not used in determining whether a school made adequate progress.

NCLB does not require states to test in writing or social studies. Reading and math must be tested in grades three through eight and at least once in high school. Science must be tested at least at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

Schools also must have 95 percent of their students take the DSTP to make adequate progress.

Schools also can show progress through a "growth model" that looks at improvement of individual students' scores over time. Under the growth model, schools earn points when their students make improvements. The state education department calculates adequate progress under both the growth model and the original model, and schools can use whichever model under which they fare best.

Whether you love the News Journal or hate it, it's the only daily in town, when it comes to local news. So, I find it rather complacent that buried on B2 is this story (definitely deserving of a front page lead!) - about the heart of Gov. Markell's education reform and the state's bum effort in getting that off the ground.

The legislation has been passed. The RFPs (Request for Proposals, or essentially bids on the contract) went out in March and today, July 30th, we learn that the DOE is restarting the bid process for the DCAS, the replacement assessment for the miserable DSTP, the bain of educators statewide. With the deadline to pilot DCAS looming, DOE is redrawing it's RFP because they failed to ensure it complied with state laws. It's all in the story, below. And though Dr. Lowery believes that the department will still meet the deadline, it makes this board member an angry parent! I've supported the DOE openly and with fidelity in moving into the DCAS model. Knowing how this was to be the diamond in the Markell/Denn budget rough, I expected that the DOE would have sealed this baby up in a perfect package, having done their homework as they expect Delaware's students to do theirs.

We cannot expect more of our children than we are willing to do ourselves!


Del. starting over on bidding for statewide testing
Two companies file lawsuits over process
By JENNIFER PRICE • The News Journal • July 30, 2009

The Delaware Department of Education has started over in its attempt to find a new statewide testing program after a company filed a lawsuit last week protesting the department's handling of its bid.

The American Institutes for Research of Washington D.C. claims that the department did not comply with the evaluation criteria laid out in its original bid request in March for the Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System -- a computer-adaptive growth-model test that will replace the 12-year-old Delaware Student Testing Program by the 2010-2011 school year.

Two days after AIR filed the lawsuit in Delaware's Court of Chancery, department officials announced they were rejecting all proposals because the bid request was "flawed" and not compliant with state law.

"We needed more oversight from attorneys in that process," Education Secretary Lillian Lowery said. "We wrote what we needed conceptually, but we probably needed attorneys looking at it to make sure our concepts comported with the legalities of going out to bid. So we've scrapped everything, and we're starting over."

Lowery said the department plans to revise the bidding documents and reissue the request.

The department had planned to pilot the DCAS this coming school year and begin using the new system statewide in fall 2011. Lowery said the department still will be able to meet that deadline.

"It's more important for us to get it right than get it done," she said. "So we're going to stop and clear the deck and get it done right."

The original bid request had several components:

• An online high-stakes summative assessment that would test reading and math in grades three through eight and science and social studies once each in elementary and middle school

• End-of-course exams for high school students

• An online writing assessment for grades five and eight and once in high school

• A benchmark growth test for grades two through 10 to be taken several times throughout the school year

• An online item bank with test questions for teachers to use on classroom exams

Almost three months after putting out its bid request, the department decided not to award the online writing assessment or the online classroom assessment item bank because of the state's budget deficit.

"It is just too cost prohibitive at this time," Lowery said. "However, we are not going to walk away from writing; we will be working with the school districts to ensure that writing is emphasized."

The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires states test in reading and math in grades three through eight and at least once in high school. It also requires states to test in science at least once at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Social studies and writing testing are not mandated.

In the bid request, the department said a testing company did not need to bid on all of the components. Instead, companies could bid on separate components, but the online summative assessment and end-of-course exams needed to be bid on together. AIR submitted bids only for those two components.

But once the bids came in from five vendors, the review committee decided that the efficiencies of a single vendor should be the "primary rationale for selection." According to the committee's final report, selecting multiple vendors would not only increase the total cost to the state but would "create significant additional burden on the local level" by requiring teachers and students to learn two systems.

Subsequently, at the end of June, the department selected Northwest Evaluation Association -- the only vendor that bid on all components and whose Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) test has been piloted in several Delaware school districts and charters -- as the winner and began negotiations despite AIR receiving the highest scores on technical ability and price for the summative test and end-of-course exams. According to documents obtained by AIR through Delaware's Freedom of Information Act, AIR was the first choice overall for 54 percent of teachers who observed a demonstration of the tests.

AIR said in the lawsuit that the department did not give all the vendors fair and equitable treatment.

"They decided to change the evaluation criteria to negotiate with another bidder," said Jon Cohen, vice-president and director of AIR's Assessment Program.

According to a letter sent by Lowery last week to several testing vendors, the department will revise the request and correct any non-conforming language. Lowery would not say whether the new request will require vendors to bid on not only the summative assessment and end-of-course exams but also the benchmark test.

According to the same letter, NWEA had indicated that it would also file suit against the department regarding requirements of a performance bond -- an insurance policy on the vendor's performance. The letter says that what was written in the bid request and what was told publicly to vendors conflicted with what Delaware law requires.

From AVIDonline.com

AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) was developed by Mary Catherine Swanson at Clairemont High School in 1980 in response to San Diego Unified School District's court-ordered integration of the city’s schools. The program began as an elective class taken during the regular school day. Mary Catherine held her students accountable to the highest standards and provided them with academic and social support. She believed they would rise to the challenge. And have they ever!

In 1992 AVID Center was established as a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization and the program has evolved into a fourth through twelfth-grade system that successfully prepares students in the academic middle for four-year college eligibility. Beginning with one high school and 32 students the AVID system is now on the march toward 4,369 schools in 2010.

AVID is a fourth- through twelfth-grade system to prepare students in the academic middle for four-year college eligibility. These are largely low-income students who are capable of completing a college-prep curriculum but are falling short of their potential. The core component is the AVID elective, which supports students as they tackle the most rigorous classes. AVID’s teaching strategies, curriculum, and trainings are used not only in the AVID elective class, but by subject-area teachers schoolwide....

Learn more about AVID here: What is AVID?

From the CSD website, posted in August 2005:


Christiana High to be 1st high school in Christina District to implement AVID

While students take to the roads this summer for vacation, Christiana High staffers have been paving new roads to ensure all students will have academic success when the new school year opens.

CHS staff recently traveled to the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) Institute in Austin, Texas to lead CHS in its efforts to become the first high school in the Christina District to implement the program.

During her keynote speech celebrating the 25th anniversary of AVID, founder Mary Catherine Swanson urged educators to make a difference with AVID.

"AVID is about self-discovery. It is when we move from quiet acceptance to active participation. Only one in seventeen of the poorest families will earn a Bachelor's Degree. If we aren't vigil or allow petty obstacles to overcome us, we will slam doors on our students. You have the chance to change history. Through AVID, students are not bound to their backgrounds. All students regardless of their backgrounds can succeed. Nothing can hold us back or our students," Swanson said.

CHS will utilize AVID to try to reach its "least served" students who are in the middle and often overlooked. The main goal of the AVID program is to help those students eventually succeed in college for at least four years. AVID is designed to help students prepare for more rigorous studies and eventually AP courses. Students become more empowered via the WIC-R (Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Reading) strategies presented in the program.

Another component of the AVID program is support. Students are given support in all of their courses via the caring AVID elective teacher who helps students with organization and tutorials.

Currently, CHS has enrolled approximately 20 freshmen in their AVID program, and their goal is to work with those students until graduation. Students will have AVID during the regular school day, and CHS will utilize tutors from the universities and community to meet the needs of students during those tutorials.

Study Pinpoints Programs that Set Some State High Schools Apart

http://www.blogger.com/Read%20the%20News%20Journal%20Article%20Here

By eHow Education Editor

Mark Twain once said, "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." There's no question that building a partnership between the community and the school strengthens both. The bottom line is, of course, whether your child's school stimulates and nurtures his or her emotional, intellectual and social development to its highest potential.

Instructions:

Step 1: Cultivate positive relationships with each of your child's teachers, administrative staff, directors, principals and even the superintendent. Do this by joining the PTA if it's a public school or the board of directors if it's a nonprofit or private school. You'll be privy to what is going on in the school district and get a sense of how the school stacks up against other schools.

Step 2: Keep in touch with teachers on a regular basis to see how your child is doing and to address any concerns. Don't wait for the school to call you when there is a problem; be on top of things before there is an issue. Keep an open mind to anything the teacher might say--even if you've never seen your child behaving in a particular way at home.

Step 3: Volunteer your time, whether that means becoming a PTA member, a playground monitor or a homework hotline counselor. It doesn't matter what you do as long as you stay involved.

Step 4: Help your child with homework. If the lessons are too easy or too difficult, let the teacher or guidance counselor know.

Step 5: Encourage high expectations. Share your goals with your child's teacher and guidance counselor so they'll help your child work to his or her full potential. Get involved with the PTA and the board of education, and ask about the school district's expectations for the whole student body.

Step 6: Investigate the standards of your child's school. Does a hefty percentage of the graduating class attend four-year colleges? Does the school offer enrichment and honors classes? If you feel the standards aren't high enough, encourage the teachers, principal and superintendent, as well as other parents, to fight to raise the standards.

Step 7: Make the school accountable for its discipline. In this litigious society, school districts are careful about punishing students for bad behavior. Bullying is a prime example. Too often schools won't properly address a bullying situation, and the victims become subject to irreversible taunting humiliation. If there isn't a coherent bullying policy at your child's school, volunteer to assist in creating one. You may need to take this up to the board of education for a system-wide policy.

ehow.com/how_135471_improve-childs-school

http://www.clemson.edu/olweus/

From www.clemson.edu/olweus/ :

Welcome to the U.S. website for the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. The Olweus [pronounced Ol-VEY-us] Bullying Prevention Program is a comprehensive, school-wide program designed for use in elementary, middle, or junior high schools. Its goals are to reduce and prevent bullying problems among school children and to improve peer relations at school. The program has been found to reduce bullying among children, improve the social climate of classrooms, and reduce related antisocial behaviors, such as vandalism and truancy. The Olweus Program has been implemented in more than one dozen countries around the world.

School Climate Policy from Beaumont Elem. School in Berwyn, PA. Beaumont ranks 97 of the Top 100 Best Performing Public Schools in the U.S. at Neighborhoodscout.com.

From Beaumont Elementary School's webpage on School Climate

OLWEUS BULLYING PREVENTION PROGRAM

Beaumont is participating in the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. The program helps children understand that bullying is intentional harm-doing that is repeated over time. It occurs in a relationship in which there is an imbalance of power. Bullying affects the victims, the bullies and the bystanders. The goals of the Olweus Program are: to reduce existing bully, victim, and bystander problems among school children; prevent the development of new bully, victim, and bystander problems; improve peer relations; improve school climate. The children are learning the rules for a bully-free school.

In Beaumont we will:

not bully others.
help students who are bullied.
include students who are easily left out.
tell an adult at home and at school when we know someone is being bullied.

http://www.tesd.k12.pa.us/beaumont/Olweus%20-parent%20powerpoint.ppt

PATHS

PATHS is a science based , social-emotional learning curriculum that promotes self-control, positive self-esteem, emotional awareness, and interpersonal problem-solving. There are three main units. The self-control unit uses a metaphorical story about a young turtle who learns to stop and calm down to effectively think. The Feelings and Relationship unit focuses on teaching different affective states in a developmental hierarchy beginning with basic emotions (e.g. happy, sad, angry) and proceeding to more complex emotional states (e.g. jealous, guilty, proud). Emotions are taught using feelings faces that depict essential emotional cues. The unit teaches that all feelings are OK to have and that some feel comfortable and some feel uncomfortable. Behaviors, on the other hand, can be OK or Not OK. The emphasis is to judge or evaluate behaviors, not feelings. Feelings are signals that communicate information and can be helpful in making decisions about what to do next. The Problem-solving unit builds on the self-control unit and elaborates stop, calm down and think into 11 steps: (1) Stopping and thinking, (2)Problem identification, (3) Feeling identification, (4) Deciding on a goal, (5) Generating alternative solutions, (6) Evaluating the possible consequences of these solutions, (7)Selectingthe best solution, (8) Planning the best solutions, (9) Trying the formulated plan, (10) Evaluating the outcome, and (11) Trying another solutions and /or plan, or alternatively reevaluating the goal, if an obstacle results in failure to reach intended goal (1994 Kusche, Greenberg, Developmental Research and Programs, Inc.)

The foundation of the PATHS Curriculum is the ABCD Model of devlopment that suggests that successful coping and adaptation (healthy personality development) is pacilitated when there is a developmental integration of feelings (and emotional language), behavior, and cognitive processes. (1994 Kusche, Greenberg, Developmental Research and Programs, Inc.)

Examples of the units in the primary division (K-2) include rules, compliments, feelings, the turtle technique, sharing manners, playing fair, teasing, and listening to others. In the the upper division (3-4) the units include rules, control signal, problem solving meetings, feelings dictionary, gossip, cooperative learning skills, identifying problems, feeling, goals, and solutions, and stereotypes and discrimination.

http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/neighborhoods/school-district/ratings/worst100/

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090721/NEWS/90721046/Bill+Gates+in+Philly++Better+data+mean+better+schools

Off to a 1:1 with Superintendent Lyles

More than just a feel good read, it's about community outreach, partnership, and independence!

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090720/NEWS03/907200348&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

What can we expect to see?

Here's one districts take on Computer-Adaptive Growth Model Assessment:

Separating growth from value added: two academic models offer different tools for different purposes--measuring individual learning and measuring what affects learning.

Could it be true that we were shortchanging our brightest students?
Over the years a handful of parents in the Rochester, N.H., schools had complained that their high-performing children were bored by our curriculum. Because these reports were small in number, we were unsure whether they signaled a teaching problem or reflected students' desire to be entertained. These students were performing well above the 90th percentile on our standardized assessments, and the number of students moving to the top achievement levels was increasing...

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Separating+growth+from+value+added%3a+two+academic+models+offer+...-a0157588355

Teacher Magazine by www.edweek.org is one of my favorite sources of new ideas and research-proven methods of education.

Check out:

A GPS for Teacher Leaders
by Nancy Flanagan

In my third year of teaching, the local union president asked me if I’d like to attend a “Women in Leadership” conference sponsored by the state NEA affiliate. He offered a scholarship—and said he thought I was leadership material. Flattered, I readily accepted. In the 1970s, lots of women were interested in re-defining female roles and responsibilities. My mental picture of leadership training for women: a roomful of young, passionate teachers, re-imagining ourselves as idea generators and role models in building better schools...

Keep Reading Here:
http://www.teachermagazine.org/tm/articles/2009/07/15/tln16_flanagan.h21.html?tkn=SRWFMTJtXnUYVi92A6FhUxP0MNlHUR4YM8Gx

As promised, here's the rundown -

Please note, these are not official minutes, nor meant to be construed as minutes. This is my interpretation of the events of the evening, including explanations of my votes, in brief, as promised during my campaign as a method to provide accountability and transparency in my role as a board member. These comments in no way reflect the opinion of the board or district.

Started my first executive session with the Oath. Repeated it again at the beginning of public session. Public session started about 45 minutes late due to run over of executive.

For those who have been wondering - Dinner was provided by Nutrition Services and it was very healthy (salads.) I didn't participate in dinner (July 14th was my husband's 40th birthday, so we ate a quick dinner together before executive session.)

Public Session:
Board Elections
Approved Minutes of previous meetings
Presented Honor Roll Awards for Outstanding Service to out-going FRC (Financial Review Committee) Committee leaders
Boardmanship awards presented to existing board members for acquiring credits through training

Superintendent's Update - Community Consensus Plan will be fully implemented by September with the opening of Porter Rd. Elementary School.

Administrative Personnel Recommendations - Board voted to approve recommendations for Principal at Glasgow High (Edward Mayfield, current VP at Glasgow), Director for the Statewide Delaware Autism Program (Vincent Winterling) , and Director of Curriculum and Professional Development for Secondary Schools (Vilicia Cade.)

My Vote - Yes, though I contemplated abstaining. Here's why: For two of the three positions, I had firsthand knowledge gained via the interview process by participating in parent forums prior to being elected to the board, or through information received in my board packet last week that gave me insight into the needs of the position and the capabilities of the candidate. It was the third candidate that gave me pause for hesitation as I had no prior knowledge or firsthand experience with the candidate. I received copies of the application packet to fully review during Executive Session at 6 pm. I was not that I had any doubts of the candidate's ability, but rather I did not feel I had adequate time to review the material. It is what it is. I sincerely wish all three candidates success in their new positions!

Consent Agenda - Board voted to accept the consent agenda. This was another tough vote for me due to the Personnel Recommendations. I ultimately voted to accept the recommendation to prevent the Riffing of district employees.

Student Expulsions -I abstained from the vote. I did not receive the expulsion packets until Executive Session. Though I participated in the discussions, I did not feel that I had adequate time to process the material. I felt it would have been highly inappropriate to cast a vote for or against.

Well, that's a rap.

The big day is finally here. John Young and I will both be sworn in as the newest CSD Board of Education members at tonight's School Board Meeting.

I'll be posting tonight or tomorrow the monthly meeting update, the unofficial minutes of a former observer who has now turned participant. And let's be clear about one thing: I cannot and will not post anything that is in violation of privacy laws - that means certain information relative to students and personnel is off limits. I will be honest in accounting for how I arrive at any decision or vote.

Here we go!
Here's the link to tonight's Agenda:

http://www.christina.k12.de.us/SchoolBoard/Meetings/2009/Postings-Agendas/0714.pdf

Busy Week Ahead!

Here's the schedule:

Monday - Agenda Prep 12 pm
Tuesday - Executive Board Meeting, 6:00 pm, Kirk Middle School
Public Board Meeting, 7:30 pm, Kirk Middle School
Wednesday - Planning to attend the Financial Review Committee meeting at 5:30 pm, Eden Center.

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090713/NEWS/907130330&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

Standard 1: Welcoming all families into the school community—Families are active participants in the life of the school, and feel welcomed, valued, and connected to each other, to school staff, and to what students are learning and doing in class.

Thank You, Steve, for you thorough response!

Cleary the practice of social promotion causes many problems. Whether it’s an officially sanctioned process, or one that teachers have merely become accustomed to, social promotion undermines student achievement and teacher morale.

But now let’s look at the situation from where a principal or superintendent might sit. What would happen if we instantly combined high expectations and more rigorous curriculum with accurate grading in low-achieving schools? Over 3-5 year’s time we’d see over-crowded elementary schools and near-empty high schools. Logistically, this is a non-starter. Hence, the culture of social promotion has a practical, albeit pernicious, aspect.

Now, logistical reasons are no excuse for such a heinous practice. But this conundrum does bring to mind a very serious and important issue: we can’t structure out way out of reform. Testing, standards, charters, vouchers, and merit pay are all structural reforms. But school, being the slippery beast that it is, defies restructuring.

Our only hope is to teach our way out.

But we can be even more thoughtful than that. If we acknowledge that literacy is the foundation of academic success, and if we acknowledge the brain window for language learning, and if we acknowledge the traditions of elementary school teaching and the natural separation of instructional styles that seems to occur after 3rd grade, we can make simple plans for solid interventions early enough in kids’ lives that strategies like social promotion would be unnecessary.

There are two key places to intervene in a young student’s learning life: at the beginning of 1st grade and at the end of 3rd. It is perfectly reasonable to get kids extra help in the first half of first grade if they are not yet reading and writing independently. And it is perfectly reasonable to retain less successful 3rd graders for an additional year if they have not yet become confident chapter book readers and conventional writers of multi-paragraph essays.

At the same time, we can do several things that make intervention and retention much less likely. First of all, we could concentrate professional development in literacy at the primary grades. Bringing teachers of young children up to speed with the latest and best methods like Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop would improve outcomes tremendously. Second, we can move our most successful teachers to first and third grade. And finally, we can employ the use of high quality early interventions like Reading Recovery for kids who are struggling out of the gate.

The root cause of social promotion is not poor kids, it’s poor teaching. Until we recognize the connection here and actually do something about it, schools with many under-performing children have no logistically sound approach but to pass kids along year after year. This reality does not excuse what is surely a detestable behavior but seeing it for what it is and why it exists should heighten for all of us the importance of making sure our teaching – especially in literacy at the early grades – needs a serious overhaul.

I was asked a great question this week:

Who do you think runs a district, the School Board or the District Administration?

The Short Answer:
The BOE is charged with creating the policies by which the district shall run. Some of those policies will be dictated by Delaware State Code. It is the Superintendent's responsibility, through direction to the administration, to employ and enforce those policies.

But, it doesn't look that way ...

So what do you think? Does the Board or the District Administration run the CSD?

Marcia Lyles hit the ground running, finding time on her first day to visit Bancroft Elementary and make herself accessible to a News Journal reporter.


Welcome Aboard Marcia!

Red Clay has a new approach to summer school -- preteaching at-risk students. Will it work?

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009906280323

La. High School Diploma Plan Goes to Jindal
By The Associated Press via Education Week

Baton Rouge, La.
Louisiana will have a new diploma for public school students, who will face less-stringent requirements for English and math, if Gov. Bobby Jindal approves an education bill approved by the full Legislature.

read the rest of the story here: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/06/23/283680lxgrdiplomachanges_ap.html

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/48695437.html?page=1&c=y

Sources tell me it's alive and well in Delaware, too.

What do you think?

More News from PA:

Administration Shelves Pa. Graduation Exam Plan
By The Associated Press via Education Week

Harrisburg, Pa.
The Rendell administration Monday temporarily shelved plans to develop graduation competency exams for Pennsylvania high school students in hopes of making peace with legislative critics who felt the administration was moving too fast.

Read the article here:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/06/22/283357pgraduationexams_ap.html

DCAS passes in the House, heads to the Gov. for signature!

After an informative presentation at the Board Meeting last night, CSD BOE voted to accept to the district recommendation that the 2009/10 tax warrant maintain the same levels as the 2008/09 warrant. For CSD tax payers, there will be no increase to school taxes.

Of note, the district cited 1% increase in revenue from taxes due to new construction, both residential and commercial (thank you Home Depot.)

On the down side, the closing of the Chrysler Plant in Newark could lead to a $1 million loss in revenue. After consulting with the State Auditor and Department of Education, the value of the former Chrysler property was not included in the calculations. The district will cease to receive revenue from the site if it is purchased by a non-for-profit entity such as the University of Delaware, the apparent fore-funner in current real estate negotiations. Furthermore, a for-profit successor entity to Chrysler could choose to level the plant, remove all the buildings, and leave the land with little to no taxable value for the purpose of school taxes.

I hope to delve a little deeper into the tax warrant in the coming days, to explain the more complicated portions of the formula. But, first I need to fact check for accuracy.

As for the board meeting itself, it started forty minutes late, indicating that executive session prior to the meeting ran long. In-coming Superintendent Marcia Lyles was again in attendance. During public comment the Board acknowledged outgoing member Beverly Howell for her years of service. The other noteworthy action of the night, voting on the consent agenda, was complicated by the decision to table all of Item B - Bid Awards for Foreign Language Translators, Elementary Counseling Services, Behavior Intervention Specialist Services, In School Alternative Program, and Student Support Services [ whose job it is to "assist building staff in monitoring in various capacities such as Hall Monitor and In School Suspension Monitor" (6/23/09, School Board Meeting Agenda, p. 4, BID #CSD-2009-05.)] The vote was 4-2 in favor of tabling.

http://news.aol.com/article/nyc-teachers-paid-to-do-nothing/538142?icid=mainmaindl1link2http%3A%2F%2Fnews.aol.com%2Farticle%2Fnyc-teachers-paid-to-do-nothing%2F538142

I had the pleasure of meeting with district officials, yesterday. It was an opportunity to learn more about the individual facets of school administration, policy, programming, and finance.

It was a friendly and informational meeting. Thank You to those who found time in their busy day to meet with me. I look forward to July, when I can formally reach out to our local level administration, such building principals and program leaders, to learn more of their day-to-day challenges and successes.

And while I am on this page, if there are particular areas that you deem in my interest to learn more about, this is a great time to share it with me. At the bottom of this post you can anonymously submit a public comment. I do moderate comments before posting for inappropriate language and I do respect that some folks like their concerns to remain confidential as they are situation-specific.

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009306210011

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009906200346

CSD will host a Community/Parent Meeting to gather imput for Fiscal Year 2010 planning and Consolidated Grant Application development.

Thursday, June 25, 2009
6 pm at Gauger-Cobbs

According to the CSD website, you can contact Andy Hegedus, Supervisor of Grants at (302)552-2601 for more information.

----------------------------------------------------
So, what is the Consolidated Grant Application? Basically, it's the success plan that is key to the receipt of funding for Delaware's School Districts. Of the online documents I viewed, the following is probably the best explanation:

http://www.doe.k12.de.us/infosuites/staff/si/comp_of_SI/ca/files/Success%20Plan%20Guiding%20Questions%20WEB1.pdf

From time to time, I have the honor of doing business with a fantastic mom and pop shop. You know the ones I'm talking about - good folks homegrown in our state competing with the likes of Walmart and other super box stores for their livelihood. Now wait, I admit it, I shop at Walmart for the good deals they offer. Who can afford more in these economic times?

But, the moms and pops, they are the heart and soul of Delaware's business community. They are out there working for their families and yours. So, today, I wanted to pass along the name of a business that I have found to be fantastic -- Premier Fleet Services. Okay, why would I need to do business with a fleet service company? The mouse-mobile - our affectionately-named Saturn sedan for the family of furries who took up residence in our air filter during my first pregnancy, the duration of which I spent on bedrest - and our SUV dubbed mamma's-car by DS, hardly qualify as a fleet. Despite my less-than-a-fleet status, Premier has repeatedly arrived in my driveway, promptly to change my oil and make the many needed repairs that come with vehicle ownership.

Here's the backstory - Premier, family-run from their shop in Claymont, started serving fleets in Delaware a couple years back. Like so many, they've been hit hard by the economy and have had to reinvent themeselves to keep the business afloat, now offering residential services. They come to you! (which was a real life saver when, with two kids in the car, the radiator blew on I-95 on the hotest day of last summer.)

I really like these folks, they are hard, dedicated workers who offer extremely fair prices. And because I totally support those in Delaware who operate A+ businesses, I wanted to pass along my great experiences. And for those who are wondering, I have not been offered, not would I ever accept, a payback for this plug or any other.

Premier Fleet Services
Ask for Dave!
(302)793-3500
950 Ridge Rd
Unit A-5
Claymont, 19703

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090619/NEWS02/906190366

Like most parents with children home for the summer, we've been busy! My daughter participates Extended School Year (ESY) services, so our breaks are very disjointed as we cram a summer's worth of fun into a few weeks in June and August. After taking our Girls Scout troop to Dutch Wonderland, hosting our son's 3rd birthday, re-homing a stray dog, attending an award dinner, repairing our car, and shivering through a cold, wet day at Sesame Place, things are finally quieting down.

DD (Dear Daughter) starts ESY Monday, DS (Dear Son) will spend the morning with a wonderful family friend, and I will be at district offices for an orientation meeting with administration. I will officially enter into the capacity of BOE member on July 1st. Both John Young, the other incoming Board member, and I will be sworn in at the School Board Meeting scheduled for July 14th at Kirk.

Moving on ... Legislative Notes:

SB 151, which permits the use of fed. stim. funds for incentive programs for teachers and SB 149, which allows the Delaware Department of Education to deny teaching licenses to non-public school teachers if they don't meet the requirements, passed in the Senate. Both bills are headed to the House for consideration.

The long-awaited HB 119, in its substituted form, is moving to the Senate for a vote. In sum, it gives districts more control in how they allocate their state funds.

On Tuesday, Rep. D. Scott filed HB 231, a bill that would permit parents to take unpaid leave to attend school conferences and activities. It's goal is to give working parents a means to participate in the education of their children. It's a great concept. But, until we pay folks a livable wage or employ a flexible work , it's still going to be tough for parents take time away from work. That said, we need our families to be active in our schools, now, more than ever! I am a firm believer that it takes a village to raise a child and through community, educational, and family partnerships, we ensure the best outcomes for all children!

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009906120340

Check out the right sidebar to see how Delaware ranks regionally.

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200990610053

See how and when the other 49 states, Guam ,and the Virgin Islands elect/appoint their school board members:
http://www.nsba.org/MainMenu/SchoolLaw/Issues/Governance/Resources/electionschart.aspx



My opinion is that Delaware is bucking the trend. Seems most states that hold November School Board Elections do so in the odd number years - meaning they will never correspond with the general election. HB 117 will move all of Delaware's elections to the general election every four years.

The Big Question: The House passed it, will the Senate kill it in committee?

Here's an official Children and Educators First! Welcome to Dr. Marcia Lyles - in town, scoping out the new digs in prep for her July move. Brief introductions were had before Dr. Lyles was swept away by the attention-seekers.

A brief word of thanks to David Resler, acting board president, for publicly explaining the back story to consent agenda votes. Issues are debated and questions posed during executive session prior to the public meeting where the board then votes. Not exactly transparent, as the questions and answers never reach the public's ears, but the explanation is appreciated.
Moving along - What bucket of money is the funding for the new computers in our elementary schools coming from? Will they be new or refurbished? How old are they? How are we disposing of existing technology? Just a few questions brought to mind by Shirley Saffer's public request for information during the Board Member Requests portion of the evening.

I am in no way accusing DE's school system of making these mistakes. (Good God, I shouldn't even need to make that disclaimer, but I know there are those who will ask what is she insinuating?)

I am presenting this article from Wright's Law Special Ed Advocate simple as food for thought. The end of the school year is always the right time to reflect on challenges encountered:

Mistakes People Make - School Districts
by Robert K. Crabtree, Esq.

Anything a school system does that undermines parents' trust creates a climate that is costly in dollars, time, peace of mind, and the quality and success of services given to the child.

Here are the most significant school system mistakes, according to persons at every level of the system:

1. Refusing to let parents or parents' experts see programs, either within or outside of the school system. When school systems tightly restrict the parents' access to their own programs, the parents wonder what they are hiding and assume the worst; when they refuse to clear the way for parents to see an outside program, the parents will assume that the grass is greener over there;

2. Failing or refusing to communicate and actively coordinate with outside experts working with the child, such as the child's therapist or a tutor;

3. Ignoring reports from independent evaluators; failing to speak to those evaluators to clarify ambiguous information or recommendations; failing to add the evaluator's recommendations to the IEP when reasonable;

4. Failing to respond to parents in writing or at a meeting when a problem arises;

5. Taking a patronizing and/or antagonistic and/or insulting attitude toward parents; personalizing issues between school and parents; attempting to blame parents for their children's educational failures rather than looking for solutions (school system professionals need to treat parents with respect even if those parents are insulting and belligerent themselves);

6. Sweating the small stuff (e.g., spending twenty minutes at a team meeting arguing about whether the meeting can be tape-recorded);

7. Failing to observe procedural timelines and notice requirements (e.g., scheduling timely meetings, getting evaluations to the parents before the team meeting, notifying the parents who will attend the meeting, providing clear written explanations of parent rights);

8. Writing careless and sloppy IEPs. Parents, evaluators, and hearing officers all look first at the extent to which the written IEP reflects a thorough and logically coherent view of the child, the goals and objectives for that child's program, and a clear and understandable description of what will be provided, how, by whom, and when; and how the child's program will be evaluated;

9. Failing to implement an IEP and, worse, trying to cover up that failure;

10. Failing to modify an IEP that is not working and waiting, instead, for the program - and the child - to collapse;

11. Failing to provide additional or different services as a way to avoid having to make more restrictive (and expensive) outside placements;

12. Failing to call in expert consultants from outside the school system with good reputations among both school and parent communities who can help develop or monitor a program for a child with unusual needs;

13. Losing contact with families who have placed their child unilaterally. Some school systems forget or ignore their continuing responsibility to evaluate, review, and propose IEPs for children when they are attending outside placements at their parents' expense;

14. Botching the required procedures around suspension or expulsion of students with identified or suspected special education needs (e.g., failing to convene the team, failing to make a manifestation determination, failing to re-examine the IEP to see if services are appropriate and have actually been provided, failure to provide FAPE to suspended or expelled students with special education needs;

15. Failing to ensure that non-special education administrators - particularly building principals - are fully informed about and are following the required special education policies and procedures.

What teachers wish for from
http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?p=1768

If you attended the University of Delaware, chances are you remember Math 114. And if you took M114, you ought to have fond memories of the Math Lab in Pearson Hall. I was never a strong student in Math, I suffered through Algebra I in high school. I was a visual learner and couldn't "see" the concepts in flat textbooks. The University's Math Labs changed that with their computer-based imaging software and visual applications.

So, when I learned about a school district in Westport, Massachusetts, who had given the heave-ho to texts, I was intrigued. Talk about putting resources in the hands of a teacher. Westport spend $75,000 to redesign their Algebra curriculum paring it down to the most crucial concepts and creating content for an online class. Half that money went to paying teachers during the summer to work on the program, the other half went to the software company who incorporated it into an existing model.

So far, so good. Students, parents, and teachers have given the new design a nod of approval. Standardized test scores are up and student are engaged. Less time is spent "reviewing" during Algebra II because they spend their time in Algebra I developing a strong understanding of the core principles. Yes, they have identified some weaknesses in the program itself, areas where more practice problems are needed. But, that's not a killer problem to fix.

The only detractor thus far: The textbook manufacturer from whom the district is no longer purchasing textbooks.

Check out a recent article in the New York Times and start thinking Education Stimulus Aid:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/education/08math.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=education

http://onefightmore.blogspot.com/ on DE Tax System, Fairness and Efficiency. Fascinating read.

Another look at the DSTP data for the Christina School District:

In Fall of 2006, 4th graders scored at 88.8% meeting or exceeding science standard.
Those same students were tested in the Fall of 2008 as 6th graders and scored at 66% meeting or exceeding science standards. In the course of 2 years, 22% stopped meeting/exceeding standard.

In Fall of '06, 68.3% of fourth graders met or exceeded state social studies standard. In the Fall of 08, 52.1% of those students, as sixth graders , met or exceeded the standard. That is a decrease of 16.2%

My thoughts: Clearly something is happening between fourth grade and sixth, something is not working. A double digit rise in failure rates give me great concern. Whether you like the test or not, it's what we have and we need to focus on why these students are failing to make progress and even regressing. It's time to revisit our strategic plan, because at this rate, we will never attain the goals outlined in the CSD plan.

While many are assuming the DCAS test will replace the DSTP, we cannot operate on that assumption. Nor do we know that our students will score better using the DCAS model. We need to plan now on how to move the resources into the classrooms that our teachers need to educate our students!

Delaware DSTP Scores are available at: http://dstp.doe.k12.de.us/DSTPmart9/summaryByDist.aspx

Whether you like the DSTP or not, it's the only statewide standardized test in Delaware.

Here's an early summary of Christina:

4th Grade Science: 87.45% Meets or exceeds standard. We have the lowest meets/exceed percentage in the state. Red Clay comes in at 88.05% and Colonial scored 89.93%.

6th Grade Science: 66.03% Meets or exceeds standard. We again scored lowest in the state. Red Clay scored 77.02% and Colonial reached 72.91%

4th Grade Social Studies: We faired better in Social Students with 65.81% meeting or exceeding the standard, placing Christina eleventh of fifteen districts.

6th Grade Social Studies: 52.1% Meets or exceeds standard. We came in at 14 of 15 with only Laurel School District scoring lower than we did. Ouch!

We saw our first saucer house while vacationing in the Outer Banks some years back. It was roadside in Frisco, gleaming silver and quite a curiosity.

The neat thing: Delaware has not just one rare Futuro, but two! Here's a photo of the Houston, Delaware Futuro and a link to a News Journal story about the home and owners. Quite a read!

Photo from http://www.futurohouse.com/northam.html You can also check out pics of the Saucer House in Lewes, DE.

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070415/NEWS/704150338

SB 140
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
Synopsis:
This Bill would reduce from 3 to 2 the number of residents from New Castle County outside the City of Wilmington on the State Board of Education, and would add an at large member. This change better reflects the current population of the three counties and provides the Governor with the flexibility to appoint an at large board member on the basis of qualifications, need or population shift.

SB 147
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE, RELATING TO AN EARLY RETIREMENT INCENTIVE FOR STATE EMPLOYEES AND THE CREATION OF A NEW TIER OF BENEFITS FOR NEW EMPLOYEES.
Synopsis:
This Act provides a retirement incentive of 2 additional years of service to employees in the State Employees Pension Plan that retire on 6/30/09. There is also a new tier of benefits created for employees hired after 7/1/09.

SB127
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO QUALIFICATIONS OF VOTERS.
Synopsis:
This Act requires that those voting in school board elections and school tax elections and school bond elections be registered voters.

http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/lis145.nsf/vwLegislation/HS+1+for+HB+119/$file/legis.html?open


-E-

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009306040007

Delaware's getting closer to giving school districts latitude in implementing disciplinary actions. Thanks goes to Kasia Haughton, the 11-year-old Leasure student who unwittingly brought a cake knife (along with a cake!) to school. Kasia should be given credit for inspiring common sense in a system that sometimes seems to be without.

The design and building of Tree House was a labor of love. Whitney Sander designed this house for his sister.

Tree House sits on a cul-de-sac at the end of a mature subdivision in Wilmington, DE. It is filled with century-old deciduous trees, which form a magnificent canopy 150 feet above the site.

A stream runs around the house, and because of certain restrictions of the Army Corps of Engineers and because of the potential for flooding, the buildable area is quite small. This induced the firm to design a vertical house, with raised Living Room and Master Suite. These spaces give one the feeling of being in the trees.

http://images.google.com/imgresimgurl=http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1286/556193366_8acd7aca16.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nikiomahe.com/home-design/tree-house-wilmington-delaware-usa/&usg=__iERuGZsGTBi6AePj2wzfczZRv-g=&h=333&w=500&sz=96&hl=en&start=72&sig2=jJCr8f0YmJcibjBZ9ljsZg&um=1&tbnid=QUCodMT967PHeM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3DStrange%2BHouses%2Bin%2BDelaware%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-US%26rlz%3D1I7RNWE_en%26sa%3DN%26start%3D54%26um%3D1&ei=nRYnSpW6IcjemQexvI3pBw

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009906020341

State Auditor, Tom Wagner, is a busy man. Here's his breakdown of superintendent salaries courtesy the News Journal:

SUPERINTENDENT SALARIES

Data is organized based on the number of schools. I chose this format to illustrate that disricts with a similar number of facilities may have drastic different student populations or largely different salaries. Ex: Polytech has one building, serves 100 fewer students than Sussex, yet it's superintendent is paid $16,000 more than the Sussex Super.


DISTRICT, # of Schools , # of Students, Superintendent, Salary

Polytech 1- 1,147 Dianne Sole $152,946
Sussex Technical 1- 1,249 Patrick Savini $136,778

Delmar 2(1bdg) -1,149 David Ring Jr. $113,315

Woodbridge 3 - 2,012 Kevin Carson $138,483

NCC Votech 4 - 4,105 Steven Godowsky $161,366

Laurel 5 - 2,099 Linda Schenck $119,196 (Acting Superintendent)
Milford 5 - 4,070 Robert Smith $161,448

Lake Forest 6 - 3,930 Daniel Curry $136,769
Seaford 6 - 3,367 Russel Knorr $149,888

Smyrna 7 - 4,460 Deborah Wicks $133,280
Cape Henlopen 8 - 4,493 George Stone $157,306


Appoquinimink 11 - 8,193 Tony Marchio $162,876
Capital 11 - 6,179 Michael Thomas $147,854

Colonial 13 10,430 George Meney $193,000 *
Caesar Rodney 13 - 7,143 Kevin Fitzgerald $143,651
Indian River 13 - 8,388 Susan Bunting $138,720

Brandywine 18 - 10,113 Jim Scanlon $167,075

Christina 26 - 17,292 Freeman Williams $163,737 (Acting Superintendent)**
Red Clay 28 - 15,721 Rob Andrzejewski $171,543

*George Meney is the highest paid superintendent in the state.
**Christina is also the host of the Statewide Delaware Autism Program and Delaware's School for the Deaf (these programs serve students from outside the CSD.)

Thanks go to John Young, another CSD Board Member-elect for finding this great information and posting it to his blog at http://www.transparentchristina.wordpress.com/.

Cost of Living Comparison: New York, New York - Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is 47% cheaper than New York.
Housing is the biggest factor in the cost of living difference.
Housing is 73% cheaper in Wilmington.

A salary of $203,000 in New York, New York could decrease to $107,733 in Wilmington, Delaware

http://transparentchristina.wordpress.com/2009/05/31/salary-comparison-of-new-york-ny-to-wilmington-de/

Delaware's budget woes got you down?
Let's auction off the state-issued license plates sported by our government vehicles, starting with Gov. Jack Markell's #1 tag.

Maybe Orlando George Jr, Pres. of Del Tech will take a stab at it. With the pay he rakes in, surely he can afford it! Orlando's #1 in state pay compared to Jack's #25.

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090531/NEWS02/905310368&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL