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


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

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

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

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


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





Ms. Scheinberg,


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


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

 

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

Title 14, Chapter 1, Subchapter IV § 173.

Data reporting violations.

School districts and individuals shall not:

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

 

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

 

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

ACADEMIC ASSESSMENTS-

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


(C) REQUIREMENTS- Such assessments shall--

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


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


I hope this provides clarity.



Alison May

Public information officer

Delaware Department of Education

401 Federal Street, Suite #2

Dover, DE 19901-3639

302.735.4000 (T) 302.735.4654 (F)


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




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


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


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

This story gets more twisted every day:


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

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

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


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

Go ahead, read between the lines:


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


Ms. Scheinberg,

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

Thank You,


Philip Keefer, Supervisor

Title I, Grants, and Testing Programs

Christina School District

600 N. Lombard Street

Wilmington, DE 19801

Work Phone (302) 552-2683

Work Cell Phone (302) 354-5961

FAX Number (302) 552-2656

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

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

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

Per our original letter:


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


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

Your cooperation is deeply appreciated,

Sincerely,

Elizabeth A. Scheinberg
Robert Scheinberg
Parents of XXXX Scheinberg

Which Garnered this Response:






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

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

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



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

Thank you,

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

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

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

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

Thank you,


Phil K.
To which I responded:
 

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


Mr. Keefer,

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

Thank you,

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

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

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


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


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

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

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


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

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

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

Allegations Shake Tower Hill Commmunity


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

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

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

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

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


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


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



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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Can you tell, we're on Diller's Team Women!  Sorry Tom. 
Category: 11 comments

Markell directs the Narrative and the Unions fall in line behind him - Are you Pro-Power Plant or Anti-Jobs?


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
I've been watching the debate over the Data Center and its accompanying Power Plant proposed to be located at UD's STAR campus on Rt 896 with mild interest.  The data center won't affect me, I live in Newark, but not close enough to be bothered by the noise and pollution.  The jobs that this project is said to bring could be potentially useful, I've been out of work for a year, in part b/c I suspended by job search to help my daughter through a mental health crisis last year.  And, there are other challenges to finding employment - I need "mom hours," like most stay-at-home parents who look to resume a paying career, my employment needs to conform around my responsibilities to my children - which are little more complex than most as I do have child classified with a severe disability.  Let's not forget that there is a true shortage of jobs for parents like me.  I have a bachelors and 12 years of consistent community service on my resume, but few employers care to take the time to translate how adding someone with my skills might enrich their company.   Hey, Gov, you reading this?  We really need more jobs that conform to the needs of parents, not just employers!

 Let's talk about Narrative.  It's the messaging, the branding, the spin.  And it's becoming more critical that the constituents take the narrative back from our Governor.  Maybe I have soft spot for the folks who will impacted by the Newark Data Center and Power Plant - or maybe it's idea that those folks bought homes and had a certain expectation about the quality of life into which they were buying. Or maybe I'm just tired of watching good people being vilified by our Governor.  

 What's my issue:
Gov. Jack Markell used his final town hall meeting Thursday to forcefully promote plans to build a data center and power plant at the former Chrysler site in Newark.  http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013310110050
He said Delawareans should get behind projects that create jobs, especially during a difficult time for the state’s economy.“We all want to create jobs,” Markell said. “The one thing we have to do is we have to stop saying no.”

In general, I don't see the public saying "no" to jobs.  In fact, I hear them begging our government to help create them.  Take the 141 overpass at I95.  Construction started there three plus years ago.  It's still not done.  The slower these employees work, the longer they will stay employed.  And I have don't hear anyone carrying on or complaining about the nuicense this project has created.  

 Let's look at Fisker - potentially Markell's biggest economic flop (he's still got a couple more years to dig us deeper.)  Subsidies and tax reductions, state aid, and huge failure to the tune of $21 million.  The plant has ended up in an auction and the jobs promised never materialized.

Let's talk about the data center and the narrative - Our Governor has turned the dynamic on its side and categorized the opposition as anti-employment tree-huggers. And local union leadership has fallen in line behind the governor:
The line drew cheers from a large section of an audience of more than 100 at Delcastle Technical High School, including Robert Carl of the Insulators and Allied Workers union, Local 42.
“When jobs that we consider are good-paying come into Delaware and they face these roadblocks, that’s frustrating to us,” Carl said in an interview.
“I understand that the environment is important, and I think so too. But we had a tough few years when it comes to jobs,” Carl said. “I think (Markell) was speaking very carefully, but he seems to understand that.” http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013310110050
Ahhh, the spin and it kept spinning at the Newark City Council meeting last night:
Union leaders also took to the microphone, stressing the poor economic climate and the need for the 340 new jobs – 290 full time – that The Data Centers LLC has promised to create. The unions pledged to fight for good-paying jobs for workers.“I’ve seen this before when I started at the Newark assembly plant. Some of these very same groups [opposing the data center] tried to close the assembly plant when I was there,” said Samuel E. Lathem, state president of the Delaware AFL-CIO, who worked at Chrysler for 39 years. “Shame on them.”
 Anyone remember how many jobs Fiskar promised back in 2009?
At the time, union workers were promised the chance to fill many of the 2,000 factory jobs producing the plug-in electric sedan. It was unclear Monday how many of those positions had ever been filled. http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/06/autos/fisker_electric_car_loan/index.htm
The reality:  At its height, Fisker created about 100 jobs in Delaware - two of which went to union leaders who became salaried Fisker employees.
Two longtime auto union members join Fisker as salaried staffers. Joe Riccio was the chairman of United Auto Workers Local 435; Dave Myers was the local's president. Riccio has taken a human-resources position; Myers' title is business development associate.  http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20120923/NEWS/309230048/How-Delaware-landed-Fisker-Automotive

 What troubles me is that various blue-collar worker unions have fallen inline with the Governor's narrative.  Hundreds of union auto-workers stood with the Governor on Oct 27, 2009 for the monumental recession-ending announcement that Fisker has chosen Delaware.  Few, if any, who turned out for the press opportunity ever entertained a job at the old Boxwood Plant.

One would think that the Fisker fiasco would leave this leadership wary.  Apparently, few have the capacity to learn from past mistakes.  The unions stand again with Governor who promises employment time and again and often fails to deliver. The relationship has become so warped that the unions are now bashing the public.

 So what happens when residents take the narrative back:
“We are not radical environmentalists. We are not job haters, or extremists. Some of us have never even been politically active before. But we are residents, parents, children, students and UD alumni who are concerned about our well-being and what the best for our community,” Arenson said.  http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131015/NEWS/310150056/Public-sounds-off-Newark-data-center-power-plant-proposal
Even the University of Delaware's own employees are wary:
Faculty members raised several concerns, including noise levels, environmental emissions and whether the project could actually deliver the jobs as advertised. They also noted that The Data Centers’ model is untested – the company hasn’t built a data center elsewhere. http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131015/NEWS/310150056/Public-sounds-off-Newark-data-center-power-plant-proposal

And then there's this:

During the Council meeting, two residents cited a portion of Newark’s 15-year electric contract with UD – the city’s largest electric customer. They said a subsection on energy charges in the contract gives UD the option of procuring electricity from a “power producer” located on premises owned or controlled by the university.
Resident Jen Wallace worried that, if UD would decide to purchase its power from TDC, “the city has the potential to lose a lot of revenue.”
That potential revenue shortfall, cautioned resident Amy Roe, could mean a tax hike for Newark residents.
Now, you tell me, is Jack right?  Are these residents and employees anti-jobs or are they pro-quality-of-life, fiscally-responsible citizen advocates?


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Markell Strikes Again - Claymont Steel to Close in December!


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
The capitalist gleam always in his eye, Gov. Jack Markell delivered a stunning holiday gift to Delaware's economy today, unemployment wrapped up in a big steel bow!

Evraz Claymont Steel is shutting all operations effective Dec. 13, employees were told today, putting about 375 workers out of a job.
For a state still reeling from the loss of two automobile plants, and with what are likely good-paying jobs at the steel mill, “it’s another blow to the state economy,” said James Butkiewicz, chairman of the economics department at the University of Delaware.  http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131014/BUSINESS06/310140051/Evraz-Claymont-Steel-shutting-down?odyssey=mod|breaking|text|Home
Catherine Rossi, communications director for Markell, said, “The Delaware Department of Labor’s rapid response team will coordinate with plant management to provide a variety of services to the employees affected by the idling of the plant,” Rossi said.

Wow!  Perhaps if the Governor had a rapid intervention team the state's economy wouldn't be crumbling.  So, let's look the big picture:

In September, the Gov heralded the creation of 27 jobs making Koolaid in Dover.  No more pushing out-of-state koolaid.  Now, he can his punch brew in-house.  This thrilling announcement was preceded by a release from Moody's Analytics reporting that Delaware was the only state in the country still at risk for falling into an economic recession.

The grim picture of Delaware’s economy comes from a review of the state’s employment trends, housing starts, home prices and industrial production, indicators Moody’s studies in all states to identify economic progress four years after the end of the recession. http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013309120034
Then came news that Delaware's racinos needed a bailout.  All around us, from Maryland to Pennsylvania, casinos and other forms of gambling have been shepherded through the legislatures of our neighboring states to help them recover from their own recessions.  Surely, the Gov recognized that as these new ventures opened, Delaware would loose its monopoly on gambling.  Or apparently not.  Yesterday, the head of UD Econ Department weighed in with a message that should scare the pants off our Gov - our casinos are not going to recover!   In fact, it appears that our reliance is going to put the permanent squeeze on our state budget.  Don't worry, Jack, you will have exceeded your term limit when the real pain comes to pass.  We'll all be watching when you do the GOP dance and pass the buck along with it to your successor.

 Of course, there continue to be the outliers - Fisker, that's gone belly-up taking our state aid with it and the latest battle over the UD-based data center and its accompanying power plant which has already received the Gov's stamp of approval over a local residential protest of its inappropriate placement. I know, I know. If Jack's mum lived on West Park or in Arbour Park, the proposal would never have reached the light of day.  But, mum lives in the stately burbs of western Newark where the noise and pollution will be far less noticeable. 

“We all want to create jobs,” Markell said. “The one thing we have to do is we have to stop saying no.”  http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013310110050
Yes, yes.  As long as they won't compromise the quality of life that our Gov. lives.  Who gives about a damn about the area residents? In the meantime, Jack's failure of a governorship just put 200 residents of our state out of work.  Hey, maybe that data center and power plant would be better suited for Claymont? Or the Fiskar site? Or even Dover?  But, really, in folks front, side, and back yards?
Category: 2 comments

When TFA needs recruits - They head to CRAIGSLIST!


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
http://delaware.craigslist.org/npo/4102219825.html

'nuff said.
Category: 0 comments

Our Opt Out Update - No News is Good News!


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
It's been one week since we presented letters to each of our children's schools asserting our parental directive to Opt Out of Delaware's High Stakes Testing Program, DCAS, and any additions or replacements that may come down the pipeline.

 Our daughter's charter school went to work immediately and provided a response the first business day following receipt of our letter.

Our son's school principal in the largest school district in the state replied with an acknowledgement and plans to discuss later in the week.  However, we are still waiting for a official response from our district. We are looking forward to discussing our decision and our intentions.

 I have stated this before, but I am compelled to restate it - Our attempts are not adversarial in nature.  Our hope is to work in conjunction with the leadership in each LEA to pave the path for our state to acknowledge the fundemental right of the parent to Opt Out as has occurred in Pennsylvania and California. In these states, parents opt their children out of testing without adverse consequences that punish either the child, the family, or the school, even if the schools dip below 95% participation.

 From:  http://unitedoptout.com/a-how-to-on-opting-out-in-pennsylvania-2/
It’s true. Directly from the PA Code, “If upon inspection of State assessments parents or guardians find the assessment in conflict with their religious belief and wish their students to be excused from the assessment, the right of the parents or guardians will not be denied upon written request to the applicable school district superintendent, charter school chief executive officer or AVTS director.”
Specifically, you must make an appointment with the school to review the PSSA test, sign a confidentiality agreement, review the tests, and write a letter that simply states that participation in PSSAs violates your religious principles. If you’re not sure how PSSAs violate religious principals please be aware that after 10 years of PSSAs childhood anxiety disorders have dramatically risen. Children have been denied a fully comprehensive education. Our children are being used to provide data that will label the child, teacher, school, and community a failure. This data is being sold to Washington think tanks and other data management organizations. Tax money (our money) has been diverted to testing and data management companies instead of schools and children. What religion supports such a system?
 From:  http://unitedoptout.com/state-by-state-opt-out/california/
CA Ed Code 60615. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a parent’s or guardian’s written request to school officials to excuse his or her child from any or all parts of the assessments administered pursuant to this chapter shall be granted.
Even New York, a state similar to Delaware in that there is no designated method to opt-out in the state's laws/regs/codes, the NYC DOE has issued a FAQ that explains what happens if a school fails to attain AYP b/c test participation falls below 95% and it isn't designed to be punitive in nature:
All intervention decisions are based on intensive review of many factors; no intervention would ever be made solely on the basis of the State test participation rate. (The FAQ is published below.)
Of course you're wondering why we haven't posted the response for our older child's school.  We've chosen to withhold that one until we receive the second for the purpose of comparing how these two different LEAs in our state respond to the same request.


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Meeting: They're Not Your Children Anymore!


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
From: https://delawareedreform.eventbrite.com/


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UD Speaks! After 10 yrs of advocacy, UD to finally offer Speech Language Pathology Program!


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
From Lt. Gov Matt Denn's FB Page:
 
Matt Denn
6 hours ago near Wilmington ·
Earlier this week, the University of Delaware faculty senate gave final approval to the school's new graduate program in speech language pathology. We will no longer be the only state in America without such a graduate program, and as a result, we will finally have a steady pipeline of speech therapists doing their clinical hours in our state and ultimately working in our state. We are still years away from our first graduates, but this is a huge step forward in providing critical speech therapy services to our kids. Thanks again to Representative Valerie Longhurst who has been working on this for a decade.
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Fair Test - Federal Consequences of Opting Out


By Elizabeth Scheinberg


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Surprising InBloom Update: Did Markell Pull Delaware Out? Nah, there's no OPTING OUT in Delaware!


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
From the New York Times, http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/business/deciding-who-sees-students-data.html, surprising updates on InBloom, yep, that company that capitalist that claims its been unfairly maligned.  InBloom got a foot up when the feds rewrote the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act to "permit schools to share student data, without notifying parents, with companies to which they have outsourced core functions like scheduling or data management." Only in Delaware, the intention was always really a bastardization of the new regs - DOE feeding our children's data to InBloom who in turn parcels it to the educational product market that converts it to even more data points for our schools to have to buy back.

Rachel Strickland says it well -  “It’s a new experiment in centralizing massive metadata on children to share with vendors,” she said, “and then the vendors will profit by marketing their learning products, their apps, their curriculum materials, their video games, back to our kids.” Of course, Rachel is just a mother, she doesn't even get notified to whom her child's data is shared thanks to those FERPA rewrites that have paved the way for the "innovations" that have led to this huge edu-funding consumptive metafile blob in the sky.

WHEN Cynthia Stevenson, the superintendent of Jefferson County, Colo., public schools, heard about a data repository called inBloom, she thought it sounded like a technological fix for one of her bigger headaches...
InBloom, a nonprofit corporation based in Atlanta, seemed to offer a solution: it could collect information from the district’s many databases and store it in the cloud, making access easier, and protect it with high-level encryption...
“We are joining the new generation of data management,” Dr. Stevenson said enthusiastically in the March issue of “Chalk Talk,” the school district’s newsletter for parents.
She did not imagine that five months later, she would be sitting in a special school board meeting in the district’s headquarters, listening as a series of parents, school board members and privacy lawyers assailed the plan to outsource student data storage to inBloom. What troubled the naysayers at that August session was that the district seemed to be rushing to increase data-sharing before weighing the risks of granting companies access to intimate details about children. They noted that administrators had no policies in place to govern who could see the information, how long it would be kept or whether it would be shared with the colleges to which students applied...
Jefferson County is not the only place where parents have challenged the adoption of inBloom. Parents in Louisiana raised a ruckus after discovering that their children’s Social Security numbers had been uploaded to inBloom. In April, Louisiana officials said they would remove all student data from the database. Of the nine states that originally signed up this year to participate, just three — Colorado, New York and Illinois — are actively pursuing the service....
Quick Link to the Press Release Naming the 9 Original including Delaware:   https://www.inbloom.org/inbloom-launch; leaves the question open - Has Delaware backed away or is our state waiting til the national fights has gone out of the parents?

As far as Dr. Stephenson's district,
concerns about privacy and liability have forced the district to slow down and really think about the use of inBloom. Jeffco’s current service agreement says the data repository doesn’t guarantee that its electronic files on students are not susceptible to intrusion or attack. Other districts in Colorado, and in other states, are closely watching Jeffco as they consider participating themselves. Dr. Stevenson, who was initially reluctant to allow parents to opt out of inBloom, fearing it would be too expensive and technologically cumbersome, recently notified them that they would have that option. On the advice of privacy advocates and parents, she has also revised her original plan to upload student disciplinary data to inBloom.
Dr. Stevenson acknowledges that the district must develop policies to specify which data elements to upload to inBloom and the conditions under which they could be shared with vendors. The district has set up a data management advisory council, which includes some parents who work in data security and compliance. To everyone’s frustration, there are no accepted national guidelines to follow because, until now, K-12 school districts have largely managed their own data storage.
 That means each inBloom client must develop its own policies.

And what all of this means, is that the CSD policy on student data that the CSD news noted last week, doesn't go nearly far enough to notify parents of the potential that their children's data will be shared without notification to them and that the recipients of that personal and identifiable data, though deemed acceptable educational entities by the feds and/or state,  may be private and completely unsecure. 

Would you like a cup'o'jack with that kids social security number?



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National Opt Out Movement Reaches Delaware! Our family says, "No More."


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
Over the last two days, we have taken steps to assert our constitutional right of parental directive in education to opt our children out of Delaware's high stakes testing.  We believe that we are the first to go public with our own personal journey.  We crafted the following letter (and removed that information which would reveal personal information pertinent to our own children) and submitted it to the schools that we have chosen to provide our children with their education. We are parents who have a good rapport with our school leadership and do not enter this endeavor as adversaries.  We do believe that battle over high-stakes testing and its impact on children and public education is one that needs to be fought by parents.  For our family, it is time to say enough!  We will be updating this blog with developments and invite you to read along.  Elizabeth may be contacted directly at montagnebeau@aol.com.  We also invite Delaware's parents to join us in citizen disobedience, a peaceful protest, to protect our children from the negative ramifications of high stakes testing.
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That which has been done, has been done.


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
http://www.libertyforlife.com/religion/suffering_past_lives.html

You make no sacrifice when you rip the heart out of some other being! The teachings of many religions and societies in this regard is obviously completely upside down! Sacrifice is not taking something from someone or some animal, it is giving. The exact opposite of the foolish and idiotic practice of sacrificing animals on an alter. In fact the person who sacrifices a living being on an alter commits and act of pure evil and detracts from their very soul.  The idea that I can slice the neck of a little lamb and all of a sudden all the crime and evil I committed goes out the window is idiotic.  That which has been done, has been done.  You cannot go back in time and undo what you have done, it is done.  Naturally, based on this obvious construct, one should carefully consider what you do cannot be undone.  The message of Christ is not that your evil deeds and sins did not happen, the message is that you can change, you can be born again and live a new life, even on this earth.  From this very moment you can choose to build your soul with love.  Everlasting is built in love, evil eradicates your everlasting. 


C&E 1st Interpretation:

We cannot undo the errors of DOE past.  
We, the constituent, can change the narrative by participating in acts of peaceful civil disobedience to further the effort to fix a bad law/rule/reg/code.

We must be awakened to the call and become the 6 percent!


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UPDATE: Manhunt in SW Newark, DE Leaves Residents out in the Cold


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
UPDATE:  It appears that a reverse 911 notification was sent at 8 pm last night to select neighborhoods within the Newark City Limits.  However, unincorporated Newark did not receive the police advisory.

If you live in the SW area of Newark, where the City limits end and unincorporated Newark begins, you might be feeling a bit out of sorts this morning, especially after reading the morning headline:

At about 9 pm last night, delawareonline did what several police agencies assisting in the manhunt failed to do - it notified online residents of the Welsh Tract/Old Baltimore Pike area that there a suspected killer in their midst.  He is considered Armed and Dangerous.  There continues to be an edict this morning that local residents remain insides their homes.

The event began at 4:15 pm when officers in Cecil County attempted to stop a suspected vehicle.  The driver fled into Delaware, exited his vehicle in the 896 area and escaped by running across I-95.  

The timing is significant - local elementary schools were wrapping up bus rides to home pouring hundreds of children into the local neighborhoods where beautiful weather prompted parents to encourage their children to enjoy Mother Nature's gift of an Indian Summer.

At least one local elementary school held a PTA event from 7 -9 pm, an outside movie, that attracted more than 100 children and their families.  The school is within a 1/2 mile of the search zone.

And while all this went down, there were no phone calls from police agencies to area residents warning them of a dangerous stranger in their midst. 

This is an epic failure.  It's tragic enough that known offenders live among us.  Delaware's police agencies had an obligation to inform us that our safety was at risk and still is.  Afterall, who is really reading the NJ online at 9 pm?  And how many of us were still up at midnight to get the latest update?  

I'm just grateful that today is a day off in the Christina School District.  As it stands, according to delawareonline, the police don't really know or want to say (pick your favorite explanation) whether or not there is still a heightened risk in the area:

The public was asked to stay inside and call 911 with any information. 

This morning, Shavack said he had no new information on the manhunt.

Failure.  A school safety failure.  A community failure.
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"Badass WWII Veterans Storm Memorial on National Mall, Defy Government Shutdown"


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/01/wwii-veterans-memorial_n_4023667.html?ncid=webmail1
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Teacher's End Techno-Cheating


By Elizabeth Scheinberg

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Rumors of Leadership Changes Coming Down the New Moyer Pike


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
Confidential sources reporting in that there's been a shake-up in school leadership...
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Markell-Flavored Koolaid Invades Jobs Market


By Elizabeth Scheinberg



Let's all drink some Jack!

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013309240073

“This is what wakes me up at 4 in the morning,” Markell said. “Recognizing that the environment we’re in is more competitive than ever and my job is to make sure Delaware is competitive as it can be.”
I'm sorry, Guv'nr, but your 29 kool-aid making jobs in Dover won't cure what ails us.
Perhaps if Kool-aid and TFA were to merge and move into Fiskar, you might have something worth defending.
 
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Delaware DOE directed students to call phone sex hotline.


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
Really, all those high paying jobs at the Delaware Department of Education and they didn't budget in a copy editor?
A copy of this year’s edition of the Delaware Scholarship Compendium obtained by the News Journal lists an apparent mistyping of a number for Department of Education’s higher education office — the real number is 1-800-292-7935.
When the number included in the guide is called, an automated message picks up.
“Welcome to America’s hottest talk line,” the message says. “Ladies, interesting and exciting guys are waiting to talk to you; press one now. Guys, hot ladies are waiting to talk to you; press two to connect free.”

Wait! Wait. Wait!  It's not the first time:

Department of Education spokeswoman Alison May said the mistake, which appears in the letterhead at the top of the guide, was a mistake in last year’s letter that got carried into this year.

So, is the state sex line a private venture or will it help lower my taxes? 

And let's all thank the NJ for blowing the lid off another scandal:
   http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130926/NEWS03/309260073/Delaware-scholarship-guide-typo-directs-students-phone-sex-hotline
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We're Back with Slippery Jack!


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
And we all know that the machine will find a way to skate the gov through this scandal like an ice queen after the zamboni smooths the grooves.

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130922/NEWS02/309220051/Illegal-donations-Jack-Markell-s-2008-campaign-discovered
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"You sound like a crazy" Common Core


By Elizabeth Scheinberg

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One Direction - Out! Opt Out!


By Elizabeth Scheinberg

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QoD from Jan. 2001 - And some things never change...


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
Fighting the Tests
A Practical Guide to Rescuing Our Schools
By Alfie Kohn
Don’t let anyone tell you that standardized tests are not accurate measures.  The truth of the matter is they offer a remarkably precise method for gauging the size of the houses near the school where the test was administered.

http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/ftt.htm
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Sen. Townsend Making Plans to Take the DCAS


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
At last night's CSD Board meeting, Senator Bryan Townsend announced that he is planning to take the DCAS!  Sen. Townsend has been working on details with DOE for some time.  But, it looks like his efforts to share the experience of our state's students in high stakes testing is nearing reality!

 Thank You, Senator!
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It's time for Gov. Markell to Take THE TEST! I bet he wouldn't pass it. No sarcasm, here.


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
I'm calling on all of Delaware's Edu-bloggers to run a post DEMANDING THAT GOV. JACK MARKELL TAKE THE 10TH GRADE DCAS and SHARE HIS SCORES WITH THE PUBLIC.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/when-an-adult-took-standardized-tests-forced-on-kids/2011/12/05/gIQApTDuUO_blog.html
A longtime friend on the school board of one of the largest school systems in America did something that few public servants are willing to do. He took versions of his state’s high-stakes standardized math and reading tests for 10th graders, and said he’d make his scores public.

We live in a time when the role of local school board member has been greatly reduced by the overstep of the federal government and its imposition on states' rights.  On face value, that such a board member would take the test is minutia and less than newsworthy.  Unless...

I asked him what he now thought about the tests he’d taken. “I won’t beat around the bush,” he wrote in an email. “The math section had 60 questions. I knew the answers to none of them, but managed to guess ten out of the 60 correctly. On the reading test, I got 62% . In our system, that’s a “D”, and would get me a mandatory assignment to a double block of reading instruction.
Federal validation that local school board members know nothing of which they speak and govern - justification for legislating the control of public education from their foolish hands.
 
He continued, “It seems to me something is seriously wrong. I have a bachelor of science degree, two masters degrees, and 15 credit hours toward a doctorate.
“I help oversee an organization with 22,000 employees and a $3 billion operations and capital budget, and am able to make sense of complex data related to those responsibilities.
Holy shit!  A Bachelors, Two Masters, and credit towards a Doctorate?  This guy must have bought his degrees from some fly-by-night internet diploma mill. Masters and Doctorates?  No legitimate university would convey such degrees on a student who earns nothing more than a "D" and requires double reading blocks to assuage the test-makers.   

What you don't know about this test-taker is a run-of-the-mill schmuck that ed reformers would have you believe of all school board members.  His children are well educated adults. He lives in a nice home in an affluent part of town, owns a condo in the Caribbean and has racked up the frequent flier miles to go with it.  He's well-respected with influential friends, wins his elections by large margins, engages in open dialogue, and is held in high regard by teachers, administrators, unions, and parents. 

 And this part here, what he tells us, sums the millions of reasons that THE TEST is a sham:
“If I’d been required to take those two tests when I was a 10th grader, my life would almost certainly have been very different. I’d have been told I wasn’t ‘college material,’ would probably have believed it, and looked for work appropriate for the level of ability that the test said I had.
So, fellow bloggers, it's time to use our collective voice and demand that our Governor take the DAMN test, himself.  He won't. And if we actually succeed in getting his attention, he'll probably get his gym teacher to take it for him. But, the message is clear - The Test is a Sham.

It's right here, Jack:  https://dept.tds.airast.org/student/Pages/LoginShell.aspx?logout=true

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The Most Amazing Librarian, A Family Matriarch, Sadly Missed, Never Forgotten


By Elizabeth Scheinberg

Biography

Jean V. Beukema, age 96 of the Town of Niagara, formerly of Wilson, died unexpectedly on Friday August 30, 2013 at her son's residence.

Jean was born August 20, 1917 in the Town of Shelby, NY, the daughter of the late Edward and Florence (Sybrant) Van Brocklin. She held a Master's Degree in Library Science and for 20 years was the Chief Research Librarian for the Niagara Library System. On October 25, 1941 she married Leslie V. Beukema in the Universalist Church in Middleport and they moved to Wilson in 1945. Leslie predeceased her on February 27, 2002.

Jean was a member of St. John's Episcopal Church in Wilson and enjoyed traveling.

She is survived by two sons, John (Sandra) Beukema of the Town of Niagara and Thomas (Christine) Beukema of Newark, DE; her grandchildren, Kimberly, Mary, Elizabeth, Theresa, and Patrick; and 10 great grandchildren.

A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, September 7, at 1:00 PM in St. John's Episcopal Church, 431 Lake St., Wilson with the Rev. Judith Lee officiating. There will be no prior visitation. Flowers are gratefully declined. Arrangements have been entrusted to HARDISON FUNERAL HOME, N. Fourth & Ridge Streets, Lewiston. 

In honor of my Grandmother Jean V. Beukema, my son's favorite YouTube Video, appropriately made by the New York State Reading Association:

 
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Moyer Update: Updated: There's nothing new out there...


By Elizabeth Scheinberg
The deadline has come and gone.  The Moyer wait is nearing an end, and yet, this one question remains:  Did New Moyer purchase its' facilities?

 The answer from Alison May (Kepner), DOE spokeswoman:

 We received documentation from them regarding the purchase of the building. Staff is now reviewing it.

As of 7:55 am, New Castle County Recorder of Deeds and the NCCo Dept. of Land Use still show the property as belonging to Reinvestment II, LLC, the company that defaulted on the loans to the mortgager, Reinvestment Fund, Inc - two companies operated by the same principals out of the same address in PA.

If the purchase did occur on August 19, 2013, an expectation previously noted in Moyer docs submitted to DOE, the change in deeds and ownership may yet be in the pipeline of property updates to be made to the County databases.  Thus, the lack of a status change to the NCCo websites is not an indicator that the real estate ownership has not changed hands.

The ultimate deadline still looms - Moyer's lease on the facilities it now occupies is set to expire on Sept. 30th.  Something has to give this month or the school will be homeless.  

 
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