Below is my original, unpublished blog post regarding the CSD's Board of Education's Emergency Meeting.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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Visit the Link and Feel Free to Come Back and Share Your Opinion.

Dear Terri,

You owe the residents of the Christina School District an apology. More so, you should personall extend that apology to individual resident and publicly elected board member John M. Young. 

Your organization, through its twitter account has crossed the line of professionalism and jumped face first into catty-girl-fight.  It's more than a disappointment, it's shameful behavior from an organization that claims to be a strong advocate for public education.

Shameful.

Disclosure:  Thoughts of a former BOE member, gleamed from past experience...

From Delawareonline, posted Friday May 23, 2014, at 3:30 pm:

"The Christina School Board is having an emergency meeting Tuesday to discuss alleged harassment by a board member."   http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2014/05/23/christina-board-meet-harassment-claim/9500235/

District spokeswoman Wendy Lapham said the board is expected to present a resolution "disapproving of an action by an individual board member," but said district staff have not been involved in that resolution's development or presentation.

This may seem kosher to the under-educated eye.  But, there's more here than appears.  School boards seldom operate outside the assistance of their district staff.  Exceptions might include the hiring and/or firing of their own admin or super.  But, one only needs to review the agenda for Tuesday's Emergency Meeting to see that one of two situations is at hand (and neither involve hiring and/or firing district staff):

1. The CSD BOE is trying to get out ahead of a scandal that about to break in the media; 

or

2.  The great divide in the BOE is about to widen, with at least one board member going down, possibly targeted intentionally. 

Since I have the honor of having been educated long before RTTT or Common Core zapped critical thinking skills, I think I'm qualified to pick this posting apart (I'm in Green):

The Christina Board of Education will conduct an Emergency Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, May 27, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. at Gauger-Cobbs Middle School, 50 Gender Road, Newark. The reason a special board meeting must be held on less than seven days’ notice is to address the Board of Education of the Christina School District’s (“Board”) view on a matter of public concern promptly, and before the lack of a response may be construed against the Board. The Board reserves the right to adjourn to Executive Session. 

What constitutes an emergency meeting?  

"Emergency Meetings" are "necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety..." http://delcode.delaware.gov/title29/c100/index.shtml

Actually, I tend to think that if this was a true emergency, the meeting would have been held immediately and not scheduled for four days out after a long holiday weekend....

However, CSD has covered its FOIA bases by explaining that this is a special meeting (although it should technically be noted that it is a "regular meeting of the board" occuring with less than seven days notice.)  Thus any FOIA challenge to the "Emergency-ness" of this meeting is likely to fail.  

The reason... is to address the Board of Education of the Christina School District’s (“Board”) view on a matter of public concern promptly, and before the lack of a response may be construed against the Board.

Here's your meat and this is where we see lessons have been learned.  We need only think back to Zack Christie, the silence that followed his alternative placement, and the public fury that filled that silence.  Straight up:  It appears that one board member has done something that is of "public concern" that other board members feel could reflect upon the full body.  These "innocent" board members are seeking to meet to denounce the action of the rogue member before that action can be construed to reflect upon the "innocents."

Now, I can tell that generally there are no innocents on any school board.  Early on in my term, I used to think to myself, "how on earth am I going to get through four years without their muck rubbing off on me?"  And because these boards are political hotbeds that bring the best and worst out in people, even good ones, I got pretty "mucked." I can look back and say with all honesty, I tried my best, but I made mistakes and there are votes I wish I could take back.

And knowing most of the members elected to the current CSD board, I am confident saying that most have from time to time fallen on the wrong side of "just" and found themselves "mucked." But, I've digressed. 

Tuesday's meeting will be called to order and open with public comment.  This is another key to decoding what's actually happening.  The board is tight-lipped on this topic - even drawing the ire of the DE PTA (although the PTA expressed this pretty shamefully.)  BTW, Terri Hodges, you owe John Young an Apology.

A. CALL TO ORDER 

B. PUBLIC COMMENT

So, we have to ask: Why go into Public Comment immediately when it's clear that this board meeting is not about engaging public discussion but rather condemnation of one of its own? Who will speak during public comment?  If this meeting plays out as expected, the comment period will attract only the accuser or his/her representation.  Which leads one to ask, is the BOE getting ahead of a scandal or creating one? 

C. DISCUSSION AND ACTION UPON ANTICIPATED RESOLUTION DISAPPROVING OF AN ACTION BY AN INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBER

The language is loaded. Contemplation of "disapproving of an action by an individual board member" is really about Censureship.

Definition of censure (n)

Bing Dictionary

• cen·sure
• [ sénshər ]
• 
  

1. disapproval: severe criticism
2. official condemnation: official expression of disapproval or condemnation, e.g. of a legislator by the legislature
3. criticize somebody or something: to make a formal, often public statement of disapproval of somebody or something

  Bing. Bing. Bing. A, B, and C. 

A little extra reading might be due here:

School Board Censure

By Edwin C. Darden
School board members around the nation are admired for their outspoken ways and no-holds-barred defense of sincere beliefs. But sometimes verbal sparring goes too far and triggers a back draft. The collective disapproval of peers --  in this case, fellow board members --  can be communicated via a censure, a reprimand, removal from board posts, or another authorized rebuke.
The offending official usually responds in one of two ways: accept getting burned or fan the flame via legal or administrative proceedings. School boards have a legal or policy right, and sometimes both, to police their own. But members have options in how to go about it.
The scolding can happen informally, such as when the board president or trusted ally takes the person aside for a conversation. Another discreet alternative: Several board members (but not a quorum) perform a private “intervention.”
When admonishment happens formally, however, it usually means the behavior was so egregious or well-publicized that board colleagues feel that a public response is warranted. Formal actions are rare and titillating, and they inevitably spark citizen and media interest. Public shaming also could generate a lawsuit.   http://www.asbj.com/MainMenuCategory/Archive/2010/October/School-Board-Censure.aspx

This is what it all boils down to:  Despite an ongoing internal investigation (noted in the NJ), the board leadership (notice only vice president Polaski spoke with the NJ regarding the meeting) believes the evidence it has is causal to censureship. 

D. ADJOURNMENT

We all know that a meeting this "titillating" won't end at adjournment. A posting like this one serves as an engraved invitation to the media to start digging for dirt on all seven members.  (Which, surprisingly, isn't all that hard to find - can anyone say "legal for gun-play-inspiring-club-house-closing-edu-organization?" Now, that's definitely censure-worthy!)

What does censureship really mean down the road?  Is the board getting ready to diss one of its own and deny them legal representation should he/she be named in a coming lawsuit?  As legal representation is generally an accepted given for school board members.  But, a board could turn on a member and vote to deny them representation.  Is that where CSD is headed?  Will it be the first Delaware district in modern times to take that drastic action?

Because, frankly, what's about to happen, in any case, is pretty damn rare!

From my Overheard Files:

Excellent Teacher (cracking under testing pressure): Joey, you're taking the test again.
Delaware Student:  I've taken it three times!
Teacher:  You missed it by two points.  You're taking the test again.  First thing tomorrow morning.
Student:  Ahhhh, man.

Thank you, Governor, for subjecting Joey to your testing madness! 

The flatbed tractor-trailer was hauling 460 hives of honeybees from Florida to Maine when the load shifted about 6:10 p.m. on the Del. 896 on-ramp to northbound I-95, overturning onto the guard rail, Shavack said.  http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/traffic/2014/05/20/truck-carrying-bees-overturns-on-95-on-ramp/9348173/

OMG!  Swarms of bees!  20 million buzzing bodies hovering in and around I-95.  And the driver was cited with having an unsafe load?  Really?  What about speeding, inattentive driving, toll evasion?

That's right, lovelies, the very one and (thank god) only Dr. John Mackenzie, aka Referendum Man, is back in the saddle and ready to ride!  Yippeee!

J. Mack is on the attack and looking for some Senatorial luv'n.  Hello??? 22nd District, he's courting you! I bet he's already dreamt up his next spandex clad super hero - defender of the WC Creek Watershed!

(God help the Dems.)

This is not Mackenzie’s first time running for state legislature. In 2008, he ran as the Democratic candidate for state Senate and was one percent short of winning, translating to 366 votes. Prior to the race, Mackenzie served seven years on the Christina School Board––an elected position––over a decade ago.  -- The Review, UD, http://udreview.com/2014/05/12/professor-turns-retirement-into-race-for-state-legislature/

Now, J. Mack, no fair prematurely aging your boardmates! 
                                          We both know that it's been less than a decade!

Waiting for an endorsement, are you?  Putting your money down that I'll pick Young?

Oh, the stories I could tell you about that guy!  


Vote in Delaware's School Board Elections:
                 
                      May 13, 2014
                      10 am to 8 pm
                      Your local polling place
                      

Since the debut of Clue, the Delaware Way, we've been inundated with support from several well-positioned and some well-respected politicians and lobbyists.  So, here's a big shout-out to our frosty-loving fans, playing along at home. (Confidential to Earl - no, we are not releasing a playing card edition of the game, Sorry.) (Confidential to Greg F. - if you don't stop sending me Friend Requests, I'm going to report you as a nuisance to The FaceBook.)

As far as our game goes, apparently, there will be no Jennings in the cellar with a syringe.  Late last week, the respected prosecutor declined Jack's invitation to the dinner at Woodburn - falling into political line behind the lame duck Governor. As it appears that the Dems will not primary for the candidacy of Attorney General, and with no Republican candidate in sight, Denn has a straight shot. 

That should be the end of our game, but things in Delaware are never what they seem. And while Jack busies himself crafting a menu fit for kings, importing the finest water Beck's Woods Reservoir has to offer and promising Vlasic pickles among an array of indiginous fish, he's still setting the table for six...


Who will be next to join the party? 

Comment Rescue from Kilroys:

minnehanh, on March 7, 2014 at 7:48 pm said:
Two candidate race in Christina also for John Young’s seat. John is running for re-election and some guy named Martin Nicholson is challenging him.

Reply

• Pencadermom, on March 7, 2014 at 9:50 pm said:

  Martin Nicholson? Well, there goes my idea of searching students for guns!!
  
• Pencadermom, on March 7, 2014 at 9:53 pm said:

  Unless I vote for John. hhmm , what to do.. what to do..
  
• John Young, on March 7, 2014 at 11:10 pm said:

  my #1 all time hope: Rodel jumps in for my opponent.
  Please Paul, make that happen. Please.
  
• John Young, on March 7, 2014 at 11:11 pm said:

  my 2nd all time hope: Rodel does it with a 501(c)(4).
  Pretty please with sugar on top!

Transfers/Promotions:

Katherine Villari, Acting Chief Officer, Delivery Unit, effective January 1, 2014

 https://eboard.eboardsolutions.com/Meetings/ViewMeetingOrder.aspx?S=190001&MID=320

 

 Hey Darryl Scott -

You really want her working in DOE?  Isn't she as tainted as Mr. Young? 

 http://transparentchristina.wordpress.com/

Get off the sand bags Larry, Darryl and Darryl, and get into the flood with your former colleagues - the ones who actually care about public education!

Rather Appropo!

You've probably noticed - the huge decrease in new posts...

The Good News:  I've gone back to work!  And in the field I love most - education.
(Please no comments, I'm not pandering for attention.)

The Sad News:  My new job has me so busy that I can't keep up.

It's been a good run, five or so years strong.  We've generated more than 165,000 hits . And while that number can't compete with Transparent Christina or Kilroy's Delaware, it's still a respectable showing. And of course, blogging has never been about competition - it's about telling the story - the whole story - usually with the help of fellow bloggers.  We've certainly attained that goal. 

No, Children & Educators 1st is not going away.  But, we are going dormant. It's time for a long mid-winter's nap.  With any luck, we'll see you in the spring.

Sweet Dreams!

From:  http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20140126/NEWS02/301260055/Where-Markell-getting-500-million-road-projects-

"Delaware motorists could see higher taxes and fees to help pay for a $500 million five year proposal from Gov. Jack Markell to improve roads and bridges statewide..."

And this from:  http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014301230087

"The governor said he was working with teachers, including the Delaware State Education Association, on a plan that he hopes to introduce this spring. Cathy Rossi, Markell’s spokeswoman, said there would be no pay increase in the budget for next year; any proposal would apply to future years..."

So here's the question of the day:  

Should we spending money on roads and bridges while leave teachers who work in high needs schools high and dry?  

If education is to be the great equalizer that reformers claim it to be, shouldn't we be investing in our educators and classrooms? Remember:  Not so long ago, DOE rejected CSD's plan to compensate teachers in high needs schools by making RTTT funds available to them for extra professional development or teaching enhancements like technology. 

So, which is it, Roads or Education?  Markell apparently prefers bridges to kids.

After decades of forced busing, that mechanism by which both city schools and suburban schools were integrated by race and economics, and ten years after the turmoil caused by said busing has been dismantled, Wilmington's City Council President, Theo Gregory, the former head of Old-Moyer forcibly removed by the state, makes it quite clear that those students who are raised in the suburbs are not welcome in his city's charter schools. 

Speaking about the new Community Education Building - soon to be the home of four charter schools - Gregory has this to say: 

“I want to see this commitment that many or most of these kids are going to be urban kids because you’re using our conduit bonds to do this,” Gregory said.

The News Journal goes on to explain:

...Gregory and other city leaders want more assurances that the schools housed in the building will serve mostly city kids. If the tower becomes the ideal learning environment organizers have described, they fear it would be possible for suburban kids to be attracted to it.

 (Bold, Underline, and Red added by Blogger.)

That's one hell of a Welcome to Wilmington!

Yes, the City extended its conduit bond financing to the renovations of the CEB building, allowing the construction to occur at a reduced interest rate while the city assumes none of the debt nor ownership.  That was certainly a kindness.  

However, and it's a big "however," the education of all children served in the City of Wilmington is primarily supported by suburban tax payers. 

Theo forgets that that his city lacks the wealth to support its own traditional school district and that the majority of local funds that follow students from the traditional school districts into charters, regardless of the location of the charter, are generated out in the suburbs. 

Theo wants my tax dollars.  But, he doesn't want my kids.  I'm not all right with that, but I certainly won't tread where I am not welcome.  So, while urban students will continue to receive my tax dollars (and I am more than okay with that because I believe that education is the most deserving Government Entitlement Program ever created) Theo's City won't see another dime out of me, no parking revenue, no shopping revenue, no entertainment revenue.

I hope Theo's conduit bond financing keeps him and his residents warm at night, 'cause next time I get that urban itch - City of Philadelphia/Baltimore/Newark/New York/D.C., here I come! 

(Some politicians really have a knack for sticking both feet in their mouths.)

Under Lillian Lowery, DOE failed to close Reach.  Now, under the direction of Markell's water boy, Sec. of Education Murphy, DOE has again failed to shutter the only public school in our state that serves girls and only girls.

The department just can't learn - which is mildly ironic as DOE claims Reach's students aren't being taught.  Regardless, buried in the briefings filed just days before federal Judge Leonard P. Stark gave Reach another year to operate, the department stayed true to form when it slipped in the following Bully Card:

The court’s final ruling could be significant beyond Delaware. The Delaware Department of Education noted in a Dec. 30 court filing that a ruling in Reach’s favor “rendering this federal regulation facially unconstitutional would greatly affect the interests of the United States Department of Education. In addition to there being no support for such a ruling, it is questionable that the Court should do so without participation of the U.S. DOE in this suit.”  http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20140105/NEWS03/301050051/Reach-Academy-stay-open-next-year

Reread the graf above!

Oh! yes, they did. DOE's legal eagles asserted that if Judge Stark found for Reach that:

1.  The federal regulation that gives the DOE the ability to close schools would be declared unconstitutional, 
2.  The ruling would "greatly affect the interests of the" US DOE,
3.  The court really shouldn't rule without the participation of the US DOE. 

Yep, our little DOE actually thought that its status quo attack method of bullying would work on the US federal court. 

They just can't learn.

Hat's off to Reach for virtually rendering DOE's precious high stakes tests meaningless.  And thank you to Judge Stark who did not crumble despite the threats that he was undoing all of democracy. 
 

Kilroy's baking a cake (he broke the egg in Reach Story) - Get all the gooey goodness here:

http://kilroysdelaware.wordpress.com/2014/01/04/breaking-u-s-district-court-favors-reach-academy/

In this latest twist, Reach wins a one year reprieve as DOE is ordered by the US District Court of Delaware to permit the school to continue operating with "reasonable conditions."  However, parts of the suit were thrown out although the adjudicator opined a route for Individuals to pick-up the suit where it has been determined that Reach itself, as an entity of the state, cannot sue the state.

Okay, girls, you've scored a goal and left your opponent, Gov. Markell,  along with his hand-picked minion of public education destruction, the DE Sec. of Education, a pair of black eyes.  They are re-grouping and you can bet the aforementioned restrictions are going include some doozies.  While it's important to mark this date with celebration, you can't let your win knock you off your game.  You and I both know that student testing data - specifically whatever high-stakes test they throw at you - are your challenge.  And even though those of us with even a little bit of common sense know that those tests are meaningless as an assessment of student learning (they only measure what you've learned if you can express that knowledge in the manner the test demands - and these tests are in no way indicators of the quality of the actual teaching you are receiving), you're are going have to find a way to game that test if you are to have any hope of a 2015-16 school year.

Good Luck!

Sixteen-year-old D’Andre Green was outside the Brookside Community Center late Saturday with his best friend, waiting for a ride to pick them up, when shots rang out and everyone scattered. The bullet did not hit the gunman’s intended target, but instead cut down the unsuspecting teenager, according to the victim’s father.

In the hours after the news of D'Andre Green's murder, the comment section on the News Journal filled with posts about crime and gun violence and its creep from the City of Wilmington to local suburbs.

There's is no denying it - the City of Wilmington has a per capita gun violence and murder rate that has thrust it into the top 1% of most violent places to live or visit.  In fact, Wilmington has been at critical mass for several years.  Meanwhile calls for intervention have been largely ignored.  It's clear that the City itself lacks the resources to maintain peace, even its Mayor has failed to produce a detailed plan for intervention, despite running a platform that promised to reduce violence.  And its city council recently sent a Hail Mary shot to the Center for Disease Control begging for assistance in addressing their crime pandemic.

But, Wilmington isn't the only Delaware city facing higher than average crime statistics.  D'andre Green was murdered in Newark while waiting for a ride home.  He was an innocent bystander and not an intended victim.  He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  He was in Brookside, 3.9 square miles and one of Newark's roughest neighborhoods. 

The locals will tell you that Brookside is far from surburban paradise.  Although originally built to house workers for the now dismantled Chrysler plant, the current neighborhood carries a bit of a reputation for crime, drugs, violence, and poverty. However, it would be unfair to fail to mention that there are small enclaves within the 4 miles that comprise the census designation tract of respectful, friendly, caring residents. 

Brookside's challenge is its central location in Newark, DE, a city a with crime rate similar to the Dover, Milford, and Seaford, and a violence rate that according to the FBI exceeds the national norm.  While Newark still pales when compared to Wilmington, the reality is that what appears to be an increase of crime within the suburbs likely has little to do with sprawling urban violence.  Newark's violence isn't something new.  It's just something that is seldom publicized - which likely makes Newark even less safe than Wilmington.  Folks going into Wilmington know what they are putting on the line.  Folks coming to Newark often think they are heading somewhere "safe" and they let their guard down.  They stand at the end of long lane waiting for a ride.  They end up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Wilmington's problem isn't just Wilmington's problem.  Violence is a statewide problem - one our Governor has failed to address, year after year, over two terms. It's time for Markell to put his money where his mouth is and declare war on violence and crime.  Delawarean's deserve better. Certainly, D'andre did. 

1950s Construction of Either Brookside Shopping Center or Brookside Elementary School

We see them often enough - Gold Alerts - issued for a special class of the missing: the elderly, the disabled, and those at risk for suicide.  Gold Alerts work like Amber Alerts - they cause us to be more aware of the people around us as we go about our day. If the alert works, someone thinks they may have seen the missing person and calls the police.  That tip may be the tip that brings a family member home.

We hope it's never you or yours - because this Gold Alert hits especially close to home - the uncle of our son's friend.  If you've seen Dale or think you might have seen Dale sometime since December 19th, please call it in to the police.  Please help us bring Dale back to his family.

From the News Journal: http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131226/NEWS/312260058/Police-seek-help-locating-missing-Glasgow-man

Police seek help locating missing Glasgow man

Dec. 26, 2013 9:39 AM   |  

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131222/NEWS03/312220037/Teaching-sick-children-boosted-by-tablet-gift

...the school serves a tiny student body with unique needs. Its students all have some kind of major medical condition that makes attending a regular school difficult or impossible.“Most of our students would be home-bound if they weren’t here,” said Coleen O’Connor, the Fist State School’s director...

The First State School is generally unknown to most.  I had my first knowledgeable introduction to the school when a friend found her daughter a candidate for the program.  It's made all the difference for our Maura Grier, who in her own right is a quite an amazing young lady with an amazing family to match, and whom the NJ article highlights:

But the equipment is especially helpful in dealing with some of the symptoms the First State students have to overcome if they are to learn.
Take Maura Grier, who’s in 7th grade. She has several health issues, including a connective tissue disorder that makes many of her joints and limbs weak.
Maura’s mom, Colleen, says the tablets allow her to read and watch educational videos in the positions that are most comfortable for her.
“If she isn’t feeling well, she can work from any position. She’s supposed to keep her head straight as often as possible, so she can set the tablet up on books so that it’s basically at eye-level,” she said. “It’s so light that she can carry it with her and put it where she needs it to be. You can’t read a book like that, and you certainly can’t write like that.”  

Writing can be painful for Maura, especially if she has to do a lot of it. So typing on an iPad presents a huge advantage.“If I have to write a lot, my hands start to hurt. I get frustrated and it’s hard to concentrate,” she said. “I just can’t learn very well like that.”

And since the general fiscal year is not quite at a close and we know many of you are still contemplating your your end-of-year write-offs - here's our endorsement of the school and it's directors pitch for donations:

It’s a huge advantage for our teachers, because they can take one student aside and work with them individually while the others work at their own pace on the tablets,” O’Connor said.Ideally, the school would have a tablet for every student, though they’re getting by now by sharing. Potential donors can help by visiting starlight.org and clicking on the “Starlight Wish Lists” tab.

From the News Journal:  http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131220/NEWS/312200041/Klan-group-gather-Cecil-County-tonight

By now, y'all know that I was feral child, who enjoyed the freedom and safety of rural childhood. I spent the first 10 years of my life living in the back woods of Cecil County, Maryland.  Back then, our address was 301 Beggars Row Rd.  (Street name has since been changed) the one and only conduit to Elkton's 5th Avenue - And yes, Elkton, MD has a 5th Avenue.  5th Avenue was a dirt lane that ended in large gravel cul-de-sac. 

When you grow-up rural, you live by the sun and the moon.  We could count on the nearby stream to nurse bullfrogs for catching and the old oak woods to leaf up each spring, always ripe for exploring.  While our house had real plumbing, several of the home owners still relied on out-houses.  A nearby farmer once brought my mother a just-slaughtered chicken to cook for Thanksgiving.  (We weren't just rural, we were poor.)

I grew-up oblivious to our poverty, a childhood filled with mostly fond memories.  But, there is one particular memory that I have never been able to shake - what happened on 5th Avenue.  Beggar's Row Road was generally a quiet and peaceful place.  But, at least once a month, as dusk settled across the farmland and forests, a caravan of cars and motorcycles sped down the lane and turned onto 5th Avenue destined for the gravel dead-end - for their regular KKK gathering. It was on these nights that my parents kept us - all five children - very close to home. In fact, all five of us were put on notice early on that we were to never go down 5th Avenue.

So, it is with a heavy heart that I read the NJ article.  It's been more than 25 years since our family left Beggar's Row Road to call Delaware home.  Yet, it seems that no matter how much things change, they tend to stay the same.

The Klan will march in Elkton, their right is guaranteed by the constitution.  They will cloak their message of hate through their mastery of peaceful protest. But, there is something we can do about it - we can ignore them.  Because negative attention is positive attention and no attention at all is even better than negative attention.

 From:  http://keepreachopen.wordpress.com/

PTO Message on Rally for Reach!!
On Thursday November 21, 2013 at 6:00, we will be Rallying at Reach Academy for Girls 170 Lukens Drive, New Castle, DE. We anticipate that there will be media in attendance. Show our girls that Reach matters!!
Wear pink, make a sign, show your support.  You know these girls are learning or you wouldn’t have them at Reach!
Reach Academy  Parents we need you. Our voices need to be heard, 468 students need you to speak out for them. Every one of us has a story of why we are at Reach Academy. You may think yours is not significant, but it is. Write your story down with as many details and facts as possible.

• Maybe your story is that your feeder school is bad and if you choice your daughter, you would have to provide transportation for her to get to a better school, but you can’t. Since Reach has bus service your daughter is able to have a better opportunity at Reach Academy.
• Maybe your daughter had given up on school or even herself and Reach has given her the love and support she needs to try harder and achieve more.
• Maybe your daughters test scores were worse than they are now and though they may not be Meeting proficiency yet you have seen great growth.
• Maybe your daughter experienced something unusual while she was taking the test.
• Maybe you just like that we are an all-girls school.

• It doesn’t matter what your story is they need to hear from ALL of us.

BRING your story with you
Also
 Mail, e-mail or personally deliver it to anyone in power in our state there is a list on the Reach website of just a few under “what’s news”. There are many other people you could send it to that you may know, lawyers, judges, state representative, Joe Biden, other educators that are for our school, definitely Governor Markel. Someone out there knows someone and no one is insignificant!!!
Do not give up!! Your girls need you to fight for them. They need you to stand behind the CHOICE that you make to send your daughter to Reach Academy For Girls.
 You may be that one voice they need to hear from!
BE THERE!

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan told a group of state schools superintendents Friday that he found it “fascinating” that some of the opposition to the Common Core State Standards has come from “white suburban moms who — all of a sudden — their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were and their school isn’t quite as good as they thought they were.”  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/11/16/arne-duncan-white-surburban-moms-upset-that-common-core-shows-their-kids-arent-brilliant/

Dear Mr. Duncan,

I'm going to say what all mothers are thinking today.  I might use some allegory, allusions, maybe even some three syllable words.  As the son of the founder of the Sue Duncan Children's Center, created in 1961 by a Caucasian woman in the urban, poor predominantly African American Hyde Park district of Chicago, I think, if you just bear it out to the end, you'll get the point.

Kindly go fornicate yourself, preferably not in the public spotlight this time.  When you're finished, please throw away your socks, don't wad them up and toss the ball into the hamper for your white surbuban mom, Sue, to wash.  That would be terribly disrespectful.

Let's get to your meat, Mr. Duncan.  You're 'fascination with "white suburban moms" really has nothing to do with us - moms of any kind, urban, country, suburban, and striped.  However, your choice of words - and don't think for one second that we believe your utterance was accidental - actually says a lot about you and what's happening in your psyche.
 
We have already shared the legacy your mother has beget to you - a history that, according to you, was frought with threats and firebombs.   And it must have difficult to play second fiddle to your father's, Starkey, research - a philosopher  researcher who buried himself in social non-verbal interactions.

And somewhere along the line, it all fell apart, didn't it?  Mom and Dad, each submerged in his and her own work... the marriage that succumbed to competing interests. Your own words tell us that you are still holding on to some resentment for childhood experiences missed.

You don't really have a problem with "white suburban moms." You take issue with "educated women." Yes, your three words, "white suburban moms" are code for my two words, "educated women," women who through their hard work (and the collective work of the family) are able to support their household on one income. You despise these women because, despite this hard work, they have found the time invest themselves in education advocacy. And if you want to get right to the hard and dirty - you hate them because they are what you claim children need - involved parents. These mothers resemble your own - a woman so deeply involved in the lives of other children that she sometimes neglected the psychological needs of her own.

The meat, Mr. Duncan, is that you had the opportunity to redefine public education and instead you embraced a Bush-ian education agenda to privatize education.  It is a two-part plan that began with making a civil right into a competition. You counted on the under-educated urban masses to embrace your reform word game.  You called their schools failures and swore those failures belonged to the adults - not the children.

Remember the lovely speech you gave at your confirmation hearing:

I come to this work with three deeply held beliefs.
First, that every child from every background absolutely can be successful. Rural, suburban, urban, gifted, special ed., ELL, poor, minority -- it simply doesn't matter. When we -- when we -- when we, as adults, do our job and we give them opportunities to succeed, all of children can be extraordinarily successful.
Secondly, maybe the flip of that, when we fail to properly educate children, we as educators, we perpetuate poverty and we perpetuate social failure. And that's not something that I want to be a part of.
And third, our children have one chance -- one chance at a quality education, so that we must work with an extraordinary sense of urgency. Simply put, we cannot wait because they cannot wait.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/19/AR2009011901116_5.html

Hard to believe the same man that uttered these eloquent, albeit inaccurate words, would later and very publicly, disparage mothers - mothers like your own.  

Phase I was relatively easy.  You were counting on a certain demographic - the pure opposite of "white suburban moms" to be so detached from their children's education, to be so under-educated, that they could never mount a cogent argument against your plan - your competition. Call schools that serve the urban poor failures.  Blame the educated masses - primarily women - that were working within those schools.  Close these now-deemed failing schools and empower profitable charter schools to replace them. Rather succinctly, it all fell into place when you were directing the Ariel Education Initiative.  How very capitalist of you. In fact, you thought you pretty much had this one wrapped up in a rubber with shiny bow.

Phase II - Implement Common Core Standards across all schools, not just the ones that you've deemed failing.  With full scale implementation of a national curriculum that is not developmentally appropriate and the aligned high-stakes testing, these more affluent schools will earn themselves the failing label as well.  Check the label, wash out the "public" part of education and spin in some charters and vouchers.  

Only this phase has proven more difficult to implement.  You've encounter women like your own mother - educated women who simply cannot sit out on the sidelines and let politics and capitalists destroy public education - women who see through your agenda and are willing to fight for all children, not just their own. Women who recognize that education is a civil right and not a competition.

Facts are facts, Arne.  And when a high-powered idiot such as yourself make comments as  incomprehensible as yours, it's usually indicative of a chink the armor.  You chink is your resentment of your educated and empowered mother. 

How very, very sad.

Whoopee!  My little guy is thrilled!  He'll be at the school-wide barn dance while his teachers are playing PLC!  Thank you, Gov. Markell.  Thank you for wasting my child's time, his teacher's time, the admin's time.  Cause there's nothing like a good ole fashioned hoe-down during the school day!

Yeah, and you want to make me make my kid take the test after you've taken away his learning time?  

God Save Us All!

I'm not sure that many in the K-12 educational set know of Dr. Scott Mackler.  I didn't know him as Dr. Mackler.  He was my neighbor in Oaklands during my childhood.  Husband, father, soccer coach, swim team dad.  Consummate community member. If you didn't know him, you might not have never noticed Scott.  And if you never noticed him, I'm very sad for you.

Scott's work made him famous. At the Perelman School of Medicine at UPenn, he was reknowned for teaching medical students, residents, post doctoral fellows, nurses and other Penn faculty in many different departments in the area of substance abuse.  Dr. Mackler was remarkable as a brilliant researcher who studied the science of addiction.

But, he was inspirational to me and many others for far more than his work -

When Scott was only 40, he was diagnosed with Lou Gerhigs Disease, also known as ALS. This husband, father, respected neuro-researcher could run a marathon in three and half hours, yet his nerves were slowly degenerating, with his body betraying his brain.  Eventually, Scott would become "locked in,"
his amazing brain functioning at its prime while his body was nearly paralyzed.  Scott and his family took the challenges as they came.  And if there was ever a family that would defeat ALS, it appeared the Mackler family would.  Scott exceeded every expectation.  He wasn't going to succumb in five years like most of those with this terminal diagnosis.  And it was in Scott's honor that Newark celebrated its 14th 5K Walk/Run for ALS this past October - adding to the more than $1 million raised by this family to ensure all people with ALS have access to adapted communication technology.

In 2009, Scott was featured on CBS' "60 Minutes." His mobility and conventional communication stolen, Scott was utilizing then-cutting edge technology to facilitate communication which enabled him to continue his work  in his beloved Perelman lab.  And he was still there last April, 15 years after his formal diagnosis.  And I think he would have been there today, if he hadn't lost his fight late Wednesday night.

My dad called this morning.  Scott Mackler has left us.  His facebook page bears this message,

It is with an incredibly heavy and sad heart that we pass on word that Scott passed away last night, after a brave 15-year battle with ALS. We are comforted by your messages; it inspires us to hear how Scott inspired you.

Early on, Scott recorded this voice message for his sons, ""I know the future holds lot of love and joy and pride and that life goes on and I'll be watching you along the way and I love you very much and I'll see ya."  While Lou Gehrigs takes most voices, Scott would not let this disease take his.  

Yes, Scott was remarkable, not for having ALS, but for fighting for his future when ALS threatened to take it.  I have often thought of Scott during the last 12 years, since the gift of my daughter whose own voice is constrained by autism.

This little post won't do Dr. Mackler justice.  I can't pretend to try.  But, as I go into this night, my heart is with his family, the neighbors.  When you wake-up tomorrow, be sure to use your voice.  You don't know how blessed you are.

For some reason, four hundred (and change) families have chosen to send their children to Reach Academy despite poor high stakes testing scores. Maybe it's b/c they know the test is bogus. Yesterday, the state dealt the death knell to Reach and ordered the charter closed at the end of this school year.

I am struck by one particular thought regarding the families that found value in Reach.  Your school is closing because your children took a high stakes test and failed.  According to an arbitrary measuring system, DCAS, your children failed to express the content knowledge they had gleamed from their teachers.  This does NOT mean that your children did not learn, that your teachers did not teach, or that your school leadership could not lead.  

Reach parents, Opt Out Now.  No school in Delaware or this nation has ever been closed because students did not take "the test."  As you now know, first-hand, schools are closed because students do take "the test." 

Now, Delaware claims that it does not have a mechanism for opting out.  But, that does NOT mean you can't do it.  Today, opting out in Delaware is a form of civil disobedience, a method of protest, and technically a right, called parent directive, as defined in the constitution and affirmed by case law.  Yet, the state will tell that you can't opt out.  There is a way around it - find out when your child  is scheduled to take "the test," you know, the one that just obliterated your school.  Then keep you child home on the testing days. 

Fearful? You've already lost your school.  What more can the state take from you?  They cannot punish your children. They cannot punish you.  They may try to frighten you.  But, what else is there to loose?  Really?  

Reach Parents, Opt-Out.  You may not be able to save your school, but you can make your voices heard. 
Opt. Out.

For those who may want to participate:

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

Data Service Center? We've heard of charters "creaming" students - whether you believe it or not.  But, now we have Third Party Vendors trying "cream" the charters?  Really? What's next?  Scratch that. I don't want to know.

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

I have sent the following letter to the Lt. Gov, Sec. of Ed Mark Murphy, and DOE PIO. And, yes, I'm hot and horrified that the state DSC is attempting to subvert the enrollment of certain Delaware charter schools. (Yeah, I know, I'll be told this whole thing was an error, it was the website.  DE hired a Canadian company that had been fired by Canada when if goofed up their school choice application process.) I was wrong, but it was a 3rd party vendor and that's pretty wild, too.

While we wait for a response, I urge you all to go ahead and try to choice your child, real or imaginary, into a Delaware charter school that exists and is open to enrollment and has been excluded from the state's DSC website for common application.  Go ahead, try to choice...  www.schoolchoicede.org. 

Dear Ms. May,

I writing in hopes that the department can answer some school choice questions.

Last night, I reviewed schoolchoicede.org, the website that appears to be created by the Data Service Center to facilitate school choice using the common application.  This following statement is on the website:


View School Choice Application for a comprehensive list of participating School Districts and Charter School

When I clicked "View School Choice Application" for a "comprehensive list of participating School Districts and Charter Schools" I was surprised to learn that the charter school of my choice was not listed.  In fact, there appear to be several charter schools left off of the state's website. 

I will note for you that Title 14, Chapter 4 states:

§ 403. Pupil application; withdrawal.

Thus, I am compelled to ask:

1. Why does the website state that the list contained therein is "comprehensive" when it clearly is not?
2. Why is the state engineering the choice process by directing parents to only some charter schools and not all? 
3. How will the state compensate the parents who have already completed their applications, blind to the schools left off the website?
4. How will the state compensate those charters who will experience decreased applications b/c the state the left them off the website?
5. How many choice applications have been processed by the website to date?
6. Why were some charter schools disenfranchised from the school choice process?
7. Does the state realize that this website implies that the charters not listed on it are not open for enrollment next year?

Sincerely,

Elizabeth A. Scheinberg
Tax Payer

What did DOE say:


-----Original Message-----
From: May Alison
To: montagnebeau ; Murphy Mark ; Denn Matthew
Sent: Thu, Nov 7, 2013 11:28 am
Subject: RE: School Choice

Thank you for reaching out and providing us the 

opportunity to clarify this for 
you.

The charter schools listed on the DSC website are only 

the charters that are using the DSC services. 

The SchoolChoiceDE.org website states:

SchoolChoiceDE.org provides you with a central 

location to submit a Choice application for 

participating public School Districts and Charter 

Schools in Delaware. SchoolChoiceDE.org allows you to 

apply to the school of your choice, edit your existing 

application(s) as needed and monitor the status of your 
application(s) throughout the Choice process.

View School Choice Application for a comprehensive 

list of participating School Districts and Charter Schools.

This web site is not the State's website.  The State's 

website is 
http://www.doe.k12.de.us/infosuites/schools/choice.shtml

Alison

From Parents of Christina, http://www.parentsofchristina.org/2013/10/sometimes-for-doe-silence-is-answer-of.html?showComment=1383758533518#c871259923039927943

Sometimes for the DOE Silence is the Answer of Choice

Sometimes the clearest answer someone can give is silence. After all when you ask a question that requires a straightforward response the lack of such a response speaks loud and clear.

Reknowned blog commenter, Publius, has gone AWOL.

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