CCSS, Ferguson, murder, and undeserving children

I couldn’t agree more with Ken on this. He hit the nail on the head with this. Common Core does nothing but put profits in people’s pockets. We need to stop this shameful abuse of ALL students. I have no doubt that in a hundred years, people will look at this period of time as an end to the abuses that were inflicted on the parts of society that deserve way more than they are receiving. In my lifetime I have witnessed many changes, but none more profound than the attempt of the wealthy to eliminate the middle class. If the wealthy keep inflicting abuses on those “below” them, society will rise up and take back what is theirs. It has happened time and time again in history, and it WILL happen again. The best way to end these abuses is to get rid of CCSS and high-stakes testing and have the wealthy be not so wealthy so the money is fairly allocated to all members of society.

Reclaim Reform

What lesson is being taught to all of us by the abusive treatment and slaughter of young, black males in various locations across the nation?

Suburban Ferguson is the latest site of slaughter and police-state overreaction when “order” is disrupted after a police performed murder. Michael Brown is dead; he was murdered.

By now we must realize that for over a decade corporate education reform has demeaned children who are not college bound for whatever reason. As a matter of fact, even if the child is college bound, he or she may remain within a social profile marked as a failure. Poverty, race, gender, social status and other factors are cited as data for failures.

The failures of No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and all brands of Common Core State Standards compliant high stakes tests are children.

Children labeled as failures presently seem to others as undeserving…

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Charter School Accountability & Transparency in Delaware: How Do They Rate? #netde #eduDE @KilroysDelaware @ed_in_de @TNJ-malbright

Delaware charter schools are required to do the following on their school websites: Post monthly Board meeting minutes, post monthly Board meeting agendas, post a calendar of future Board meetings, and post their monthly financial statement.  I went through every single active charter school in Delaware to see if they were keeping up with these regulations. 

Since it is the summer, I am giving a little bit of leeway.  Many schools did not have Board meetings in July, which I have indicated if noted on the website.  Financial information is required to come out monthly, so if there is no June information, they were not in compliance.  Agendas are required to be posted on the website 10 days prior to the next scheduled Board meeting.  Board meeting minutes are approved at the next scheduled board meeting, so most of the schools should have June board meetings posted unless there was no meeting in July.  If they are out compliance on any given section, I have put that in Bold Italic format.  I have also listed if they have their 2014-2015 budget on their website.  While this is not a requirement, it is helpful to parents to know the financial viability of the schools they picked in a choice decision.  Sadly, only one charter school had their 2015 budget listed on their website.  Great job Campus Community!

Academy of Dover: Grade F (no minutes for 9 months, sorry AoD, but you are WAY out of compliance)

Minutes: October 2013

Agenda: only states there is Board meeting scheduled for August 29th

Calendar of Meetings: No

Financials: June 2014

2015 Budget: No

 

ASPIRA Academy: Grade A

Minutes: May 2014

Agenda: June 2014 (no meeting in July)

Calendar of Meetings: Yes

Financials: June 2014

2015 Budget: No

 

Campus Community: Grade D (would have been F but had 2015 budget)

Minutes: May 2014

Agenda: May 2014

Calendar of Meetings: No

Financials: May, 2014

2015 Budget: Yes

 

Charter School Of Wilmington: Grade F- (gets the minus for amount of time not posting minutes, shame on you)

Minutes: April 2014

Agenda: June 2014

Calendar of Meetings: No

Financials: May 2014

2015 Budget: No

 

Delaware Academy of Public Safety and Security: Grade B

Minutes: May 2014 (no June meeting)

Agenda: none listed by month, shows “Standard Agenda” for all meetings

Calendar of Meetings: Yes

Financials: June 2014

2015 Budget: No

 

East Side Charter School: Grade A

Minutes: June 2014

Agenda: July 2014

Calendar of Meetings: Yes

Financials: June 2014

2015 Budget: No

 

Family Foundations Academy: Grade D

Minutes: April 2014

Agenda: May 2014

Calendar of Meetings: No

Financials: June 2014

2015 Budget: No

 

Gateway Lab School: Grade B

Minutes: June 2014

Agenda: July 2014

Calendar of Meetings: Yes

Financials: May 2014

2015 Budget: No

 

Kuumba Academy: Grade B

Minutes: June 2014 (No July Meeting Held)

Agenda: June 2014

Calendar of Meetings: No

Financials: June 2014

2015 Budget: No

 

MOT Charter School: Grade C

Minutes: April 2014

Agenda: August 2014

Calendar of Meetings: No

Financials: June 2014

2015 Budget: No

 

New Moyer Academy: Grade B

Minutes: June 2014

Agenda: July 2014

Calendar of Meetings: Yes

Financials: June 2014

2015 Budget: No

*Moyer is under Formal Review for a multitude of reasons, including not meeting for financial viability

 

Newark Charter School: Grade A

Minutes: June 2014

Agenda: August 2014

Calendar of Meetings: Yes

Financials: June 2014

2015 Budget: No

 

Odyssey Charter School: Grade B

Minutes: June 2014

Agenda: August 2014

Calendar of Meetings: No

Financials: June 2014

2015 Budget: No

 

Positive Outcomes: Grade A

Minutes: May 2014 (June 2014 Meeting Canceled)

Agenda: July 2014

Calendar of Meetings: Yes

Financials: June 2014

2015 Budget: No

 

Prestige Academy: Grade C

Minutes: May 2014

Agenda: August 2014

Calendar of Meetings: No

Financials: June 2014

2015 Budget: No

 

Providence Creek Academy Grade A

Minutes: June 2014

Agenda: August 2014

Calendar of Meetings: Yes

Financials: June 2014

2015 Budget: No

 

Sussex Academy of Arts and Sciences: Grade F

Minutes: May 2014

Agenda: May 2014

Calendar of Meetings: Shows next to be September 2014, no notice for July or August Meetings

Financials: May 2014

2015 Budget: No

 

Thomas Edison Charter School: Grade A

Minutes: June 2014

Agenda: July 2014

Calendar of Meetings: Yes

Financials: June 2014

2015 Budget: No

 

This is exactly why charter schools in Delaware need to digitally record their Board meetings.  For the schools that got an A or B, good job.  The rest of you, you have some work to do.  For Charter School of Wilmington, Academy of Dover, and Sussex Academy, you need to get compliant real fast.

 

IEP Task Force in Delaware To Begin September 4th, Lt. Gov. Matt Denn Will Chair Group #netde #eduDE @TNJ_malbright

The IEP Task Force, which came out of Senate Concurring Resolution 63 in Delaware, will begin their meetings on September 4th, at 4:30pm.  The purpose of the task force is to improve the IEP process in the state of Delaware.  The meetings will occur in Dover, with video conferencing available in Wilmington.  No locations have been designated for both locations as of yet.  The members of the task force have not been released, but the legislation states it will include the following:

1. Two members of the State Senate, a member of the majority party appointed by the Senate President Pro Tem and a member of the minority party appointed by the Senate Minority Leader;
2. Two members of the House of Representatives, a member of the majority party appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and a member of the minority party appointed by the House Majority Leader;
3. The Secretary of Education or his designee;
4. The President of the State Parent Teacher Association or the President’s designee;
5. The chair of the Delaware Developmental Disabilities Council or the chair’s designee;
6. Three representatives of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Exceptional Citizens, to be selected by the chair of the Council;
7. The Governor or the Governor’s designee;
8. The Lieutenant Governor or the Lieutenant Governor’s designee;
9. A representative of the Delaware State Bar Association, to be selected by the President of the Delaware State Bar Association;
10. The President of the Delaware State Education Association or the President’s designee;
11. Two representatives of the Delaware Association of School Administrators, to be selected by the president of that organization;
12. Two persons who teach special education in Delaware public schools, to be selected by the task force chair;
13. Two persons who provide services to children with disabilities in Delaware public schools, to be selected by the task force chair;
14. One non-attorney who advocates for parents and children in IEP proceedings, to be selected by the task force chair.
15. Three parents, one from each county, each having a child who has had or currently has an IEP, to be selected by the Senate and House Task Force members.

This notice was written on Lieutenant Governor Matt Denn’s public Facebook page:

During my tenure as Lieutenant Governor, I have made improving the services we provide to children with disabilities a top priority. We have had some notable successes, but there is still an awful lot of work to be done. Last June, I worked with legislators to create a task force focused on improving the way that Delaware schools prepare individualized education plans for students with disabilities, and Senate President Patricia Blevins has asked me to chair that task force. Our first meeting will be on September 4th at 4:30 p.m. – we have tried to schedule it to allow parents and school employees to attend. We will soon be announcing meeting locations (the first meeting will be held in Dover with a videoconferencing hook-up in Wilmington), and each meeting will allow members of the public to offer comments at the end of the meeting. If you have an interest in this subject, I encourage you to put it on your calendar and plan to attend. If you can’t make it to the meetings, audio recordings of all the meetings will be posted on the Lieutenant Governor’s office web site.

 

I think this task force can do some good work if they do not solely concentrate on tailoring IEPs to Common Core and Smarter Balanced Assessments.  I’m sure the topic will come up, but there are far more important things to look at with special education in Delaware.  As many special needs parents know, schools do not always do the right thing when it comes to IEP implementation, or even IEP approval.  While DOE input will be needed, parent input will most likely be more important due to the complexities of the IEP process.  For schools, it is a professional matter as part of their business day.  This isn’t to say they don’t have personal feelings about it, but at the end of the day, it’s their job.  For parents, it is deeply personal and can change the outcome of a family’s life.

 

I strongly encourage all special needs parents in the state of Delaware to make it to these meetings.  We all need our voice to be heard.  If you are unable to attend, I will be more than happy to send any messages to the task force as I will be at each and every meeting.  Feel free to email me at kevino3670@yahoo.com or leave messages on my Exceptional Delaware Facebook page.  If you have specific examples of how the IEP process has worked out for you or your child, please include that information.  All information will be protected and kept anonymous if you choose.

 

The final report is due to the Governor in January, 2015.  The group is planning to meet twice a month.  From what I am hearing, public comment will be available at the end of each session.