Delaware Special Needs Support Groups for Parents

I would like to get a list together of support groups that are out there in Delaware for special needs parents. I can tell you that I go to a group at Calvary in Dover called “Reach Out”. There are several of us there, with children going through various types of disabilities. We haven’t met over the summer, but we will start up again soon. Several parents have concerns about what to do with their child. At “Reach Out”, a grou called Capernaum actually comes in and watches the kids. They are fully trained to deal with special needs kids of all sorts. We meet up on Wednesday nights, from 6:45 until 8:30pm.

I know there are other groups out there. If any of you reading this want to add to the comments, or email me at kevino3670@yahoo.com, please do so. I know there are a lot of parents out there who think they are in this alone, and they aren’t! Please include the following: Name of group, location, when you meet, and if it is disability specific, for example, just autism.

If there are none in your area, you might want to think about starting one. There may be churches or schools that would be willing to give you meeting space. There are so many options out there. Sometimes it just takes one strong person to make it happen! I would be more than happy to get the word out on my end, through here or on Facebook. Thanks to you all!

Facebook Groups for Special Needs Parents: You Are Not Alone #netde #eduDE

There are several different Facebook groups for different disabilities and parent support on Facebook. For the most part, folks are very willing to lend a helping hand when you have questions or just need support. All of us special needs parents know we will have bad days, and sometimes just that one word of encouragement can give you energy to get you through the rest of the day.

Being a parent of a special needs child is no easy task. It can be demanding and frustrating, and it can sap the energy out of you very fast. I would hate to think there is anyone out there going through it alone. You are not alone. There are many people out there willing to help. I’m not going to sit there and tell you they will come to you. You have to seek them out. For my son’s Tourette’s Syndrome, I go to TIC Talk. I don’t always comment, but I’ll just read other’s posts, and find similarities. Sometimes that is enough for me.

One thing to keep in mind if you do go to these groups, and don’t be alarmed, they are usually closed groups and the administrator may ask what your purpose is for joining the group. Just search for a disability, and you will be shocked at how many groups there are out there. One thing I was taught in a support group I go to, is to take care of yourself as well as your child. Because if you can’t be right, how can you expect to be right for your child?

It’s The Common Core, Stupid

You got it! Now we just need other parents to get it!

kavips

The Delaware Board of Education meeting yesterday was full of controversy and shock….. For one, we are all in shock at the apparent direction which these little kids running the Delaware Department of Education are taking us. The first kid was Mark Murphy. The second was Penny Schwinn.

First, Mark Murphy expressed disdain that teachers were not being beaten up enough in their evaluations. People have to be cheating he postulated.  There is no way all teachers can be effective he stated.  And that shows impetuousness. Because in truth, there is.  You measure student growth.  You take a test in the beginning and you take a test in the middle, and those who don’t pass the middle test, get to try again in the spring.  Then, you rate those teachers on how their students did.  And since the students seemed to do well, the teachers did well as well.  

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Bored With The Board of Ed! Welcome to Delaware Penny Schwinn! Please Read Up On Our State! #netde #eduDE #edchat @BadassTeachersA @KilroysDelaware @ed_in_DE

The Delaware Board of Education meeting yesterday was full of controversy and shock.

I attended about an hour and a half of the Delaware Board of Education meeting yesterday. When I arrived, a gentleman from the American Heart Association was thanking the Board for their support. I sat next to a familiar face who was cutting out items for his classroom with a pair of scissors. I introduced myself to Mike Matthews who I had been in contact with on social media recently. I asked if he was giving public comment, and he said I just missed it but to definitely listen to the digital audio recording when it is available. Throughout the meeting, Matthews and I had continuous looks of shock and awe with the comments coming from not only the Board, but members of the Office of Accountability and Performance.

Secretary of Education Mark Murphy seemed very upset about the recent report on how 0% of teachers in Delaware were not ineffective. He didn’t seem to think this was the reality in Delaware. But we all know this will change in a year when the Smarter Balanced Scores come out, which the state has already said they are aware student scores will plummet, and teacher evaluations will be based on these scores.

The Board went through their motions, and we arrived at the Performance and Accountability Presentation. Penny Schwinn is the new Chief Officer of Accountability and Performance for the Delaware DOE. After Assessment Director Brian Touchette gave his reasons for why there are gaps in performance testing between different subgroups, and why charters weren’t included in the Performance and Accountability Presentation (because they have their own performance framework arrangement with the state of Delaware), Schwinn gave a rather enlightening and distorted presentation of African-American students and students with disabilities.

For children with disabilities, she claimed the reasons for the performance gaps in DCAS scores was attributable to the following factors: Litigation at a district level distracted teachers from being able to give adequate special education accommodations, high teacher turn-over and a limited hiring pool in Delaware for quality special education teachers compared to other states. She did say there is a new strategy of looking at IEPs in Delaware, and that is to target the performance of students with disabilities. Which is, as we all know, the coming standards-based IEPs in Delaware. She did recognize that dual credentials for special education teachers provide “expertise and knowledge” in the classroom. What she failed to mention, in Delaware and across America, many special education teachers are leaving the profession due to upcoming teacher evaluations which will be based on student test scores. Many special ed teachers fear losing their jobs, so they are leaving the profession. Who will replace all these teachers with this expertise and knowledge when they are driven out or quit?

Schwinn expressed her interest in Student-Based Plans, which are IEPs, but for regular students. This is one of the goals of Rodel’s Vision 2025, to do away with special education and all students get their own version of IEPs. This just supports my fear and theories of the future of special education. See https://exceptionaldelaware.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/special-education-in-america-where-is-it-going-spread-this-link-all-over-reblog-netde-edude-delaware-usedgov/

Schwinn went on to talk about African-American student performance in Delaware. She said they expect high performance from all students, and this is driven through PLCs and site leadership. PLC is Professional Learning Community, which emphasizes shared leadership, community-based work groups, and learning over teaching. Schwinn wants to create strategies to prevent downward trends among African-American students in Delaware. She said there is a low expectation for African-American students from teachers “across the board”. At this point, Board of Ed Member Gregory Coverdale asked Schwinn if she felt the rising violence and murders in Wilmington was causing an impact in classroom environment in that area, to which she responded “That isn’t necessarily a hurdle to overcome”. For the three African-American members of the Board of Education, the looks on their faces said it all immediately after her response.

Dr. Teri Quinn Gray, the President of the Board of Education, said the following based on an article from WDDE today: “From those of us who are in under-represented groups, we deal with this often,” said Gray, who is African-American. “I’m not quite sure what to say about low expectations and cultural mindset,” she said. “How do you address that? A shift of culture takes 20 years, as they say, at least 10.” – See more at: http://www.wdde.org/66555-state-education-officials-seek-reasons-lack-progress-narrowing-achievement-gap#sthash.ii0NJYD3.dpuf

It is obvious Schwinn, who has been in her role for two months after leaving Sacramento, CA, needs to do a bit more research on Delaware. To think the issues of crime in Wilmington won’t have an impact on the classroom is foolish and naïve. To insult issues of poverty, crime and discrimination shows an apparent lack of the true reality in Wilmington. This is definitely a hurdle to overcome Penny Schwinn, and to continue to ignore this reality will only make the problem worse. As the Chief Of Accountability and Performance in Delaware, you need to look at ALL aspects of environment and how they impact the classroom.

For students with disabilities, Schwinn needs to recognize why special education teachers are leaving the profession, and that is mainly due to forced compliance with Common Core standards being shoved down their throats. Children are more than test scores, and the sooner the DOE realizes that, the better education and special education in Delaware will be. Litigation is rising in Delaware because of this education reform, not in spite of it.

The fact that charter schools in Delaware were not included in this presentation speaks volumes. To not include them ignores the impact charter schools have had on students with disabilities and minorities in Delaware, especially in the Wilmington area. Certain charter schools in our state have specific enrollment requirements that discriminates against low-income minorities and special needs children. The easy excuse for this by ignorant people is that children with disabilities are “low performers”. I think the Exceptional Children Group in the DOE is on the right track in correcting this position, but they need to realign their priorities in how to go about this.

But I can see how you would come to those conclusions based on your resume: http://transparentchristina.wordpress.com/2014/08/01/meet-the-new-chief-accountability-and-performance-officer-for-the-delaware-doe-more-choice-accountability-and-tfa-straight-up-gap-closing-bullshit/

And yet, your one tweet twitter account from 2010 tells a completely different story: “@EnchantmentAZ As a teacher, role model and advocate for kids from low income communities, my mom inspired me to teach and be a foster mom.”

You are not currently advocating for these children. You may want to recheck your roots and be a part of the solution, not the problem.