Last night the Progressive Democrats of Delaware held their annual Firestone Restaurant celebration, and this year myself, as well as John Young, Mike Matthews and Tizzy Lockman were recognized as education heroes of Delaware. This is an award I’m fairly certain I will never get from Governor Markell or the State Board of Education!
It was great to see so many friends, advocates and legislators in a non-formal location. John Young talked about how we all owe Kilroy a debt of gratitude as he is the godfather of Delaware education blogging. I spoke about my outstanding FOIA request with the DOE and how much help I need to raise the funds to cover the rest of it. Tizzy Lockman thanked everyone for their support with the Wilmington Education Advisory Committee and the upcoming Wilmington Education Improvement Commission and how much work they have before them. Mike Matthews spoke about the dangerous influences outside forces, like Rodel and Delaware Charter Schools Network, can have on candidates and asked that the party not support candidates who are aligned with theses types of corporate education reform companies.
Delaware State Reps. John Kowalko, Kim Williams, Paul Baumbach & Sean Lynn
The six Progressive State Representatives who voted no on the state budget on July 1st were honored as well with the PDD Bob Stachnik award. State Rep. Sean Lynn explained why they voted no as they couldn’t sit by and watch funding be cut for those who need it the most without having any revenue coming in. He also talked about the extreme difficulty the state will face next year with predicted budget deficits between $160-$180 million. Reps. Paul Baumbach, John Kowalko and Kim Williams also spoke about the budget. Kowalko said it was his proudest moment in his many years of serving the people of Delaware.
It was a great evening with perfect weather on the riverfront in Wilmington. The food was excellent, and the atmosphere was festive. It was great to talk with others about our kids, hysterical moments in the past year (Schwartzkopf’s Gavel, Christina Board meetings, Burger Girl, a certain video released last week by one of the education heroes) while new memories were created (“Vera”, the armpit –don’t ask–, the coffee mug).
Mike O from the seventh type was there, and we spoke for quite a while about blogging, House Bill 165, and charter schools. I had never officially met him, so it was great to get a different perspective on blogging and whatnot. I was given an excellent source for my charter school series of articles which I plan on using immediately!
There is a lot of interesting stuff coming up in the next few months with education in Delaware, and you can read all about it on the Delaware blogs! I would like to thank President of the PDD, Nancy Willing, and all the members of the party for their recognition of myself and the three others. It was quite an honor!
If you would like to donate for the Smarter Balanced FOIA request, please go to this link and help us find out what is really going on with these high-stakes tests and their vendors! http://www.gofundme.com/x6mb3j8
The Season Of Myths 
Congratulations!
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