Is the third time the charm? Let’s find out!
In the shot heard round Delaware teachers email yesterday around 4:00pm, the Delaware State Education Association election results came in for President and Vice-President. Shock followed shock. Mike Matthews and Karen Crouse tied for President at 862 votes each. Stephanie Ingram (not Ingraham) won the Vice-President position. Some (including myself) are crying foul. Matthews and Kook ran as a ticket as did Crouse and Ingram. Logic would dictate that Matthews and Kook’s votes would align more with Matthew’s total. But this was NOT the case. Ingram won with 400 something votes while Kook had 300 plus.
First off, with 12,000 teachers in Delaware, why did only 2,100+ vote in this election? That is my biggest concern. Second, how the actual hell do you get a tie? Off the record, I have heard DSEA did not want the powerhouse of Matthews/Kook ruling the teacher union halls in Delaware. Did things happen? Of that I am certain. When an obvious fake Facebook account with the not-so-genius name of Sam Muskrat showed up at the same time as the election went into full swing, I paid very close attention to the writing style of the you really aren’t fooling anyone Mr. Muskrat. I’ve seen that style before. With another anonymous commenter somewhere else. I won’t out the person, but I can promise you it is NOT Publius from Kilroy’s Delaware. That guy is probably sucking down some Shirley Temple’s in his batcave.
The next big question surrounds the ballots. There were mentions on social media of teacher’s getting the ballots in their spam folders. While the plausibility of that is suspect if it was coming from DSEA (do all DSEA emails go to spam?). If it was an outside company, such as Intelliscan, based out of Phoenixville, PA, I could somehow see that. Some teachers reported not receiving any ballots. Some did not know who was running, or actually know some of the people running (to them I would say “Hello! This is the future of your teaching profession calling, wake up!”).
I’ve heard that campaign literature was suspect in certain situations. While there is nothing against the DSEA rules about the President endorsing a candidate, Frederika Jenner made it transparently obvious who she wanted. And that person wound up tying and is not a man. And her VP choice won as well. Crouse would not have won if it weren’t for Kent County. Which I find ironic considering her popularity in certain places. I don’t mean to bash her. I’m sure she is a fine person. But there is something VERY shady with this election. I’m sure the current DSEA crew will get offended I posted this. First off, too bad. Second, you can sit there and say it isn’t my business but I choose to make it my business and you can’t stop me. We live in a country where Donald Trump is President so I think any rules went out the window last November!
So what happens next? Some more ballots could come trickling in by Monday (since it is soooooo possible for something postmarked 1/23/17 or earlier to take a week to get to Dover in our huge state). There could be a run-off election if it remains a tie, in which case Presidential candidates Danny Rufo and Dom Zaffora’s votes would go to either Matthews or Crouse. Or another option could be the tie remains and the Executive Board at DSEA would vote on a winner. Which would, in all likelihood, be Crouse. Since these election results are not part of an official state or county election, DSEA is under no obligation to release the full results to the public. A teacher’s union is a private organization. If I were Matthews or Kook, I would be issuing a challenge right away. Something doesn’t smell right. I could, of course, be wrong. But I would err on the side of caution in just blindly accepting these results.
While this potential mystery starts to get some heat, feast on the famous Samuel Muskrat posts, from an anonymous person whose Facebook account was created the VERY same day Matthews and Kook had a live Facebook feed answering questions. And disappeared the next day.
Yes, I am the Kevin this Samuel Muskrat is referring to. This kind of makes it my business now! I will fully admit I am not the most popular person in the executive offices of DSEA. Once upon a time the stars were in alignment around the time I wrote a huge article on the Rodel Foundation of Delaware, but I burned that bridge with them during the whole House Bill 50 veto override fiasco when I called out DSEA (very strongly I might add) with a twinge of regret. I don’t regret calling them out on their non-support of the override but rather how I did it. I apologized, but while some accepted that apology, some were less than cordial with me. In fact, one of them decided to viciously attack me many times somewhere else. That person knew I knew that when I commented on the above Facebook comment bringing me into it. I dropped a couple of words in my comment which vanished as soon as it appeared. Muskrat knew I had them and ran for the hills. Muskrat seemed to know a lot of things about Mr. Matthews. Things your average teacher would not know unless they were really involved with DSEA. But the tone and attitude, and especially the reference to me, shows a personal beef. Trolling is one thing. Going on Facebook during a candidate forum and disguising yourself when they are potentially a staff member of DSEA is another thing entirely. Like I said yesterday, shenanigans with this election.
Both Mike Matthews and Jackie Kook are well-known in Delaware as teachers who will really fight for their causes. This doesn’t mean they won’t sit down with you, but it also doesn’t mean they will swallow the Kool-Aid which happened so many times in teacher matters involving the Delaware Dept. of Education, the General Assembly, and yes, even DSEA. Most recently, Kook ruffled feathers with the teacher evaluation bill last Spring. It wound up getting Senator Sokola amendments attached to it. A large part of that was the insertion into the process of former DOE employee Atnre Alleyne, now promoting his role as Executive Director of DelawareCAN which is an offshoot of the corporate education reform company 50CAN. Another big part was a letter from the DPAS-II Advisory Committee Chair Dr. Susan Bunting. Bunting was confirmed by the Delaware Senate three days ago as the new Delaware Secretary of Education. But neither of them are Sam Muskrat. In Delaware, if you aren’t calling out legislators here and there, than democracy really isn’t taking place. And some really shouldn’t throw stones like that because the hypocrisy involved is astounding! But I guess many wrongs make a right?
The House Democrats sent a letter to Sen. Coons and Carper urging them to oppose Betsy DeVos as the next U.S. Secretary of Education.
Specifically, we are concerned about Ms. DeVos’ lack of knowledge of basic education policy, her advocacy for private school vouchers, her views on guns in schools and her positions on civil rights.
Teachers, students and parents deserve a Secretary of Education who will push for the improvements to strengthen our public education system, not weaken it.
Below is the letter that was sent to the Senators.
I did this a couple of weeks ago and I enjoyed it so much I thought I would do it again. So here we go!
It is now official! House Bill 60, filed today, would do what House Bill 50 did in the Delaware 148th General Assembly. Time to rally the troops again and get the show on the road! While on its face, folks could expect business as usual, things could change and very fast. Word on the street is already forming about something happening very soon which could turn this bill into the biggest bill of the legislative season. I would pay VERY close attention to what happens with this bill. Sponsored by State Rep. John Kowalko and Senator Dave Lawson. Additional sponsors include State Reps. Kim Williams, Paul Baumbach, Deb Hudson, Helene Keeley, Sean Lynn, Trey Paradee, Jeff Spiegelman, and David Wilson, and Senators Margaret Rose-Henry and Gerald Hocker. We have six House Dems, three Republican House reps, one Senate Dem and two Senate Republicans. Let the fireworks begin (again)!
I am pretty sure it goes without saying, email your State Rep and Senator NOW in support of this bill. Also give State Rep. Earl Jaques a holler asking him to put this on the agenda for the next House Education Committee meeting when they get back after their JFC hearing break at the end of February.
*Sorry for the technical snafu with Scribd. Not sure why I didn’t pick up the pdf. Here is the actual bill:
Today, right now, the Delaware Senate is holding confirmation hearings for various nominations from Governor Carney for Delaware Cabinet positions. Dr. Susan Bunting, the Superintendent of Indian River School District, has her hearing today. I will be following her hearing live down here at Legislative Hall in the Senate Chamber. Dr. Bunting, if selected, would replace Secretary Dr. Steven Godowsky to lead education in Delaware.
While I have been waiting for Bunting’s hearing, I’ve been listening in on other confirmation hearings. No major drama going on. Bunting is waiting patiently for her hearing and seems very calm and collected. Bunting is now up.
Said she is honored and humbled to be nominated. Has a long history of teaching Delaware. Taught talented and gifted for many years. Went to help all gifted students. Became Director of Special Curriculum for Indian River School District. Said she is on Governor’s ESSA Advisory Committee, STEM Council, SAIL After School Committee, is with Mid-Atlantic Advisory Committee, DPAS-II Committee, American Association of School Personnel, and so forth. Advocates on Capital Hill for educational bills. Is grateful after being in district with many ELL students and economically deprived students, she is looking forward to helping these students at a state level. Is enthusiastic, should she be selected, to serve the students of this great state.
Senator Nicole Poore is asking about special education and the challenges as the population is growing. Bunting responded by saying we need to zero in on the priorities of our students. All students have the opportunity to be successful. We have fiscal issues which could make the matter more challenging.
Senator Margaret Rose Henry is asking about funding for students with special needs and poverty students. Bunting said we are going to have to do more with less. She has that experience in her own district.
Senator Gary Simpson said he is a strong supporter of her nomination. She has proven over the years that Indian River has a strong academic program. However, he needs to ask two questions. He has confidence she will explain him. Based on issues of financial malfeasance in Indian River, what can she do to make sure ALL districts operate with financial transparency? She thinks this is a major issue and will work with all districts on these matters. Simpson asked about the ACLU lawsuit concerning special education students in her district. She feels the Delaware DOE needs to collaborate with districts better to improve educational opportunities for these students and all students.
Senator David Sokola said, as head of the Senate Education Committee, he has worked with Dr. Bunting for years and looks forward to seeing her as the Secretary of Education.
Senator Colin Bonini said he is concerned about Delaware’s education system as a whole. Said he was going to ask her to grade Delaware’s education as a whole but he won’t ask her to do that. He is concerned about Delaware’s SAT scores, but he understands all Delaware students take it as opposed to other states. He doesn’t feel our system is underfunded. Said he is torn because everyone speaks highly of her and respects her, but he thinks our education system is failing our students. He said there is too much talk about closing charter schools when one in five Delaware students aren’t ready to graduate high school. He is confident in the Every Student Succeeds Act. He wants a high standard and accountability system. He said the other 18 Delaware superintendents are her friends and colleagues. Wants to know what our strengths and weaknesses are how we can improve the system. As well the relationships with her colleagues. Bunting said she does have those relationships and feels they are a collective group. They believe strongly in accountability. Believes ESSA provides the opportunity to ratchet up our system. Collaboratively, Bunting said, we are going to have to do more with less. This gives us an opportunity to brainstorm and come up with new ways. For early childhood, she said, we need to reach for higher goals. We need to set high marks, reach those high marks, and get there for the sake of our students. Bonini asked what her impression is of charter schools. Said he is a huge fan but others in this building are not. Bunting said we have the opportunity at the DOE to look at the charter and make sure all charters are equitable and make sure the boards of charter schools are true to that charter. Feels the money should follow the students so all students have equal education access.
Senator Bryan Townsend asked about district consolidation. Bunting said is looking at collaborative efforts to look at that. Townsend asked about very different funding structure for vo-techs and wants to know her thoughts about the merits of the current vo-tech funding system when so many districts are now offering CTE programs. Bunting said that system has merits. She wants all students to have the opportunity to have post-high school success. Townsend asked about the trend towards vo-tech and CTE programs. He senses there is a lot of duplicity going on right now. She said they can take a look at that. She thinks many students are improving because of a strong vo-tech experience. Townsend asked about changes at the DOE to help the state budget gap and what her thoughts are on that. She suspects there is a need for reorganization and a look at duplicated positions. If there are programs they no longer need and they need to examine everything very carefully. Townsend asked for the timeframe for that examination. Bunting said if she is selected it would start tomorrow morning.
Senator Greg Lavelle said based on her application she is glad Bunting is registered as a Republican. Lavelle asked about her stance on testing. Bunting feels it is necessary and said it helps students and we need it. It helps with Response to Intervention. Brought up the Assessment Inventory Task Force and wants to continue to look at cutting back on testing if necessary. Lavelle asked about opt out. She said federal law states 95% and we have to follow federal law to get funding. She said there are situations where students need to opt out.
Senator Poore is asking about after-school enrichment programs. Bunting said there are opportunities to blend this with different activities like art and music and looks forward to partnering with 21st Century Grants to redirect funding and provide those opportunities. We have to regain lost learning (during summer) and get that back before they come back to school.
Senator Townsend asked about start times for schools. Said research shows starting earlier helps students with performance and growth. Bunting said it is an issue but we have to look at research but agrees that research does show these things.
Senator David McBride said the committee has several bills under consideration. He said they are going to have a semi-school recess. They should be back around 4:30pm but warned they could be late. He recommended the public keep their seats but did say Delaware is one of the only state legislatures that allows the public to sit on the floor.
We are back in session. Bethany Hall-Long, the new Delaware Lieutenant Governor, is presiding over the full Delaware Senate. They are reading in new bills and results of committee meetings. They are reading the nomination results from the Senate Executive Committee. Bunting was referred to move forward for a full Senate vote with six on its merits. Now we wait for the full vote. Brief pause due to a guest on the floor from the Delaware Retired Educators Association giving a speech asking the Delaware Senate to carefully look at how budget cuts could affect retired educators. Just had roll call. Senate is back in session.
The nominations are up. First up, James Collins for Chief Information Office for DTI. We could have a little bit more of a wait for Bunting.
Roll call for Dr. Susan Bunting’s nomination as Delaware Secretary of Education. Bonini: No, Rest are all yes with one absent (Lawson) and one vacant seat. Dr. Susan Bunting is the new Delaware Secretary of Education with 18 yes, 1 no, 1 absent, and 1 seat vacant.
On Thursday, we will see new opt out legislation from State Rep. John Kowalko. It will be very similar to House Bill 50 but it will have a different number. I thought they would retire that number after the last go-around with opt out. Will House Bill #60something have a shot with Markell gone if the General Assembly passes it? Would Governor Carney sign it? Are parents still opting out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment? It doesn’t begin again until March so if parents are thinking about it, we won’t hear much noise until February. I still fervently support opt out as a parental choice and feel there should be legislation to codify that right. I already have a few ideas for a potential amendment but I’m holding that one very close to see how the response to the bill goes.
I will support this bill in its entirety. I will write about it and campaign for its passage. I don’t know if I will be as heavily involved in it as I was two years ago. But most of the legwork has already happened. House Bill 50 brought opt out into daily language in the First State. Markell fighting it most likely caused opt out numbers to increase. Some have (I believe correctly) surmised that ed reformers wanted opt out at some levels. Plans have been afoot to create stealth tests in a personalized learning environment. These would most likely be in the form of end-of-unit tests but it would still be the state assessment, just taken throughout the year. That could be a tough nut to crack. But all nuts have some crackability. You just have to find the right tool.
*Please see below for a statement from Delaware Senator Brian Pettyjohn in regards to this letter.
This morning, Delaware State Rep. Kim Williams published a letter from several state legislators around the country supporting Betsy DeVos in her nomination for the United States Secretary of Education. Senators Anthony DelCollo, Greg Lavelle, Ernie Lopez, Brian Pettyjohn, and Gary Simpson represented the Delaware contingent of these signatures. I am publicly asking these five Delaware Republican Senators to withdraw their support for Mrs. DeVos.
Last week, DeVos had her Senate Confirmation hearing. She did not know the difference between growth and proficiency. She supported guns in schools to prevent grizzly bear attacks. She stated when she was first nominated that she supported dismantling Common Core, but history with the DeVos Foundation suggests otherwise. She is a fervent supporter of school vouchers which have the strong potential to further issues of discrimination and segregation in American schools the way they are currently set up in many states. She supports charter schools which have not shown to be a greater success unless the pull smarter students in through selective enrollment preferences despite the legality of those preferences in many states. But most disappointing was DeVos inability to understand that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, known as IDEA, is a federal law, not a state and local law.
As a father of a student with disabilities, I was appalled when Betsy DeVos said this. The U.S. Secretary of Education is a person who leads all American students in public education. The last thing we need is someone who does not understand special education going into the job. DeVos is a billionaire but her ability to lead education in America is disturbing on many levels.
I have found myself in alignment with many bills that Pettyjohn and Lopez supported. They stood with parents during the opt out saga. They did not support the Smarter Balanced Assessment. Which is why I find their support of DeVos puzzling. Education has become synonymous with standardized testing. Students with disabilities do the poorest on these tests. But they are expected to show the most “growth” in state accountability systems. As a result, in my opinion, special education has become a gigantic mess. It is now geared more towards the student outcomes on these tests than accommodating the true needs of each individual student. If DeVos has her way, students with disabilities could be shuffled around different private schools through a very flawed school voucher system. Private schools are not obligated to follow federal special education law unless they receive federal education funds. Special education in public schools can be challenging enough, adding private schools to that mix with federal dollars could become a recipe for disaster for a population that is already marginalized to a great extent.
Once again, I urge these five Delaware Republican Senators to withdraw their support for Betsy DeVos as U.S. Secretary of Education. Our children deserve better. Students with disabilities deserve better. And my son deserves better.
**UPDATED**5:16pm: I spoke with Senator Pettyjohn about this issue shortly after I posted this article. He echoed the statement he made on Facebook, which said:
Kevin, I agreed to support Betsy DeVos for her nomination to lead the US Department of Education based on my belief that an outsider view of the US DOE is necessary. In previous statements, Ms. DeVos had indicated her disdain for the Department and it’s overburdensome policies and regulations toward states and local districts. I have, for some time, been critical of the federal intrusion into our classrooms, and prior to Ms. DeVos’ confirmation hearings, those were concerns that she had also viewed with a critical eye.
That being said, I do have concerns that have been brought to light since her confirmation hearings; especially concerning her stance on special education. While this is an issue that our United States Senators will be faced with in the coming days, I believe that the letter that was sent, which I agreed to sign before the confirmation hearings took place, will have relatively little impact on the decision that will ultimately be made on Capitol Hill.
That Senate Confirmation hearing took a lot of folks by surprise. In my eyes, it just proved that vast amounts of wealth does not always equal knowledge. DeVos will face a vote for her nomination next Tuesday, January 31st.
I just saw Brandywine School District put this out. My condolences to Mr. Labarbera’s family and the Brandywine School District community. Rest in peace sir.
Dear BSD families,
It is with the heaviest of hearts that we mourn the loss of Concord teacher Thom Labarbera, who tragically passed away this weekend. Mr. Labarbera, a Brandywine School District social studies teacher of 20 years, will be sorely missed at Concord and in our community. Due to this unexpected and tragic loss, there will be no school for Concord students tomorrow, Monday, January 23rd. Members of the BSD Crisis Team are meeting today. We will be prepared to support Concord’s faculty tomorrow and are working to plan and coordinate support for students on Tuesday. For those CHS students who need additional support more immediately, Crisis Team members will be available at Concord from 11 am to 3 pm tomorrow. Please know that the District will do everything it can to ensure that the emotional needs of our students, staff, and families are met during this most difficult time. May Mr. Labarbera rest in peace. He will be dearly missed.
The voting for the Delaware State Education Association leadership officially ends tomorrow, January 23rd. All ballots must be in as per the DSEA election website. Initial results will be shared with the Executive Director and Business Manager of DSEA on Thursday, and preliminary results will be announced on January 27th. If there is a challenge based on the preliminary results, that would have to be in by February 3rd. At the DSEA Executive Board meeting on February 16th, the results will be officially ratified.
There are four races for the President slot and two for the Vice-President. For President, there is Karen Crouse, Mike Matthews, Danny Rufo, and Dom Zaffora. For Vice-President, there is Jackie Kook and Stephanie Ingraham. Two are running on a “ticket” per se, but that ticket could be divided pending the results. Those “tickets” are Matthews/Kook and Crouse/Ingraham.
What is at stake with this election? The teacher’s union in Delaware would have a lot to contend with in the coming years. The three-year terms would usher in the new Every Student Succeeds Act in Delaware along with mounting budget issues that will almost assuredly result in education cuts along the way. Add on the new Carney administration and a promise from Governor John Carney to make the Delaware Department of Education less of an accountability factory and more of a resource center for districts and charters. However, much of that will depend on the final approved ESSA state plan. Even though ESSA was meant to eliminate a lot of the federal oversight, accountability regulations won’t change things that much. And if history is an indicator, the Delaware DOE loves accountability. The role of teacher evaluations will always be a major issue with DSEA. Other potential factors affecting them, depending on the state budget, could be the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission redistricting plan or the possibility of consolidating districts around the state becoming more than a discussion point.
Delaware Governor John Carney named Dr. Susan Bunting, the Superintendent of the Indian River School District, as his Secretary of Education for the First State. In a discussion with current Delaware Secretary of Education Dr. Steven Godowsky a week ago, he informed me Bunting’s nomination would take place today. There are Senate Confirmation Hearings on the agenda, but Bunting is not one of them. Godowsky told me she wanted to be confirmed by the time of the State Board of Education meeting tomorrow. It does not look like that will happen as a hearing date has not been set at this point.
Bunting’s nomination was read in for the Delaware Senate yesterday along with all of Carney’s selections. Those could not be formally recognized by the General Assembly until Carney was sworn in which happened yesterday. I don’t believe this means anything as the docket is very full today for nominations. I just talked to a source at Legislative Hall who informed me that if it is not on there it won’t happen today. But I have no doubt it will. It could happen tomorrow or next week knowing how things worked around these chambers.
Many in Delaware education have saluted the possibility of Bunting as the Secretary of Education. Many in lower Delaware were pleased this position went to someone from Sussex County which has not been a practice in many years. Many feel that the Indian River audit investigation seemed to place the blame on Patrick Miller, the former Chief Financial Officer who allegedly abused finances in the district for well over a decade. The scope of the audit investigation was limited to the past few years but many feel Miller’s transgressions occurred years before that. The Delaware Attorney General’s office did announce they would be looking into the matter with Miller shortly after the audit investigation came out.
It remains to be seen if the audit investigation will affect Bunting’s confirmation hearing. I would have to assume someone will bring it up and potentially ask her how she could have not seen what was going on. As Secretary of Education for Delaware, Bunting would be responsible to oversee roughly a third of Delaware’s state budget. I will let readers know when Bunting’s confirmation hearing is scheduled.
At a national level, Betsy DeVos had her own U.S. Senate Confirmation Hearing yesterday but the U.S. Senate has not taken a vote on her nomination by President-Elect Donald Trump as of this writing. Her hearing was somewhat controversial as some Democrat Senators grilled DeVos on her motivations with public education. At one point, Senator Al Franken asked DeVos a question about proficiency and growth and she did not appear to know they are two different things.
Today, during a rainy and cold January morning, John Carney was sworn in as the new Governor of Delaware. We have a new Governor of Delaware who will face many challenges from the very start. I am willing to give Carney a shot. I have nothing to lose. I am hoping he keeps his eye on the people of Delaware over that of corporate interests. Especially when it comes to education. I also pray he is willing to listen to those who may not be cut from a certain cloth. This is our Delaware and he is here to serve us, not the other way around. But I will give him a chance. He will make mistakes. No politician is perfect. Congratulations Governor Carney!
In less than 20 hours, Delaware’s new Governor will be sworn in. Jack Markell’s eight-year term as the Governor of Delaware will end. I’ve seen reviews of his term all over Delaware and social media in the past week or so. I believe it is no secret that I view his education initiatives as an unmitigated disaster. But were they?
Music. It reverberates the soul. It brings back memories of good and bad times. When I listen to music, every song brings back something for me. It could be sadness, anger, hope, triumph, or happiness. It can remind me of a time period in my life or a specific person. One of my favorite things to do is put music on shuffle and see what comes up. I love the shuffle cause you never know what is going to come up. Anything goes. I thought I would write a post about what songs come up and what those songs mean to me. Something a little different.
“Where’s The Ocean”, Toni Childs: The album came out a few years earlier but I first heard this song in 1990. It was a very difficult time for me. I was in college, taking six classes after switching my major from business to psychology. I was working part-time, had a girlfriend, and was cast in a play at college. It was too much and I fell apart for a while. I was only 20 and it felt like I was spinning my wheels in ice. As a result, I wound up switching my major the next semester to communications. It was a tough time but the lessons I learned from it still help me now.
“Sounds Like A Melody”, Alphaville: Like the last song, I didn’t get into Alphaville until a couple of years after their debut album came out. But 1987 heralded many changes in my life. Especially once I became a senior in high school. I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life. I had already decided to skip a year after high school instead of going to college. In the meantime, I partied and partied hard. I used to go to a nightclub called Kryptons back then. I was, of course, under age, but having a friend as a bartender helped a lot! They would play this song there and my friends and I would attempt to dance and probably looked like idiots. I have lots of memories at Kryptons and most of them are fun times. I have no clue if the old club is still there. It changed owners and names a lot in the decade after that.
“Absolutely Still”, Better Than Ezra: Better Than Ezra is one of my favorite bands of all time. Most people know them by their biggest hits, “Good” or “Desperately Wanting”. But for me, all their albums are a gold-mine. This song came out in 2009. I remember the first time I heard this song. I was driving my son to daycare and the words just hit a chord inside me. It made me think of family and the blessings we take for granted.
“I Won’t Let You Go”, Switchfoot: This band is a Christian band. Most people don’t know that. They hit the mainstream back in the early 2000s. This song came out this fall but I just heard it last month. When you really listen to the words, it can be confusing. At first I thought it was about a guy swearing not to give up his woman. But I soon realized the singer is actually singing through God’s viewpoint.
“Selling The Drama”, Live: 1994. Senior Year of College. Senior Week. I can’t remember for the life of me if I was sober at any point that week. Live hit it big with this song. Ed Kowalcyzk has an amazing voice. This was in the middle of the grunge movement and Live was right up there with Nirvana and Pearl Jam that year.
“In Your Eyes”, Peter Gabriel: Most people know this song from the movie “Say Anything” from 1989. But the song came out in 1986. I remember going up to Cape Cod with my cousin Liz one weekend to see our grandparents. We listened to this album on the way up along with a few others. I remember walking on the jetty at the beach one night. I spent many summer days growing up on that jetty. It was before my junior year of high school. My life changed a lot during my sophomore year. New friends, new hang-outs.
“San Diego”, Blink 182: This is from their album that came out last year. This band is from San Diego. I lived north of San Diego for a few years back in 2001 to 2004. My future wife and I moved out there. We actually lived in a small suburb of San Diego called Rancho Bernardo for about eight months before we bought a house in Riverside County. But I worked in Rancho Bernardo the entire time I lived there. California is an awesome place to live. And no place is better than San Diego. You can go to the beach and then to Julian about an hour away if you want to see snow in the winter. I did that one day. It was awesome!
“My Fault”, Imagine Dragons: I always think of the first year of the Firefly Music Festival when I hear any song from Imagine Dragons first album. I also think of my mom, who was very sick at that time. It was 2012. I felt massive change coming on the horizon. I knew my Mom wouldn’t last much longer (she passed away in May, 2013). My son’s disabilities were growing. Things weren’t good. But I tried to hang on to hope as best I could.
“Hey Jude”, The Beatles: There will never be another band like The Beatles. My earliest musical memories involved The Beatles. They broke up the year I was born but my parents had many of their albums. I remember listening to them all the time. But it would be years until I got “Hey Jude”. This is one of McCartney’s best songs in my opinion. I saw him in concert back in 1990 up in Philly and the crowd went nuts when this song began.
“Wake Me Up When September Ends”, Green Day: While this song came out in 2004, 9/11 was still very fresh in my mind. I don’t know if this song is about that tragic day, but I always think about it when I hear this song. No event in my lifetime left a scar like that day did. I still remember every single second of that day and the night before. We had just bought a large screen TV but there were issues with the first one we got. The screen would get blurry and we couldn’t see anything. This was when I lived in California. I got up for work at about 5am, which would have been 8am on the east coast. I had a horrible dream the night before. Guerilla soldiers were cutting people with knives at some camp. That wasn’t something I normally dreamed about at all. I remember taking a shower and remembering the dream. It disturbed me on many levels. The day before I read something in the local newspaper about two nuns who had been freed by the Taliban. They were recounting their experience with the Taliban. One of them remembered seeing an office. On the wall was a calendar of planes. After I got ready for work, I was drinking a cup of coffee. My wife and I drove together to work since we both worked in San Diego and we lived an hour north. I heard something on the tv (with no visible screen) about a plane flying into a building. I assumed it was in the Mid-East. I went outside for a smoke and when I came back in the reporter said “another plane has flown into the World Trade Center.” I sat there with my jaw wide open. I yelled to my wife what happened.
“Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season)”, The Byrds: When I was about seven or eight, my family and I were driving to church one day. I had heard this song before. But for some reason I can’t remember, my mother began explaining how this song came from Ecclesiastes in The Bible. I remember thinking it was really cool that such a popular song came from The Bible. It is one of my favorite parts of The Bible. “There is a time for every purpose under Heaven.” I actually try to hold on to that when things get rough. How there is a reason for everything. We may not know it at the time but sometimes we understand why and what it led to later on.
“Sleepwalker”, The Wallflowers: In October of 2000, my future wife and I moved to California. We packed up a U-Haul and drove across the country. I drove the U-Haul and towed my car behind it. My wife drove her car behind me. It took about five days. On the fourth day, we left our hotel in Amarillo, Texas. From there we hit New Mexico and then Arizona. We stopped by a mall in Flagstaff, Arizona. I heard “Sleepwalker” a few times in the weeks before we moved. As I passed a record store, I saw the album it was on just came out. I instantly bought the CD. From Flagstaff, we drove through mountains that take your breath away. All the way down to Phoenix. I replayed “Sleepwalker” a lot during that long winding journey through Arizona. I saw the sun set to the west as I drove through terrain I had never seen before in my life. Majestic doesn’t even describe what I felt during this ride.
“Sold Me Down The River”, The Alarm: I moved to Pennsylvania in 1989. Remember how I said I was taking a year off after high school? That year was up. My parents moved from New York and I went with them. I decided to start college at Bucks County Community College. A new friend of mine introduced me to The Alarm. This song had just come out and I heard it on a Philly radio station called WMMR. I used to take drives up and down the Delaware River back in those days. This song was on a lot back then!
“The Space Between”, Dave Matthews Band: This song reminds me of my fiancé. Who is now my wife! This song came out shortly after we became engaged. The lyrics don’t match what was going on with us, but it reminds me of that time.
“Communication”, The Cardigans: Shortly after my son Jacob was born in 2004, my wife and I made the decision to move back east. She was off work for maternity leave for six weeks and then it was my turn. When I wasn’t spending the day with my son, in those rare moments when he consistently slept, I was packing things up for the big move. I bought the album “Long Gone Before Daylight” one day and it became my soundtrack for that time. I remember playing this song as Jacob was sleeping in his aquarium swing. He looked so peaceful, just rocking back and forth. When our children are babies, we can remember these moments. To this day when I see him sleeping, I have that same feeling. Peaceful.
“Human”, The Killers: Fall 2008. No one knew what the heck Brandon Flowers was talking about with this song. “Are we human or are we dancer?” It didn’t matter. I loved this song and still do. I was in the midst of some adult growing pains when this song came out. Without going into details, it is something we all go through at one period in our lives. When we mistake confidence as hubris and we become arrogant.
“Take It All Back”, Judah and the Lion: Right now, this is probably my favorite song. Ever since Mumford & Sons came out, banjos have become a bigger part of music. At least the music I like to listen to. This song actually mentions the word banjo. And then slides into one of the best banjo riffs I’ve ever heard.
“The Tide Is High”, Blondie: If you were alive in December 1980, you know this song. I lived in Roanoke, Virginia at the time. I knew we would be moving to New York the next Spring. But life was good when you are ten. I remember roller skating to this song at Olympic Skating Rink in Vinton, VA. I had been a big Blondie fan ever since “Heart of Glass” came out. Still love this song!
“Let Go”, Frou Frou: In January of 2005, we had been in Delaware for a few months. I was working at the Bank of America call center in Dover. I remember a lot of snow. I had just watched the DVD of “Garden State” and bought the soundtrack. I remember leaving work one night. The snow was coming down. There weren’t many cars on Route 13 in Dover. This song came on. I hate driving in snow. It gives me this weird agita I don’t like at all. I remember hearing this song and saying to myself “Let Go” as I drove through the snowy roads back home.
“Strangelove”, Depeche Mode: Remember that night club Kryptons I talked about earlier? This is another one of those 1987 songs that always reminds me of Kryptons. My friend Pete and my second cousin Krista who was visiting from Oregon decided to go out one night and we wound up there. I remember having too much Cranberry and Vodka that night. My bartender friend used to hook me up!
“Come Original”, 311: 1999: Autumn. I had just turned 29. My twenties were crazy. Maybe it was because I knew I would be turning thirty soon. I felt my need to party diminish greatly that fall. Going out three to four nights a week was starting to show. I wanted, no, needed something more. After a while, I felt like I was just playing the same record over and over again, every week. I began dating my future wife that December.
“Blessed”, Elton John: This song reminds me of November of 1995. Before I moved to Sweden in 1996, I spent about a week there visiting someone. As she drove me to the airport that snowy, cold, and dark November morning, I already knew I would be moving there. So did she. This song was playing as she pulled out of her driveway. It was 5:30 in the morning. Flash forward to last week. I hadn’t heard this song in years. Whenever I heard it in the past, it reminded me of that person. For a long time. I put all that behind me a long time ago, well before I got married. But when I heard it, I actually listened to the words. It is about a man getting ready to have a child. I couldn’t help but think of Jacob and how blessed I feel to have him in my life and proud I am of him.
“Smoky Mountain Rain”, Ronnie Milsap: Yes, you will find me listening to a little bit of country. Not the modern-day country music, but music from when I lived in Roanoke as a small boy. This was one of those songs. I believe it is another 1980 song. A lot of the songs from that time period I would hear listening to Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 every Sunday night. I used to tape them on my tape recorder. I think I may still have one of those cassette tapes lying around somewhere!
“City Of Blinding Lights”, U2: This is in my top five favorite U2 songs. Easily. Everything just flows, the piano, the guitar, the bass, the drums. But Bono’s words hit home with me the first time I heard it. “Blessings not just for the ones who kneel, luckily.” When Bono sings “I’m getting ready to leave the ground”, The Edge takes off with this swirling riff that leads to the main chorus. Aside from being a great song, it also reminds me of one dark night in my life. I got into a terrible fight with someone in my life and it led to a very strained relationship between the two of us that has never quite been the same since. It was stupid and silly stuff that started it. I lacked the patience at the time to deal with that stupid and silly stuff and it is something I regret to this day.
“Take It Easy”, The Eagles: Glenn Frey passed away last year. It bummed me out for a while. Probably more than David Bowie who passed a week earlier. When I lived in Roanoke as a child, I considered this my golden years. When life was innocent and pure. Not tainted by politics and real-life issues. Just being a kid. Playing with friends. Taking long walks for hours without worrying about someone kidnapping me like we tend to think nowadays with our own kids. Exploring the world I lived in every chance I had. Making all those kid mistakes and just bouncing right back. I miss those days. Not days I could or would live in again, but with a fondness that brightens my soul. And The Eagles were right there the whole time!
“When You’re Falling”, Afro-Celt Sound System and Peter Gabriel: This reminds me of the move from that suburb of San Diego to Riverside County in May of 2001. To a little town called Menifee. To our beautiful two-story home with the small back-yard. Watching the sun set over Mount San Jacinto those first times. Fixing up our home. Buying a lawn mower for the first time. Painting rooms. Sitting on the patio on those warm nights. It all seemed so simple and easy back then.
“I Will Follow”, U2: back again! I saw them in 1985 during their Unforgetable Fire Tour. In New Haven, Connecticut. It was the first concert I ever went to. Bono would just grab someone from the audience and let them play his guitar or dance with them. As the band has aged over the past thirty-five plus years, it can be hard to imagine them back in those younger days. How many bands stick around for this long with the same line-up from when they first started?
“Still The One”, Orleans: This reminds me of the summer of 1978. I was eight years old. We belonged to this swim club called Aquanet. My brothers and I spent many of our summer days there. Swimming, shooting pool, buying candy from the food court, running around, the life guard telling me not to run, listening to the songs of the summer. Those were the days!
“Since You’ve Been Gone”, The Outfield: This song has a specific story and meaning. I was in a fight with a friend and I stopped myself from picking up the phone for a long time. I heard this song in August of 1987. Right after, I picked up the phone and just said “Let’s meet.” Sometimes when we let go of our stubbornness it can be a good thing!
“Reunion”, Collective Soul: May 1995. A transition. Letting go and letting in. “Change has been what change will be. Time will tell then time will ease. Now my curtain has been drawn and my heart can go where my heart does belong. I’m goin’ home.”
“Rock The Casbah”, The Clash: Once upon a time, The Clash was the best band in the world. During their latter days, they hit it big when “Combat Rock” came out in 1982. There was no more tubular song that fall then “Rock The Casbah”. This is one of those songs that never seems to come off my MP3 player!
“I Will Follow You Into The Dark”, Death Cab For Cutie: As we get older, we tend to lose people we love more and more. Sometimes it happens unexpectedly and others it is a long road to travel. This song reminds me of the fear the dying must have. A terrifying feeling of an ending. I believe in Heaven and eternal life. I believe our souls embark to a life greater than one we can ever imagine. But that one moment scares me. I pray I don’t die alone. I can think of nothing more miserable. I want those I love to be around me so I can hopefully say goodbye.
“The Sound of Sunshine”, Michael Franti & Spearhead: Another Firefly song. When this band played, the sun came out after a morning of rain. Soon, the band played this song. Beach balls started flying through the crowd. Everyone was singing along. People were smiling and dancing. Enjoying life. It was the sound of sunshine.
“Times Like These”, The Foo Fighters: In the fall of 2002, I remember driving down the 15 (yes, on the West Coast people put “the” before major highways) and hearing this song on 91x. That journey from Menifee to Rancho Bernardo. Menifee to Murietta to Temecula to Fallbrook to Escondido to Rancho Bernardo. Through the mountains. The endless line of stopped cars no matter what road you think will be a short cut. Road rage all around you. Motorcycles whizzing by as you sit there forever. Sometimes you just crank the volume all the way to the top and sing your ass off.
“Rain In The Summertime”, The Alarm: Another Alarm song. But this is my all-time fave of the Welsh band. “And then I run ’til the breath tears my throat and the pain hits my side. As if I run fast enough, I can leave all the pain and the sadness behind.” I’ve run a lot in my life. I’ve run towards things and away from things. I’ve physically run. Away from bullies. For exercise. For work. I’ve run after my dog when she got out of the house a few times. What has always fascinated me about long-distance runners is the wall. That moment when they go past that point of exertion and get that extra shot of adrenaline and keep going. Lately I’ve been looking for that wall. I want to tear it down and go to that next level.
“What You Need”, INXS: It is hard for me to think of any INXS song without thinking of Michael Hutchence. He was the lead singer and he died twenty years ago. He killed himself. He couldn’t hold on for just one more day. As Bono from U2 said, he was “stuck in a moment you can’t get out of”. A decade before that, INXS was on top. Before “Kick” shot them through the stratosphere, they came out with “Listen Like Thieves”. “What You Need” was the lead single and it showcased INXS at their musical peak. Hutchence wailing, the horns blowing, building up to the crescendo. Some music is just about the band.
“One More Time”, The Cure: In the fall of 1987, my paternal grandmother passed away from cancer. It hurt, a lot. She was the first major family member I lost. My first grandparent to leave this earth. We were close. A few years before, I spent a week with her and my grandfather up at Cape Cod. It wasn’t really on the Cape, but we always called it that. It wasn’t far from the Cape though. A beach town called Mattapoisett in Buzzards Bay. They lived in this enclave called Antossawamock. I remember one evening during that week, my grandmother and I just sat there talking on the couch, for hours. She understood me in ways others didn’t. I tell people the best way to build a relationship with my son is to make that connection. Once you have that, you are golden. I had that with my grandmother. After her memorial service, I walked along the beach listening to this song. I just wanted one more time.
“Swing Life Away”, Rise Against: Another song from 2004 that reminds me of my son’s first few months. Wondering what his life would be like. All the hope and promise. Watching him during those May and June days sleeping in that aquarium swing. Taking him for walks to Lake Menifee. Waiting for his Mommy to get home from work. Changing his diapers. Just holding him for what seemed like forever. Rocking him in the rocking chair listening to a Reggae nursery rhyme CD. Reading tons of books to him. Days I cherish. Days I wouldn’t trade for any other day in the world.
“Ordinary World”, Duran Duran: I wasn’t expecting a great Duran Duran song driving back to college in January 1993. But there it was. Driving down the Pennsylvania Turnpike back to Cabrini College. For months after, I would pop this song on. I remember working on the school newspaper, The Loquitur. I was the Associate News Editor. On Tuesday evenings, you could count on myself and the other staff toiling away until way after midnight putting the paper together to send to the printer the next morning for a Thursday release. We were a team. We disagreed, we fought, we argued. But when it came time to getting it done every week, we laughed, we joked, and we worked. We made it happen. And we never failed. This was in the days before the internet changed journalism by leaps and bounds. So we literally cut and pasted. We cropped photos by scissors. And then scanned them in. It was fun!
“Don’t Ask The Reason Why”, Restless Heart: Growing up is tough enough. Trying to cross that bridge between your teenage years and adulthood can be very tough. It always helps when you have a friend to travel with. I like to look back now and realize that I once had a best friend and we helped each other on that journey. Through the laughter and the pain, we both made it to adulthood. We all have those people where things get so bad you don’t talk to them anymore. Far too much scar tissue. But as the years have gone by, I recognize that place and time in my life with purpose. How it wasn’t as bad as I once thought it was. That time led to my carefree and reckless twenties. Which led to settling down from that. Which led to meeting Deb. Which led to my incredible and awesome son. Which led me to now. I let go of the angst from that time period a long time ago. Sometimes I want to say hi to my old friend. But I understand the distance has a reason. I hope you are well.
“Red Skies”, The Fixx: Back in 1982, the Cold War was in full swing. We were all scared of the bomb. Both the USA and Russia continued their nuclear buildup and we lived on the razor’s edge. No one could have foreseen the collapse of the Soviet Union years later at that time. It was the most important world event of the time. After seeing “The Day After” in 1983, the horror of nuclear war came home on the TV screen. People vaporized in an instant. I tried to understand how two countries were hell bent on destroying each other. It never made sense to me.
“Next Generation”, Alphaville: I found this song as a b-side on a 45. For those who may be too young to understand what the hell I’m talking about, back then songs from albums had singles. You could get them as a smaller vinyl record called a 45 or as a cassingle (a cassette single). This dovetails with the last song somewhat. Alphaville is a German band. At that time, Berlin was still divided by a wall. An East and West Berlin existed along with West Germany and East Germany. It was the settlement Germany had to give to make peace after World War II. The Russians got part of the country resulting in two different countries, a democratic and free state and a communist one. Alphaville sang about that dynamic in a lot of their earlier songs. When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, many folks in the world were terrified of a reunified Germany. They thought they would go back to their old habits of the earlier 2oth century. But the next generation made sure that didn’t happen.
“You Are Not Alone”, The Eagles: In 2007, after 27 years, the Eagles were reunited and it felt so good! One of the songs on their new album, “You Are Not Alone”, was sung by the late Glenn Frey. I wrote earlier about that moment of death and the horrifying feeling it must be. I like to think of this song as that next step as our spirit soars to Heaven. Into the loving arms of Our Father. Death is very tough for the living. But it is life for the dying. That can be a hard concept to grasp for some people. In the years since my mom passed, I’ve tried explaining this to my son who still has tough moments with it. But I tell him she is happy now and she wouldn’t want him to cry about it anymore. And that she wants nothing more than for him to be happy.
“Forever Young”, Alphaville: The first Alphaville song I ever heard. The one that made me understand things on that cold and snowy Tuesday morning in December back in 1986. The song that made me see a different world where we can be whatever we make of ourselves.
“We’ve Got Tonight”, Bob Seger: When we are young, we so desperately want to love and be loved. We make so many mistakes trying to find that one person. We stumble down that tricky road. We dream and hope. We cry and yell. We fall and rise. We find new loves in the wake of the old ones. Love can take a long time to discover the central mystery to it all. That defining moment when you realize what life is really about. When you put away the toys of youth and see life in a new way. I won’t tell you what it is. If you don’t know, you aren’t there yet. And that is a journey we all must make ourselves.
Okay, enough for one night. I’ll have to do this again sometime!
The 149th General Assembly officially began on January 10th, this past Tuesday. But the first few weeks tend to be slow. Especially when it comes to education. But we already have seven education bills submitted by the Delaware House of Representatives. No Senate education bills have come forth at this point.
The biggest of these is a carryover from the 148th General Assembly, that of funding for basic special education for students in Kindergarten to 3rd grade. State Rep. Kim Williams made a ton of noise about the need for this funding during the last go-around, and she needs to keep making more noise! There should be NO question whatsoever about the need for this bill. NONE! It should not come down to fiscal concerns either. It needs to happen even if they have to cut some slush fund somewhere. House Substitute 1 for House Bill 12 will be a bill I advocate for this year, no doubt about it! I have to say I am disappointed there are NO Delaware Republicans that signed on to the substitute for this bill although Reps. Spiegelman and Briggs-King did sign on for the original House Bill #12. This is on the agenda for the House Education Committee meeting on Wednesday, January 18th at 2:30pm.
State Rep. Earl Jaques’ House Joint Resolution #3 would ensure both the House and Senate Education Committees see the Delaware Every Student Succeeds Act state plan before it is completed and sent to the United States Dept. of Education. That is a step, but I would prefer the General Assembly has authority to accept or reject the plan before it goes to the US DOE! This is also on the agenda for the House Education Committee meeting on Wednesday, January 18th at 2:30pm.
The drop-out age and school attendance came out roaring through the legislative gate! State Rep. Sean Matthews submitted two bills while State Rep. Tim Dukes submitted one. Dukes’ House Bill #17 would increase the drop-out age from 16 to 17. It would also include truancy. Matthews’ House Bill #23 takes it a step further and would require a parent or guardian to agree to a student dropping out if they are over the age of 16. Where this could get a bit sticky is what happens if a student is 18? They are of legal age at that point. Some students with disabilities attend school until the age of 21. Matthews’ House Bill #24 would require a parent conference if a student misses five consecutive days without an excuse. My take on this is if parents don’t know their kids are missing five days of school and just wandering around somewhere, it will be tough to get that parent to come to a conference if they are already so disengaged they don’t know what their kid is doing. All of these bills are meant to discourage dropping out and keeping students in school. I wholeheartedly agree with that. The trick is in the details.
This is another carryover from the 148th. State Rep. Deb Heffernan had this one ready to go on June 30th but I have to believe there simply wasn’t enough time to get to every bill that night/morning. But it is back with House Bill #15 which would make computer science a graduation requirement for high school students. This is also on the agenda for the House Education Committee meeting on Wednesday, January 18th at 2:30pm.
It wouldn’t be a General Assembly in the 2010s without some type of librarian legislation from State Rep. Paul Baumbach! House Bill #34 would increase the participants in a very long-sounding scholarship name.
I reminded myself I had to update the links to other Delaware blogs today since a few new ones have been introduced. I did myself a favor and clicked on each link on the Delaware Blogs section to see which ones are still active and which aren’t. As a result, I’ve added many to a new list called “Closed Delaware Blogs”. I went a step further and found tons of old Delaware blogs and added those. Thanks to Kilroy’s Delaware, The Delaware Way and Delaware Liberal for providing those links. If you know of any old Delaware blogs that aren’t on my lists, please let me know. As a general rule, if someone hasn’t posted anything in at least a year, I am putting them on the closed list. There are a couple where I know the authors and know they are not planning to post anything anytime soon.
Blogging was around a long time before I entered the scene. I think it is important to see what others said in the past. Many of their thoughts are just distant echoes of what we hear today. Different people and places, but the overall themes are the same. Especially when it comes to education and politics. We are entering a new era next week, nationally and in Delaware. Things will change while some things will stay the way they have always been. Having met some of these former bloggers, I miss their writings. Especially Transparent Christina and Kavips. Both of them had such unique spins on education. I’m hoping Kavips has been lurking around the Delaware blogosphere just biding their time to come back. We shall see! I was just beginning as the seventh type was winding down and I would have liked to see what Mike O had to say about what has happened since. He comments but it is not the same. I could always go for more Steve Newton, but he seems resigned to posting on Facebook these days. I’ve seen blogs disappear not long after they first came out. Some of them were damn good too! It isn’t an easy thing, this not-for-profit-much-less-a-penny 21st century writing mechanism.
After some starts and stops, the Delaware Special Education Strategic Plan is almost finished. The plan has been underway since 2014 when Governor Jack Markell inserted the creation of the strategic plan in the FY2015 epilogue language of the state budget. Matthew Korobkin, the Special Education Officer through the Secretary of Education’s office at the Delaware Dept. of Education, will give a status update on the plan to the State Board of Education at their meeting on January 19th. This is not to be confused with the State of Delaware Strategic Plan for Specialized Education Opportunities.
Last fall, the Special Education Strategic Plan was retooled after disability advocates viewed an initial draft. As a result of that, along with a very big push from State Rep. Kim Williams, a Facilitated Workgroup came into formation to fine tune the plan and make sure all voices were heard. In mid-December, the newly created group had a public two-day retreat to decide what should be in the plan. From there, sub-groups worked on different parts of the plan. It is expected to be released for public comment at some point in February, shortly after the State Board of Education meeting next week. From there, at some point in March, a presentation will be given to the State of Delaware Oversight Group for the Special Education Strategic Plan which includes members of the Delaware Interagency Resource Committee, a representative from Governor Carney’s office, and the Chairs of the Senate and House Joint Finance Committee.
The stakeholder workgroup has seven goals for development of the strategic plan which include the following: Students, Parents & Families, Community, Staff/Partners, Resources, Policies & Regulations, and Delivery/Structure/Systems. Like most Strategic Plans, this one will be not be set in stone and will be considered a fluid document whereby changes and tweaks can be added as needed. But every plan needs a foundation and what we will soon see are the building blocks for this plan. Things can happen which could substantially change the plan including the Delaware state budget and the upcoming ruling on the United States Supreme Court special education case of Endrew v. Douglas County School District.
Various groups and committees revolving around special education have occurred in Delaware over the past decade, but this is the first time I have seen such a huge mix of school districts, parents, and advocacy groups. The last group to form policy around special education was the IEP Task Force from 2014 which led to a large number of changes to state law and regulations. No education plan will ever please everyone and there will be parts people love and some others disapprove of. If there is one thing I have learned in education, it is constantly evolving and nothing will ever be perfect. But I would encourage any and all persons who care about special education to give this plan a very careful read when it comes out and let your thoughts be known with a goal of improving education for special needs kids.
The members of the Facilitated Workgroup consist of the following:
Michele Marinucci, Woodbridge School District
Daphne Cartright, Autism Delaware
Edward Emmett, Positive Outcomes Charter School
Katheryn Herel, PIC of Delaware
Jon Cooper, Colonial School District
Kendall Massett, Delaware Charter Schools Network
State Representative Kim Williams, Legislator
Kristin Dwyer, DSEA
Kristin Pidgeon, Down Syndrome Association
Lisa Lawson, Brandywine School District
Mary Ann Mieczkowski, Delaware Dept. of Education
Elisha Jenkins, Division for the Visually Impaired
Bill Doolittle, Parent Advocate
Sarah Celestin, Red Clay Consolidated School District
Vincent Winterling, Delaware Autism Program
Wendy Strauss, Governor’s Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens
Annalisa Ekbladh, University of Delaware Center for Disability Studies
John Marinucci, Delaware School Boards Association
Sonya Lawrence, Parent Advocate
Teresa Avery, Autism Delaware
Laurie Kettle-Rivera, Delaware School for the Deaf
Mark Campano, Delaware Statewide Programs
Josette McCullough, Appoquinimink School District
Mondaria Batchelor, Woodbridge School District
*above photo courtesy of State Rep. Kim Williams, photographed by yours truly at the 12/9 retreat
Sam Golder is the Director of Secondary Education for the Red Clay Consolidated School District. He is also one of the three candidates for the Christina Superintendent position. Last night, at a community forum, Golder was asked about parents opting their kids out of standardized testing. Golder’s response was “Opt Out! Everyone opt out!” The other two candidates believed it comes down to a parent’s right, but Sam Golder unequivocally and enthusiastically wants parents to opt out. Which would be good for opt out supporters. He needs to take that show on the road and hit every single school board, be it district or charter school, and tell them this energetic burst of good news. Since he believes in opt out so strongly, he needs to get a letter in with the News Journal promoting that same amount of opt out energy he showed last night.
Oddly enough, I don’t recall seeing Golder at any of the House Bill 50 hearings at Legislative Hall back in 2015. Oh well. He came out as the opt out supporter of 2017 last night though! Since I am not as active on this blog as I once was, I strongly urge parents who are curious about opt out to contact Golder so they can gain his infectious spirit and spread the news!
Should Golder get this lofty education leader position in the second largest district in the state, I sincerely hope he leaves some of his entourage back in Red Clay. You know, those who claim to be “in the know” but just want to see who can make the loudest thud in public education. I just wrote about some of those people. Yes, I promised to be nice this year. But I don’t like shenanigans, at any level. Crypticism is not completely dead on this blog.
For years, the commenter going by the name of Publius e decere haunted the comment section of Kilroy’s Delaware. Last summer, he vanished without a trace claiming the “sign was in the yard” and it was a “Capitol” move. For those of us who know who he is, it is very easy to put the pieces together. Why he left and why he doesn’t want to stick his neck out there anymore. But make no mistake, the spirit of Publius is alive and well in Delaware. Those who support school choice to the exclusion of minorities, the impoverished, and the disabled. Those who want to get their people in at district levels or on a school board. These are the same shakers and movers that allowed Charter School of Wilmington and Newark Charter School to have the demographics they have. They have their hooks in with legislators and state leaders. They are non-profits, for-profits, charter school board members, and even some are so embedded into the state education system it would take a work of God to get them to leave.
They are the wolves in sheeps clothing at times. But if you look close enough, you can see the Publius clones out there. They are hob-knobbing with those wolves in sheeps clothing. They attempt to placate those whose vote can make a difference with statements that are not so genuine but think they have the ability to dupe those who know better. They try to speak the corporate education reform Kool-Aid drinking lingo but come across sounding like a mini-me of Jack Markell. They talk about gaps like there should be a different word behind every potential gap out there. When the only thing they truly know about the Gap is the stores in every mall in America.
In this season of change, we need to be very mindful about who is attempting to get on our school boards. We need to know who wants to advance their own cause or truly make change in every school district. And no, I will not be one of those vying for a school board seat. I will say to watch out for what happens in Wilmington districts. Very carefully.
It looks like someone is going through political withdrawal before they even left office. Thanks to Delaware Liberal for getting this up. Who is Jack Markell trying to impress with this? He really doesn’t want to be forgotten. Even though he is actually already starting to fade away in my memory.
The Season Of Myths 