A 36 Year Mainstay, Delaware Teacher Center Closes Their Doors Due To Being Cut From Budget

The Delaware Teacher Center, founded in 1981, has been forced into an unwinnable situation.  Because of being cut from the FY2018 budget for Delaware, they have no funding.  They posted the following message on Facebook.  Expect more of this folks.

What did they do?

The Teacher Center provides two main services to Delaware educators 1.) a statewide program of workshops, conferences, and community services and 2.) nine centers statewide where teachers can create free instructional materials.

In an era of digital and personalized learning, the importance of teachers is being diminished.  It will happen fast when it is fully implemented.  Beware the things you think are being co-opted by certain organizations.  They aren’t what you think they are!

 

Something Wicked This Way Comes…Could “He” Be Coming Back?

He warned us.  He put it out there for the whole world to see.  Like an itch you just can’t scratch.  But can we handle it if he does?

Delaware Charter Schools Network Removed From District Consolidation Task Force Membership

It was one of those blink and you miss it moments.  In the midst of budget negotiations in the early hours of July 1st, the Delaware House of Representatives voted again on House Concurrent Resolution #39 after Senator Colin Bonini added an amendment in the Senate.  The bill passed the Senate but because the amendment was added, the House had to vote again.

Bonini’s amendment removed charter schools from being a part of any district consolidation discussion.  When the bill came back to the House, State Rep. Kim Williams added another amendment which would remove the Delaware Charter Schools Network from membership on the district consolidation task force.  It was a logical amendment.  If charters didn’t want to be a part of the discussion, why would they want membership?  The amendment barely passed with 21 yes and 20 no.  The sole Republican yes vote came from State Rep. Jeff Spiegelman.  Democrats who voted against it were Earl Jaques, Melanie Smith, Larry Mitchell, Quinton Johnson and Pete Schwartzkopf.  None of those Dem votes really surprise me.  Some who voted yes surprised me, but I have seen similar votes with charter related bills this year so perhaps there could be a shift in thinking on that front.

The Delaware Department of Education is the support agency for this task force.  While no meetings have been scheduled at this point, the final report is due to the General Assembly by January 30th, 2018.  I expect this task force will get going at some point later this summer.

Have You Heard? “Personalized Learning” and the Disruption of Education

Diane Ravitch's blog

Now that we live in the new gig economy, where kids in their 20s become instant multimillionaires by disrupting every industry, here come the hawkers of (de)personalized learning to replace teachers with smart (but not cheap) machines. These machines never need pensions or health care. They don’t care about tenure or due process.

Jennifer Berkshire (once known as EduShyster) and historian of education Jack Schneider survey the plan to disrupt American education.

“Podcast: My Teacher is an Algorithm

“Silicon Valley billionaires want to replace teachers with technology, and their big money cause is attracting some strange bedfellows.

“Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg is in. So is Reed Hastings from Netflix. In fact, it’s hard to find a Silicon Valley billionaire who doesn’t want to disrupt public education by replacing teachers with algorithms. In the latest episode of the Have You Heard podcast, co-hosts Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider talk to Common Sense…

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Another Budget Year and Charter Schools Are Still Able to Keep Their Leftover Transportation Funds

DelawareFirstState

During the Legislative Session budget debate, charter school transportation leftover funds were brought up once again. I just do not understand how we keep doing this year after year, allowing charter schools to keep any leftover transportation funds that they have remaining at the end of the budget cycle. Rep. Kowalko has been fighting this fight for as long as I have been in Dover. Each year in the budget’s epilogue there is language that was added years ago that allows charter schools to keep any leftover funds that they do not spend on bus services for their students. Every year, Rep. Kowalko files an amendment to the budget and every year he pleads with his colleagues on both sides to support his amendment and every year it does not pass. Each year, more and more Democrats support his amendment but no Republicans ever vote yes. Republicans are constantly stating they want…

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