Suckers! Governor Carney vetoed the 5 mile radius bill. Big deal. We all knew he didn’t really have a choice. But don’t think for one second Senator David Sokola and Newark Charter School Head of School Greg Meece didn’t plan all of this the second the bill went into circulation. Did any of you think for one second Meece would give up his beloved 5-mile radius for NCS? Come on! This is Delaware Politics 101 folks!
This was never about Wilmington students. This was ALWAYS about Newark Charter School. They do NOT want anyone outside of their 5-mile radius crossing that line. Sokola knew the bill had legs so he found the perfect amendment to kill it: exclude the Wilmington portion of Christina. It would get all the civil rights activists going off and it worked like a charm. Lest we forget, this is the same State Senator who messed around with the opt out bill every single chance he could. How many of us were there when he scheduled many bills during a Senate Education Committee meeting and the opt out bill, House Bill 50, was delayed for a week? Remember the whole “Assessment Inventory Task Force” crap? That was him. Remember the charter school audit bill which was fantastic under State Rep. Kim Williams’ original incarnation until he got his charter-dirty hands on it. And what about House Bill 399, the bill that would have given teachers a choice of using the Smarter Balanced Assessment or other tests for their evaluations? He put so much crap in his amendment and watered it down to nothing. This is classic Sokola.
Don’t believe for one second that NCS had issues with transportation logistics. They didn’t want the 5-mile radius to go away. Period. That’s all this was ever about. I have no doubt Sokola was cheering me on when I wrote about how his version of House Bill 85 would result in a massive lawsuit against the state. This is what he does. He turns gold into poison ivy. But all the clowns up in Newark keep voting him back in over and over again.
As for Meece, he is never going to change. He loves the fact that HIS school is the “best” in the state. He loves the fact it’s the biggest as well. And he has stacked the deck with the sibling enrollment preference. That way all his favorite families can keep bringing their kids there. He might throw a prize our way by taking in some special education kids. Make it look like he is trying. But he isn’t. He’s just playing the game. And with Sokola by his side, he always wins.
Everyone on social media is talking about Carney and Wilmington. How Carney did or didn’t help Wilmington kids with his veto. Do you really believe Carney didn’t know what Sokola and Meece were up to the entire time? See the game for what it is folks. It isn’t about change. It’s about the status quo.
Lucky for Sokola, he got to go on a cross-country bike ride with former Governor and good buddy Jack Markell. They are somewhere in middle America right now, sweating their hineys off in spandex. I have no doubt Meece is thinking “Yes, we win again!” while wondering if he should go for a threepeat on Blue Ribbon status so he can brag that they are 1 in 5 trillion schools who ever got the hat trick. They played all of us for suckers, again. And they will do it again. As long as Sokola has his little amendment followers and enough whine to go with his charter cheese, this scene will play out again. And again. And again. I don’t have a doubt in my mind that Meece and Sokola ever worried about this bill at all. Gravy!
The Season Of Myths 
nothing new. Greg Meece has been laughing behing backs for years.
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I probably know the first and last names of more 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th grade students that live on the West Side of the City, both top and bottom of the hill; on North side, Eastside and Southbridge than Greg or John Carney combined. I know both of them well and they know me. I have not met one student from the city that was banging down the door to go to Greg’s Publicly funded Saint Marks. This is an issue for all of you that have yet to really try to help; to get all up and arms and act like you are really trying to help the kids in the city. Bullshit. What they want is a school that is clean, with qualified teachers who have chosen to work in the city- not ones that were assigned because they of seniority. They want great sports including a stadium, arts, drama music-great afterschool activities. A Building where the bathrooms are clean and safe without bugs and mouse droppings- where there is enough paper for teachers to make copies and good food in the cafeteria-one that will teach what they need and not from a script- a school that can get to quickly – not another one down in Newark that does not really want kids from the city. They don’t want to go to Greg’s school anymore than he wants them.
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You have described a Wilmington School District that must somehow be well funded. There are two Wilmington high schools that are well appointed, but yet not used for that purpose. Rid ourselves of the (private) Charter schools run with Public money, that compete with the vision of successful Public education. Landowner/taxpayers should have the right to originate school district referendums and have them held on Public election days. Say goodbye to Charters and put that spirit into Our schools.
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It’s a shame that amendment EVER went through despite how blatantly backwards it is; hiding behind excuses of “those students would be on a bus too long, how would they feel part of the school, how would parents get there”. When will we have the political courage to do what is right.
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Interesting to see the SBAC Math scores for NCS this year. As a parent I would be going right to Meese and asking him how they could drop from 80-90% to some grades performing at < 5%.
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Mr. Ohlandt,
When contributors try to describe your penchant for conspiracy theories and assigning false premeditated actions, these are the types of comments that they refer to. You’re drifting from informational insight to sarcasm and half-truths. It is your site and your prerogative to post what you are comfortable with. But just like the media who have now been shown to be unreliable, distortion of facts leads to cynicism and bias.
“….would give up his beloved 5-mile radius for NCS? ”
“They do NOT want anyone outside of their 5-mile radius crossing that line.” -It is not about a ‘beloved’ 5 mile radius and it isn’t about false racism accusations. It is about a community school feeder pattern based on the Neighborhood schools act. If the districts, courts, and individuals bent on playing twister with the feeder patterns, had not created our current situation, feeder patterns would be more rational, bus routes shorter, and sense of community maintained. Neither Newark residents nor Wilmingtonians feel community motivated when their kids are spread over the county.
“(Sokola) But all the clowns up in Newark keep voting him back in over and over again.”
-That same group of “clowns” unfortunately also votes for the likes of Mr. Kowalko who is most assuredly not supportive of resident demanded school improvement. So there is the conundrum of two legislators of different houses, with very different views of education and charters. Based on the things I’ve seen Mr. Kowalko author, he has some distinct opinions that are not based on resident’s wishes.
“As for Meece, he is never going to change. He loves the fact that HIS school is the “best” in the state. He loves the fact it’s the biggest as well.”
-Why are these problems? Why shouldn’t a school administrator be pleased with the results of what education can be when children are focused on education and not on watered down behavior or watered down academics? Shouldn’t all our school administrators be seeking this with their students? Wouldn’t most administrators be happy if their students were thriving academically and behaviorally? Is the Administrator at Howard promoting the death of Amy Joyner, absolutely not. Schools should be promoting and extolling the virtues of education, not accepting the status quo of only 30- 40-50% pass rates.
“And he has stacked the deck with the sibling enrollment preference. That way all his favorite families can keep bringing their kids there.”
-Does having siblings in the school improve or hinder a school? Does it improve a community school or disrupt a community school if siblings are in different schools? It improves, because the siblings know how their siblings performed and they know what is expected of them. It improves the community of the school because the families know what to expect and thus the students, to perpetuate successful attitudes, behaviors, and academics desired by the parents. Would it be better to have to bus kids from one family to multiple schools (public, charter, private) or bus them to the same school? What’s cheaper? Your comment of ‘stacking’ continues to ignore that it is entrance by lottery so siblings follow but entrance is still by lottery.
“He might throw a prize our way by taking in some special education kids. Make it look like he is trying. But he isn’t. He’s just playing the game.”
-Sorry, but a complete falsehood as there are students with special needs in the school and they enter the same way non-special needs kids do, the lottery. The difference is that special needs kids are actually treated better by their peers and they sometimes even academically outperform ‘normal’ kids at traditional schools. The ‘game’ is maybe a different game than the traditional schools that hide ineffective educational programs and then blame social issues for their failures. Are you asserting that Christina withholding funds wasn’t a twisted ‘game’ of hording resources? What about the ‘game’ of traditional schools not punishing students or using different punishments because of their race? What about the ‘game’ of passing students not prepared for the next grade? Are our traditional schools not just playing their ‘games’ to serve their ends?
Mr Meece, NCS, and other successful charters have developed their methods and culture. Our traditional schools face different obstacles but when presented with effective methodologies and behavioral controls, they have refused to entertain those. In some cases they have asserted alternative facts in order to deflect responsibility but they remain less successful. “More Money” or “It’s for the children”, their mantras, have yet to unlock their potential. What kind of game is that?
I ask that you sincerely dispel with hyperbole and half truths about NCS and charter schools while defending or tolerating traditional school failings. Not unlike the mainstream media outlets attempting to defend their credibility, non-retracted misrepresentations and out of context statements do not help validate false claims. Education and students would be better served by factually addressing the real problems rather than scapegoat or follow dog whistles.
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