The Top 18 Most-Read Articles Of 2018 & By The Numbers Recap

I’m a sucker for year-end lists.  Some folks like ’em and some hate ’em!  Most of the articles that generated the most hits were ones where I either broke a story on or offered a perspective that couldn’t be found elsewhere.  One story generated so much controversy I had to put all comments in moderation!  District salaries became very popular and the hits on those continue to grow every single day since I posted those last March.  Sadly, the subject of one of my articles was myself.

In Honor Of St. Patrick’s Day: The Top 17 Lists

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  As the Irish eyes are smiling, I thought I would give an update on what articles are in the top 17 of all time on here along with some other Top 17 lists!

TOP ARTICLES FROM JUNE 13th, 2014 UNTIL MARCH 17th, 2017

1. Delaware Public Schools: You Have Until Thursday To Get Rid Of Your Data Walls Or I Start Filing FERPA Complaints
2. Her Name Is Amy
3. US DOE & Arne Duncan Drop The Mother Of All Bombs On States Special Education Rights
4. Holodick & Brandywine Named In Lawsuit As Father Seeks Justice For Year Long Nightmare
5. My Special Needs Son’s First Day Of Common Core Division & This Is His Homework
6. Breaking News: Secretary Godowsky Is Changing Funding Formula So Charter Schools Will Get More School District Money
7. Charter School of Wilmington & Discrimination: Student Denied Due Process and Subject To Potential Profiling By Head Of School
8. America Is Getting Bamboozled With Betsy Devos! She Is All In On The True Agenda: Cradle To Grave Workforces Of Tomorrow
9. Tragedy Strikes Howard High School In Wilmington As Female Student Dies From Head Injuries In Fight
10. Teach For America Rejected & Slammed At Professional Standards Board Meeting Last Night **UPDATED**
11. Breaking News: Court Rules Smarter Balanced Assessment Violates The U.S. Constitution
12. The Gates Foundation Isn’t Even Hiding It Anymore… The Complete Transformation Of Education Brought To You By Billionaires
13. Thom Labarbera, Brandywine Social Studies Teacher, Passes Away
14. Delaware Racism: It Is Reality And It Is Not Going Away
15. Delaware Senate Passes The “No School Until After Labor Day” Bill With Close Vote
16. Carney’s Pick Of Susan Bunting For DE Secretary Of Education May Not Be The Wisest Choice
17. Niche.com Delaware School Rankings By High School, Middle School, Elementary, Best Teachers & More

TOP REFERRERS TO EXCEPTIONAL DELAWARE

1. Facebook
2. Google
3. Twitter
4. Kilroy’s Delaware
5. Delaware Liberal
6. Bing
7. WordPress.com Reader
8. Android apps
9. Diane Ravitch.net
10. Elizabeth Scheinberg.net
11. AOL
12. Yahoo Search
13. Comcast.net
14. Kavips
15. Emilytalmage.com
16. Gmail
17. Cloaking Inequity.com

Top 17 Countries Reading Exceptional Delaware

1. United States of America
2. Canada
3. New Zealand
4. United Kingdom
5. Australia
6. India
7. Germany
8. France
9. Phillipines
10. Russia
11. Ireland
12. Mexico
13. South Africa
14. Spain
15. Japan
16. Netherlands
17. Italy

Top 17 Most Bizarre Search Terms That Brought Someone To Exceptional Delaware

1. MBNA
2. Bank of America and U2
3. Waist deep on charter and on demand
4. Mold photos willowleaf dr
5. did Mark Zuckerberg restrict Common Core posts on Facebook?
6. “are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law” and citi
7. christiana school distinct to start after Labor Day
8. big daddy taution school
9. Quentin Tarantino
10. mark holodick age
11. dr brewington ffa jail
12. data walls suck
13. meredith blowman archmere
14. delaware goopen initiative
15. man jacks son common core
16. henry clampitt delaware
17. mark murphy dsea president

My Top 17 Favorite Articles I Wrote On This Blog

1. Her Name Is Amy
2. Breaking News: Family Foundations Academy Under Financial Investigation With State Auditor
3. Delaware Race To The Top, Hedge Funds & Millions Wasted: The Story of Rodel, Markell, Charters & The Vision Network
4. Rodel’s CEO Dr. Herdman Sent An Email Re: Rodel Article, My Response & Challenge
5. Mold Issues At Christina Elementary School Could Be Causing “Pulaski Kennel Cough”
6. Smyrna Assistant Superintendent Patrik William’s Hysterical Letter To Delaware DOE
7. Breaking News: Santa Claus Supports Opt-Out!!!
8. The “Dear Hillary” Letter That Will Cause Your Mouth To Drop To The Floor
9. The Tentacles Of Corporate Education Reform And How They Pull Parents Down The Rabbit Hole
10. Breaking News: Secretary Godowsky Is Changing Funding Formula So Charter Schools Will Get More School District Money
11. Newark Charter School Denies Lottery To 6 Year Old Girl With Rare Disability
12. Santa and John
13. The Last Exceptional Delaware Post
14. Opt Out As We Know It Is Dead… Long Live The Badge
15. Jack Markell, Blockchain, Coding Schools, Rodel, BRINC, Pathways To Prosperity, Registered Agents… Delaware’s Role In “The Ledger”
16. The Test Made For White Kids, Not Black Kids
17. The Delaware Met Down For The Count A Month Into The School Year

A lot of the above articles were either a labor of love or based on a ton of research.  Some just came to me on a whim.  Some of these articles actually changed things in Delaware.  One was wishful thinking on my part!  A few were written in a very different style than what most of my readers are accustomed to.  With over 3,200 articles written on here, it is tough to pick out my personal favorites, but these ones are definitely up there.

As for the future, I’ll keep chugging along.  I’ve taken a back seat to a lot of things going on in Delaware education the past few months.  Had to stretch my sea legs!  But research-based articles will return at some point once I get my bearing back.  Unless something radically changes, you will see more of my investigative work but with less of an accusatory tone and with more quotes (hopefully) or information gathering from the subject of the article.  In any event, Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

 

 

We Are The World January 2016: Closing The Gaps

This is the world.  If you see a country in white, that means they haven’t visited Exceptional Delaware.  I’ve conquered North America, Europe, and most of South America.  Asia has some holes in it still, along with Africa.  This is one of my goals for 2016.  To close the gaps.  I will not rest or sleep until I have completely taken over the world.  This is not a game of Risk, otherwise Africa would have been mine already.  Every country must have a color!  I am opting out of countries that are blank until they come and visit me.  I tried with Mongolia, even going to a few Mongolian WordPress blogs and making comments.  It’s how I got Greenland, but I also found a really awesome Greenland blog with amazing photos on it, so it all worked out.  What’s up with the Stans in Asia?  I’m sure they have that thing called the internet over there.  Exceptional Delaware wasn’t built in a day, but with the last country colored in I will completely take over the world in a day!  I will accept no substitutes!