Breaking News: DAPSS Is Closed Effective Immediately!!!!

Sources from the meeting at Delaware Academy of Public Safety and Security tonight are saying the Delaware charter school is shut down effective immediately.  Students have to find a new school to go to tomorrow.

Herb Sheldon and his ghost enrollments assuredly played a factor.  I can’t begin to stress how crazy this is.  He screwed over this school and now all the students will pay the price.

I’m sorry, but the Delaware Department of Education had to have some sense of how bad this was and the State Board of Education should have shut them down effective the end of the last school year.  At least that way students and families could have found new schools.  Instead, we have this.

I know folks tried to turn this ship around but it already hit the iceberg years ago.  I also feel bad for the staff who are unemployed as of tomorrow.  This has to hurt.  I know I wrote a ton about this the past year.  I really did hope they could turn it around.

Delaware Met Shuts Down Three Days Early Due To Threats From Students

The Delaware Met shuts its doors three days earlier than expected.  Yesterday, the Delaware Met closed it’s doors to students for good.  After threats to teachers and administrators including arson (burning the school down), property damage, and physical violence, the school shut down.  Delaware Met’s official last day is January 22nd, this Friday.  But the students, obviously not caring about any type of instruction the next few days, decided to coerce the school leader into giving them three days off by their actions.

Most of the board members resigned last week.  There was talk about a potential lawsuit, but even the school’s own attorney didn’t think it was a good idea.  And so ends the five month saga of the Delaware Met.  Opened in August, closed in January.  The school is under investigation by the Delaware Auditor of Accounts for potential financial issues.  It is not known if their management company, Innovative Schools, is also part of that probe.  Should First State Montessori Academy get their modification approved for an increase in their enrollment and going to 8th grade, the plan is to take over half of the property at 920 N. French St., where Delaware Met is now.

The Delaware Met had their charter revoked last month by the State Board of Education after violations of pretty much everything.  The biggest violation was the lack of correct IEPs for the school’s 59 students with disabilities.  Violence, including a student having their hair caught on fire, a student going to the hospital due to head injuries, and numerous fights led to a lot of police activity at the school.  While finding one thing to blame on the school for their demise would be difficult, it became more than obvious this was a school that should have never opened in the first place.