Monthly Archives: February 2016

National PTA has just lost its credibility!

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The PTA has grown into a powerful lobbyist over the years. My children attended Forest Oak Elementary School where I was very involved with the PTA–I served on many committees and was elected president for a total of four years. Our PTA received many awards from Delaware PTA while I was president. I have to say that I am beyond disappointed in the letter that was sent to the DE PTA. I never thought I would see the day that a national association who’s primary mission is to advocate on behalf of children would send this message to parents!

Below is from the National PTA website where they speak of family engagement. The letter they sent seems to point towards family disengagement.

Today’s PTA is a network of millions of families, students, teachers, administrators, and business and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of family engagement in schools. 

Here is the letter that was sent to Delaware PTA.

Questions from DE PTA to National PTA and National PTA’s response.

Not Sure If Our State Board of Education is Even Necessary

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I have many issues with the State Board of Education. I thought maybe the answer was to write a bill and have the State Board elected and add appointed members such as legislators, members of various organizations etc. to the board. I am beginning to think we really do not need a State Board of Education. It is just another bureaucratic body that is just not necessary–it is time to remove the middle man.

Thoughts?

Research is being done so I can have a better understanding about our state’s history with respects to the State Board of Education and Delaware Department of Education.

I have filed two FOIA complaints against the State Board of Education–one was filed on January 24, 2016 and another on February 25, 2016.

 

Members of the General Assembly asked AG Denn if the Executive Director of the Delaware Charter Schools Network should be Registered as a Lobbyist?

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Last July, the News Journal reported that Delaware Charter Schools Network was one of the top five lobbyists in Delaware. Yet, when the Public Integrity Commission was contacted and when the January 2016 lobbyist report was reviewed, Delaware Charter Schools Network, Executive Director Kendall Massett and Board President Chuck Taylor were not registered lobbyists. They both are members of the Department of Education Charter School Accountability Committee which makes recommendations as to whether a charter school will open, expand, close, go on formal review or be modified. They both are seen regularly in Dover speaking with Senators, Representatives, members of the Department of Education, and the State Board of Education. They are soliciting support for certain educational bills and then lobbying hard against other educational bills. They wrote Senate Bill 171 (Sen. Sokola’s replacement bill for my Audit Bill) and they were in Dover on June 30th to campaign against House Bill 186 – Charter Audit Bill.

Yesterday, I was reviewing the current lobbyist report and Kendall Massett is now listed on the report. I am hoping DOJ will respond to our letter soon.

 

Education Funding Improvement Commission Meeting #4 –Must Read!

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Yesterday, I attended the Education Funding Improvement Commission Meeting #4. It was held in Dover at 9:00. Former State Representative Scott, who is chairing this committee, thought the timeline which was placed on the commission was very tight. The commission report is due in March. He asked the members if they were in favor of adding additional time so the committee could continue to meet –the committee members present all agreed. One member of the commission, did express that the time of day that they hold these meetings are not convenient for parents and educators. She requested that they hold the next meeting at night.

I am not sure where the commission is heading. There is a great divide with its members. One group of members want to throw out the unit count system completely and the other group of members want to keep the unit count and modify it.

The meetings that I have attended have been more about presenting information then actual discussion. I am not against presentations, it is important to educate members on the issues. My concern is everyone in the room already knows where they stand on the issue. They really need to open up the discussion and figure out which direction are they going to take –removing the unit count completely or keeping it and add weighted funding to it. Once the members decide on this, I believe the members will be able to recommend what needs to be done.

The first presentation was given by Rep. Bambauch and David Blowman. Rep. Bambauch had been working with the Department of Education on this issue for the last year. The Department of Education hired a consultant they had been working with to do the research. The group that prepared the report was Hanover Research. This group only provided data and no recommendations –I had a hard time dissecting the report.

Rep. Bambauch and David Blowman presented a traditional weighted funding model –both of them believe the unit count system needs to be removed and replaced with a weighted formula. Rep. Bambauch commented that the funding system is broken and that funding needs to be fairly distributed throughout the state. Each school would receive a budget and the school principals would have a salary cap (hiring teachers/staff) in place at their schools. He does not believe teachers will be against this. He believes the most important thing teachers want are the necessary resources in place at their schools.

The next presentation was Dr. Marguerite Roza, from Georgetown University, she presented an equitable funding model.  She focused on four reasons to change the formula:  provide equity for students, delivery models are changing and the formula must not stand in the way, simple and transparent, and be outcome focused. Her recommendations were to allocate funds per pupil, ensure funds are flexible, restructure equalization, and build a transparent system.

The next step, in my opinion, should be a vote to see where the members are with the direction of this committee. I am getting the impression there is an agenda in place that not all members of the committee have seen. There seems to be a push for removing the unit count completely and replacing it with one of the models that have been presented over the last few meetings. A letter was drafted by some committee members expressing their concerns about the direction of the committee.

I did make a public comment at the end of the meeting. I suggested that they have more dialogue among the committee members instead of presentations. If they could make sure the Education Funding Improvement Commission website has the meeting dates listed. On their website for yesterday’s meeting it listed the February meeting was “To Be Determined”.  I expressed support for the unit count system but adding weighted student funding for ELL, poverty and basic special education kindergarten through 3rd grades.

Below, is a link to information and presentations associated with this commission. The next meeting will be held sometime in March.

Education Funding Improvement Commission website.

 

 

 

Newark Charter School will only accept five year olds into their kindergarten program

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Over the weekend, Rep. John Kowalko emailed me concerning a family whose choice application was pulled from the lottery because their daughter did not turn five during a specific time frame. They were told that they would not be allowed to apply to kindergarten for the 2016-2017 school year. Newark Charter School’s board recently voted to change their admission’s policy pertaining to students who apply to Newark Charter School for kindergarten. Prior to the board’s vote, children had to be five years old at the time of admission. Below is Newark Charter School’s new policy:

All Kindergarten applicants must turn five years of age in the period from September 1, 2015 to August 31, 2016 to apply for KN in the 2016-2017 lottery

I am not sure what Newark Charter School’s reasoning is for changing their policy. There are many reasons why a family may decide to hold their child back a year from starting kindergarten. Many children have late summer birthdays, a disability, or some children just need that additional year.

This family’s child has a physical disability which impacts her fine motor skills and limits the use of her hands and arms. During a parent/teacher conference last spring, the pre-school recommended that the child be retained for an additional year. The family reached out to their feeder school and the feeder school had no objection.

The family reached out to Newark Charter School and it is my understanding the Board of Directors and the Department of Education stated that Newark Charter School followed all proper procedures.

Over the weekend, I wrote to Secretary Godowsky about this family and my concerns over Newark Charter School’s new policy only allowing students who turn five to be entered into the lottery.  I asked Secretary Godowsky if Newark Charter School’s new admission’s policy had been approved by their authorizer?  I did some researching of Title 14 and found some language that I thought would be helpful to the family –Title 14 – Chapter 27 allowed a family to delay kindergarten one year if the child had been evaulated.

Title 14 – Chapter 27 – School Attendance allows for a family to request a one year delay if the child has been evaluated. The family had their child evaluated the year before, so I assumed this part of the code would apply to them. I pointed this out to all parties involved.

The child was entered into last night’s lottery, she is on the waiting list. I am not sure who made the decision to add her name to the lottery and I am not sure why they made the decision — I am just glad the student was entered.  I still have an issue about Newark Charter School’s current policy. Why was the change made? Is it legal? If it is legal, is Newark Charter School obligated to point out the section of Delaware Code to applicants that there is an exception to their policy? I am still trying to get my questions answered.

ATTENDING A PUBLIC SCHOOL SHOULD NOT BE THIS DIFFICULT. If the family did not reach out to Rep. Kowalko, their child would have not been entered into the lottery.

(c) The following provisions shall be applicable to the administration of subsection (a) of this section in regard to compulsory attendance in the kindergarten for a child age 5 years:

 (1) If a child is a resident of the State at the time of that child’s eligibility for admission to the kindergarten at age 5, the parents, guardian or legal custodian of that child may request that school authorities evaluate the child’s readiness for attendance and may request a delay of 1 year in that attendance. However, admission to first grade will be authorized only after schoolauthorities evaluate the child’s readiness for attendance.
 

University of DE Faculty Senate will vote on an admission requirement making SAT scores optional

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UDLogoSAT.png

It looks like Delaware Department of Education did not reach out to Delaware colleges before making their announcement about SAT scores. DE DOE recently announced that the SAT will replace the 11th grade Smarter Balanced state assessment starting this school year. In a recent Delaware Online article Gov. Jack Markell and DOE stated that Smarter Balanced gives a deeper, more nuanced picture of a student’s academic skills than previous exams., others may disagree with that statement.

I received information that the University of Delaware Admissions Guidelines Committee has made recommendations. The University of Delaware’s Faculty Senate will vote on whether or not to approve a resolution making the SAT/ACT optional as a criterion for admitting Delaware residents starting the class of Fall, 2017.  Many colleges are making submission of test scores optional for students when applying. Higher test scores, skeptics note, are closely associated with socio-economic status, making it harder for low-income kids to get into a good school (and hopefully move up the economic ladder), and easier for high-income students to take the test prep classes that can improve their numbers.

The committee’s conclusion that SAT is not a unique indicator of student success raises important concerns. There is a positive correlation between socio-economic status (SES) and SAT scores, and, in the state of Delaware and broadly across the region, less affluent students are often disproportionately students of color (Civil Rights Project: UCLA, 2014). The reliance on SAT scores as an indicator of academic potential may increase the risk of discouraging less affluent students and those from historically underrepresented groups from applying to UD. This runs counter to the mission and strategic direction of the University.

Last year, the Delaware Department of Education announced that colleges would use Smarter Balanced scores as evidence that students are ready for entry-level, credit-bearing courses and may be exempted from remedial courses.

College readiness indicators keep changing here in the first state.

FOIA complaint filed against the State Board of Education

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My email to AG Denn regarding the State Board of Education, January 21, 2016 meeting.
AG Denn, I am writing to you today to file a complaint with regards to the State Board of Education most recent board meeting held on Thursday, January  21, 2016 in the Townsend Building, Dover. If you listen to the State Board meeting audio from Thursday, you can hear that Dr. Gray instructed someone to have a side bar conversation during the State Board meeting, this was a public meeting she should not have instructed someone to go off the record, I have provided the audio below. Later on during the meeting after the WEIC Commission left, I witnessed along with Mike Matthews, RCEA president, Dr. Gray coming over to the attorney’s table and asked the attorney questions about WEIC and what had taken place with the vote and the amendment, again she should not be asking questions off the record. The State Board violated open meeting laws.
Also, the vote they took, in my opinion violated Senate Bill 122. The board was suppose to vote yes or no –if it was no, they were to write to the commission their reasons why. They voted yes with an amendment  I have provide Senate Bill 122 below.
Please let me know if your office will be looking into my complaint.
Representative Kim Williams
19th District
302-577-8476 Wilmington Office
302-744-4351 Dover Office
Kimberly.Williams@state.de.us
Twitter: @kimwilliamsde