When the auditor’s office does not do its job who audits the auditor’s office?

I was going through the Delaware Online Checkbook and I came across an entry in the checkbook that I wanted more information about – it was a charter school petty cash entry. I sent the entry to the Auditor’s Office for clarification. I was told the Auditor’s Office was reviewing their petty cash accounts.  The Auditor’s Office had a document titled:  Charter School Petty Cash Expenditures – Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2015 which was never released to the public even though Wagner’s office had been working on this for months. Instead Tom Wagner sent the following letters to the charter schools and others in place of the document.  The public was left in the dark once again, so much for transparency with our tax dollars.

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US Secretary Establishes New Teacher Prep Program Regulations

The US Secretary of Education established new regulations to implement requirements for the teacher preparation program accountability system (see below to read entire report) that will result in the collection and dissemination of more meaningful data on teacher preparation program quality.  I have also included a link to Delaware’s Plan that was approved by US DOE. Delaware’s plan includes stakeholders and I see a few familiar names mentioned in the report, one being Mike Matthews.

The feds point out that the final regulations address shortcomings in the current system by defining the indicators of quality that a State must use to assess the performance of its teacher preparation programs, including more meaningful indicators of program inputs and program outcomes, such as the ability of the program’s graduates to produce gains in student learning ^[5] (understanding that not all students will learn at the same rate).

What our teachers need resources, resources, and more resources! Delaware needs to fund kindergarten through 3rd grade basic special education. Delaware needs full-time art, music, technology, PE, library, and talented and gifted teachers in all of their schools. Delaware and the entire nation need to move away from their obsession on testing. Let teachers take control of their classrooms and do what they do best – TEACH! Do we go into doctor’s office and rate them?  A report card showing the public how many people have died under their care – label why each patient died, their age, race, gender, income and then rate each doctor and label their practice as a failing or needs improvement – NO, so why do we feel the need to do this to our schools and our educators?

I recently visited Mote Elementary School, in my district, and I spent my time there in Pre-K and 1st grade rooms, no state assessment required in these grade levels. I witnessed two teachers who were thoughtful, engaged, kids had smiles on their faces and who were having fun learning – one teacher was in her 1st year and one teacher had been teaching 16+ years. Disclosure – Principal Bolden at Mote let me walk through the school on my own and I had access to the entire school. We need to move away from worrying about a test and give teachers more time to teach and mentor new teachers – I believe we would see better results.

Two more thoughts, first – why do we need to test public school students every year – test them once in Elementary, Middle and High School.

The second thought, Delaware does not have a state assessment that measures growth, that needs to change as well!

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Who Controls Our Schools?

Read for yourself, Who is Controlling Our Schools? This was written by the Independent Media Institute.

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Why Was the former Indian River School District CFO Able to Get a State Job in the First Place?

Below is a media advisory that was released on October 20, 2016 by Tom Wagner in response to media inquires. Thanks Kevin Ohlandt for posting this on Facebook. The Auditor’s Office is going to comp employees time to get the Indian River Investigation/Audit Report done. I started emailing (see below email) Tom Wagner back in May 2016 right after I learned about Indian River’s CFO. To the Auditor’s Office: How about getting an investigation/audit done because of inquires from the General Assembly.

The News Journal reported in April 2016 that Indian’s River CFO Miller was put on paid administrative leave. Delmarva Now reported in May 2016 that Indian’s River CFO Miller resigned.

Miller also had been audited in his previous job as chief financial officer of the Brandywine School District. He faced criminal charges as the result of that audit and resolved his legal troubles by entering a no contest plea before Superior Court Judge Carl Goldstein. How was this guy even able to obtain another state job in one of our school districts, that is the question that we all should be asking? In this article, it states that Miller will be in a position a year from now to seek under another state law, to have the criminal record resulting from the charges expunged. Unbelievable!

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MEDIA ADVISORY

State Auditor’s Investigation into the Indian River School District

Posted On: Thursday, October 20, 2016

Dover, Del. – In response to media inquiries regarding the Auditor of Accounts’ (AOA) investigation into the Indian River School District, members of the media are advised that AOA intends to release its report in advance of the District’s referendum vote scheduled for Tuesday, November 22, 2016.

State Auditor R. Thomas Wagner, Jr. has authorized compensatory time for individuals working on this investigation in an effort to expedite the release of the report.

For more information, please contact John Fluharty at 302-857-3937. 

Massachusetts: Charter Schools Neglect and Exclude Students with Disabilities

Massachusetts: Charter Schools Neglect and Exclude Students with Disabilities

Diane Ravitch's blog

Michael Robinson, a parent of children with disabilities, has compiled state data on charter schools in Massachusetts and students with disabilities.

The facts are shocking and should be an embarrassment to the charter industry.

Here are just a few of those facts, from official data:

25% of Massachusetts charter schools have zero full-time special educators, as compared to only 3% of public schools.

Public schools report one special-education teacher for every 22 students with disabilities, charters report one special-education teacher for every 36 students with disabilities.

67% of the “districts” with the lowest service to students with disabilities are charter schools.

Students with disabilities enrolled in charter schools are three times as likely to be disciplined as students in public schools (14% vs. 5%).

91.3% of the districts with the highest rates of disciplinary actions for students with disabilities are charter schools.

Students with disabilities are 2.4 times more likely…

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Arthur Goldstein: The New Grading Standards in NYC Are Absurd and Inhumane

Arthur Goldstein lacerates the administration of the New York City Department of Education for a grading policy that further diminishes the discretion of teachers to make judgments about what their students need and how they are progressing.

Diane Ravitch's blog

Arthur Goldstein has taught ESL students in New York City for decades, and he has one of the best blogs in the city, state, and nation, written from the view of a teacher.

In this post, he lacerates the administration of the New York City Department of Education for a grading policy that further diminishes the discretion of teachers to make judgments about what their students need and how they are progressing. I can’t help but think about the paradigm of all national systems, where teachers are carefully selected, well prepared, treated as masters of their profession, and trusted to do what’s best for their students.

The new NYC rule, Arthur says, is “you will differentiate instruction the same way for everyone.”

He writes:

“That seems to be the main thrust of the new grading policy. A big thing, for me at least, is the policy on what is…

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Report: Most States Have Cut Spending on Education

“Thirty-five states provided less overall state funding per student in the 2014 school year (the most recent year available) than in the 2008 school year, before the recession took hold” – according to the report.

Diane Ravitch's blog

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities documents how states are disinvesting in K-12 education.

This report shows the dramatic contradiction between political rhetoric and economic reality. The state’s that are cutting education spending are also demanding higher test scores, and many have launched charters and vouchers, which further diminish funding for public schools.

It begins:

“Public investment in K-12 schools — crucial for communities to thrive and the U.S. economy to offer broad opportunity — has declined dramatically in a number of states over the last decade. PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN K-12 SCHOOLS HAS DECLINED DRAMATICALLY IN A NUMBER OF STATES OVER THE LAST DECADE.Worse, most of the deepest-cutting states have also cut income tax rates, weakening their main revenue source for supporting schools.

“At least 23 states will provide less “general” or “formula” funding — the primary form of state support for elementary and secondary schools — in the…

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Valerie Strauss: Obama’s Disastrous Education Legacy–and Two Failed Secretaries of Education

This is an issue in Delaware. I am not sure why our leaders cannot see what they have done to our educational system over the years. They have put practices in place that are hurting our children.

Diane Ravitch's blog

Valerie Strauss writes about a visit by President Obama to a highly selective public school in Washington, D.C. He brought with him his two Education Secretaries, Arne Duncan and John King.

He said he wanted every school to be as great as the school he was visiting, Benjamin Banneker. But there was much he did not mention.

Strauss writes:

“There’s no denying that Banneker is a top-performing school in the nation’s capital, and that 100 percent of its seniors graduate. But it’s unclear if Obama knows that if every school did what Banneker does, the high school graduation rate might plummet. That’s because Banneker is a magnet school where students must apply to get in — but the only entry grades are ninth and tenth. And they must maintain a B- average to stay. Kids who can’t cut it leave, but that attrition isn’t counted against the school’s graduation rate.”

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How Will the Proposed Title 1 Regulation Supplement not Supplant Affect Charter Schools?

If the feds approve the proposed regulatory changes to Title 1 Supplement not Supplant this could force districts to move staff from one building to another, how would this this impact charter schools? Will charters be forced to move higher paid teachers from Non-Title 1 schools to Title 1 schools. Delaware charter schools are incorporated and are independently run, so I would assume this would not affect them or would it? Also, correct me if I am wrong, I believe every charter school in Delaware is considered a Title 1 school except for Charter School of Wilmington, so salary caps on buildings would not affect them, right? If anyone has any information about this, I would love to hear from you.

 

Teachers and Staff You May Want Read Up On This Proposed Title 1 Regulation before the US DOE Comment Window Closes on November 7th

The federal government is proposing a change to a Title 1 regulation – Supplement-not-Supplant under Title 1 of the Every Student Succeeds Act. Click on the link to read more about the proposed regulation.  Below is one part of the regulation that is concerning people:

• A formula that allocates resources including staff positions and non-personnel resources directly to schools, and that ensures each Title I school gets all of the funding it is entitled to, as measured by the sum of (1) the number of personnel in the school multiplied by the district’s average salaries for each staff category, and (2) the number of students in the school multiplied by the district’s average per-pupil expenditures for non-personnel resources.

In other words, districts could be forced to move staff from one building to another because of salary levels in buildings.

If you are interested in sending a comment to US DOE, click here.  The comment period closes on November 7, 2016 at 11:59 pm.

CCSSO Executive Director Chris Minnich said, “It’s clear that the Department has listened and tried to incorporate feedback in this proposed rule. However, we are disappointed with the language we have seen in the proposed regulation. Schools would be forced to move resources around at the last minute each year to try to meet a federal mandate, rather than doing what is in the best interest of students. The Every Student Succeeds Act gives states more flexibility so we can create opportunities for all kids, and this proposed rule is not consistent with the law. Unfortunately, in the Department’s effort to ensure resources go to the students who need it the most, they have created a situation where the reverse is likely to occur in many places. We look forward to helping get this right before the rule becomes final.”