Tag Archives: Mike Matthews

FOIA complaint filed against the State Board of Education

1 Reply
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

Our Comments from Last Night’s Red Clay Board Meeting on Inclusion

1 Reply

Last night, Mike Matthews RCEA President, Ashley Sabo Red Clay parent and co-chair of Red Clay’s Inclusion Committee and I addressed the Red Clay School Board in regards to their Inclusion Plan. We are very concerned about the implementation of the plan and the necessary resources that are needed at our schools. Below are our comments.

What Happened to Kindergarten?

3 Replies

kids

I have been meeting with teachers with Mike Matthews and what I have learned, there are no more play times for our children during their day. Yes, every grade in elementary school has recess but kindergarten students are being pushed and pushed and pushed. They do not have extra recess. They do not dress up or play house. They do not allow for make believe. Our kindergarten children are in school all day without a nap or any down time.

Both of my children (both had an IEP entering kindergarten) went to kindergarten for 2 1/2 hours a day and learned their letters and numbers, even mastered a little bit of reading but most of all they learned to love school. They learned to use their minds to pretend and to have dreams and they made friends. We made cupcakes, we had class parties, and we had fun all in 2 1/2 hours. We have taken all that away from them. We are creating a generation of children who will grow up being stressed or disliking school.

I thought kindergarten was suppose to be fun, letting children explore. I am so thankful that my children did not have to go to school for the entire day, they are five years old and have nine to ten hour days, think about it. They are sitting behind tables working all day long with no fun. Children learn at that age by exploring, creating and watching other children. When is this craziness going to stop?

Multi-billion dollar policies that have most assuredly contributed to the embarrassing drop in NAEP scores

1 Reply

We’ve had 15 years of education reform policies under Bush/Obama/Markell.  Those policies have included — but are not limited to — more charter schools, more testing, most consultants, RttT, fewer reading and math specialists, more bloated bureaucracy at the Department of Education, more threatened school closures and turnaround, PLCs, “deep data dives,” “rigor,” “grit,” Teach for America, priority schools, focus schools, focus plus schools, Charter School Performance Fund monies for schools who a) don’t show a financial need for it or b) have shown no track record to deserve it, data coaches from FOX News’ Wireless Generation…need I go on?

The same policies and ideologies towards which millions of dollars have been ostensibly wasted all in the name of student achievement and heightened teacher accountability that could have been used to provide immediate supports to our neediest of schools. These are the policies of the last 15 years that have attempted to corporatize and privatize our schools.

And you know what? They’ve failed. Miserably. The gold standard of assessment — the NAEP — tells us we’ve failed. And you know who takes this stuff the hardest? The classroom teachers and specialists who’ve been saying for years that failed policies under two presidential administrations and this governor have given many cause to quit well before they’ve hit their peak.

It’s too late for the kids who’ve already gone through the system these last 15 years. Will we have the courage to stop the insanity NOW so we don’t risk the future of the next generation of kids?

Mike Matthews