Caesar Rodney School District – The Season Of Myths (2024)

Transparency in public education is a must. When more than a quarter of Delaware’s state budget goes to public education, the citizens expect, and rightfully so, transparency. But some of our districts and charters struggle with transparency.

I haven’t done this since 2016, but I thought it was a good time to see how Delaware’s traditional school district and charter school boards were doing with transparency on their websites. I checked for board minutes, board agendas, and board audio recordings.

The Deputy Secretary of Education job posting was up for a long time, going back to last Winter. After a long search, the Delaware Department of Education announced Dr. Christine Alois, theDirector of Instruction for the Caesar Rodney School District, will be the new Deputy Secretary of Education. Caesar Rodney put the following on their district Facebook page today:

DR. CHRISTINE ALOIS NAMED DELAWARE DEPUTY SECRETARY OF EDUCATION

Caesar Rodney School District Director of Instruction Dr. Christine Alois has been named Delaware Deputy Secretary of Education by Secretary of Education Dr. Susan Bunting.

Dr. Alois has worn many hats in her 24 years in the Caesar Rodney School District. Starting in 1994 as the district’s first latch key teacher, she quickly rose up the ranks becoming a 5th grade teacher, a 7th grade teacher, a district resource teacher, an assistant principal, principal, supervisor and ultimately a director.

Dr. Alois has been nothing but an asset to the district championing and spearheading key CR initiatives such as language immersion, instructional technology and environmental education.

Karen Field-Rogers was the former Deputy Secretary of Education and has been filling double duties down at the Townsend Building in Dover so this hiring will be welcome news for her!

The Department of Elections for each county are still counting a lot of the votes, but some unofficial results are in which are usually a good indicator for where things are going. Congrats to the victors and to those who didn’t make it, do not give up! If you can’t run again based on being in a district, either continue lending your voice or begin to if you haven’t already. Voter turnout for school board elections is abysmal in Delaware. For those who don’t know, this election is held EVERY SINGLE YEAR on the 2nd Tuesday in May.

Brandywine, District A: Shanika Perry 684, Reynaldo Epps 164
Caesar Rodney: P. Scott Wilson 403, William Victory 387, John Moore 318, and Tracey Miller 207
Christina, District C: Fred Polaski 411, Richard Jester 358 and VJ Leonard 357
Christina, District E: Keeley Powell 618, Christy Mannering 502
Colonial, District C: Ronnie Williams 237, Richard Schiller 141
Colonial, District G: Robin Crossan 221, Tanya Kerns 98, Ana Viscarra-Gikas 94
Indian River, District 3: Leolga Wright 349, Dana Probert 92
Indian River, District 5: Derek Cathell 95, Carla Ziegler 27
Lake Forest: John Moyer III 158, James Parsons 78
Red Clay District A: Jose Matthews 1,009, Joseph DiMichele 715
Smyrna: Kristi Lloyd 479, Gary Dodge 251
Woodbridge: Jeffrey Allen 167, Darrynn Harris 24

Caesar Rodney School District is in Kent County. The district includes Camden-Wyoming and the southern part of Dover. Slightly larger in student size than their North neighbor, Capital School District, CR is an interesting district. It also includes a school at Dover Air Force Base. Their enrollment has gone up a couple hundred in the past four years. There aren’t as many competing charter schools in the area that affect districts up in Wilmington and Newark. The vo-tech in the area, Polytech, has a fixed student enrollment that has been in place for decades. Superintendent Kevin Fitzgerald has made modest raises in the last four years. In four years, the number of employees making over $100,000 has increased from 26 to 29. CR and Capital have always been rivals of sorts, not just in football, but in comparing the quality of their districts. In the past year, Caesar Rodney has been in the news much more than I’ve seen them in the past four years due to controversial matters in the district involving race, special education, and most recently, their stance on the recent student walk-outs.

A picture of an email sent to the Caesar Rodney School District Board of Education is making the rounds on social media today. In the email, a high school Junior alleges Scott Wilson cursed ata parent about school walkouts planned in response to the Parkland school shooting two weeks ago.

A Caesar Rodney School District student took his complaints against the ongoing censorship on social media concerning student walkouts. In a nutshell, the student called out the district for going against what they have taught their students. David Haynes, a Caesar Rodney High School senior, gave his permission for me to put his Facebook post from last night on here.

For over 13 years, I have bled blue and gold. The Caesar Rodney School District’s repeated failure to do the right thing, however, has me fed up. How dare they teach us the beauties of activism with the likes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and John Lewis, only to turn their backs and ban a peaceful protest. How dare they teach us of the necessity of freedom of speech, only to turn their backs and delete and block those who oppose. How dare they warn us of evil tyrants who limit the people’s freedoms, only to turn their back and act authoritarian themselves. How dare they teach us to “speak for the silent, stand for the broken,” only to tell us to shut up and sit down. Caesar Rodney is missing a golden opportunity to practice what they preach. And yet, it seems as if there is an asterisk next to the First Amendment. *does not apply to students, they are too young to speak freely and protest peacefully. My history teachers did not teach me about THAT clause. Our superintendent believes that we should “write or call their legislators to let their opinions be known.” If our practices of freedom of speech are met with post deletions and blocks, why would he expect us to think that a legislator would listen?? I can’t speak my mind on Facebook without getting censored, how about I go to an elected official? What a wonderful plan. We live in a world in which 17 people in a school have to be killed in order for a nation to listen to their children. For years, students have been silent (or silenced) and now we decide that it is time to make a change. The district should welcome this with open arms—we are actually concerned about our country! But they are missing a chance to foster this spark of activism by threatening consequences and shutting down our discussions. School districts such as Cape and Brandywine are supporting their students’ First Amendment rights, and in turn, are encouraging future activists for a better tomorrow. I commend these two districts and regret that CR is not setting this example for the state. The country is on the verge of change to make all of our lives safer—and the movement is being led by students like Gail, Grace, Laura, and millions across the U.S who are brave enough to speak up.
On March 14th, I will be walking out of school at 10:00 am for 17 minutes—one for every person killed in Parkland, FL. I accept the consequences, but hope that the Caesar Rodney School District does the right thing and supports our movement.
#ENOUGH!

We need more Davids and less folks like the district communications guy who actually thought it was a good idea to delete public Facebook posts. I say to that guy: this is a screenshot world sir!

I normally wait to release this until the last day of the year, but this year’s hero demanded the honor sooner. You see, Laurie Howard passed away. Surrounded by her loved ones, she left us far too soon. Laurie was many things: a mother, a wife, a teacher, and a friend.

I’ve known Laurie for almost three years. I met her through this blog. A teacher in Caesar Rodney School District, Laurie and I were in fierce agreement on many things. That standardized testing in the form of the Smarter Balanced Assessment is wrong. That every single parent has a fundamental right to opt their child out of that test. That corporations are slowly taking over public schools and school districts are powerless to stop it.

Laurie even had her own short-lived blog but only a select few were aware it was her. Back in 2015, Laurie launched a blog where she challenged the Delaware State Education Association to fervently support House Bill 50. She called out DSEA leadership for their sheepish support of the legislation. The blog did not last long as Laurie was terrified of being found out and terminated from her job as a teacher. But it had an impact. From accounts I heard, Jenner was very upset about Laurie’s blog posts. But Laurie felt strongly the teacher’s union was in bed with the privateers in public education. At least their leadership was. I loved that blog and I wish Laurie had been able to continue it but I completely understand her reasoning to end it abruptly. Many assumed they knew who wrote that blog but they were wrong.It was a secret that I carried to her grave. But I know she would not mind having this knowledge out now.To me, it was one of her many legacies. My only regret is not saving her articles for posterity and remembrance. When Laurie shut down the blog she deleted all of the posts.

Laurie joined the Delaware Parent Teacher Association in 2015 so she could be in a position to advocate to a wider audience. She was well aware and did research on the corporate education reform movement and the dangers it posed in our public schools. One of her articles focused on how PISA was a misused test. One of her biggest worries was the growing amount of tracking going on with students. She felt, and I agree, that schools have become more about diagnosing students than educating them. She did not like the feds controlling education and thought they should stick their noses out of local control.

In 2016, Laurie started another blog in an attempt to save the Schwartz Center for the arts in Dover. She was a fervent supporter of theater and the arts. I wished she had won that fight as well.

Last Spring, Laurie was diagnosed with lung cancer. She was already set to retire at the end of the 2016-2017 school year. I had the honor of attending her retirement party at the Schwartz Center in Dover. She was happy and humbled by so many of her peers and friends celebrating her time as a Delaware educator.

I talked to Laurie over the summer, mostly on social media. She was scared. She didn’t want to leave. But she didn’t want the world to see this. I did my best to not talk about education matters because I wanted the borrowed time I spent with her to be about her and to see if she needed anything. On her Facebook page, she talked about how beautiful this world is and she put on a brave face. In the past few weeks, Laurie put this up on her account:

Okay, time is getting mighty precious lately. I’ve been brought to the Delaware Hospice Center in Milford. My hope is that the awesome care I’ve received the past two days here will provide for extended life opportunities with my friends and family! I was asked to help my friends figure out what to say or do as a result of this stay. Just know if I’m your FB friend, we are friends. I love you, I care about you and your family. You don’t have to send expressions of love and longtime friendships (unless you want too). My love and best wishes for a long and healthy life are sent without question. Love to all!

Laurie’s post was just who she was. A couple of years ago, Laurie was able to answer a question for me. One that haunted my soul for a long time. It was purely coincidental, and while I won’t get into the question, it did give me understanding and comfort about someone. For the longest time, I thought this person was evil incarnate but Laurie urged me to forgive this person. And I did. That’s who she was.

Together with our friend Natalie, we would haunt meetings in Dover. Especially the Assessment Inventory Committee and meetings about the opt out bill. We would give public comment about how bad the testing was and how it wasn’t right for Delaware children. Laurie’s struggles with students in the classroom over this test are very similar throughout the state. My only wish was that Laurie would have been able to use her voice at its full force because it was a voice worth hearing. I will miss you Laurie Howard. I find comfort that you are watching over all of us and I pray that you can impart your wisdom to those who think education is a financial playground. I know Laurie would want me to keep fighting the fight, and I will, the best I can. May you rest in peace my sweet friend.

19 days ago, a student was beaten in the cafeteria of Caesar Rodney High School. Tomorrow, the student’s parents and advocate will be holding a press conference in front of the Caesar Rodney District Office.

Update on CR High Student Beaten 10-3-17

Press Conference 10-23-17 -10am in front of Caesar Rodney Central Office.

District failing to keep agreement upon student return.

Advocate filed a complaint with DPS Internal Affairs Division.

District condemning media outlets who report on unsafe conditions in the school.

Robert & Rose Boyles, in addition to advocate Diane Eastburn will be on hand with statements – evidenced – and audio proof for all in attendance.

Sounds like the district underestimated parents and how far they will go to protect their children. I did find out a few things since my last article on this. As per their teachers union contract with Caesar Rodney School District, teachers may intervene in fights. Note the use of the word may, not shall. Some students can be bigger than some teachers so I can understand a fear of harm from a student.

Our schools and districts haven’t wised up to the fact that parents do have the means in today’s social media world to make some noise. Most schools just want parents to shut the hell up when things go south with their kid but parents don’t have to do that. Never sign a non-disclosure agreement without having an attorney look at it first!

Tonight, Rob Petree with 105.9 wrote an article about a Seaford School District parent who is claiming a teacher took unnecessary physical measures against her child with Asperger’s Syndrome, which is on the Autism spectrum. The mother explained what happened. When the student was told he could not go to the office when he became upset over not finding his writing journal, the mother claims the teacher took things a bit too far:

“My son said the teacher went so far as to stand in front of the door and block the door and not let him out. The teacher told him to get back in his seat, and he said ‘no I want to go to the office,’ and the teacher told him ‘no get in your seat or I’m going to put you in your seat,’ and Landon once again said no he wanted to go to the office, so the teacher grabbed him by his arm, picked him up, carried him across the room and slammed him down in his chair. Landon said he then got back up out of his chair and tried to go out the door again and the teacher wouldn’t let him out of the door. So he went over and sat down in the chair at the round table near the door, and the teacher again was telling him to get up and go get back in his seat and Landon refused. The teacher went over to try to grab ahold of Landon and Landon got upset, jumped up out of the chair, and grabbed the back of the chair and slammed the chair into the floor, trying to get around the teacher to get out the door. He said at that point the teacher said ‘I’ve had enough of this,’ and grabbed him up by his arm and physically carried him out of the door of the classroom, banging his forehead into the metal door facing in the process, and Landon said at that point as soon as the teacher sat him down in the hallway he ran straight to the office, and that’s when he called me.”

Even more alarming is the Seaford Middle School Principal’s response to her when she asked to see the video of the incident:

Today, I had a meeting with the Middle School Principal and basically what they told me today was that the teacher said that he asked Landon to leave several times and Landon wouldn’t leave the room, and that Landon was throwing pens, pencils, chairs and desks, and that they seen this on video; however, no one was able to produce any video to me showing my son behaving the way they said he behaved. I honestly, truly believe my son, and I believe this teacher is doing nothing but trying to protect himself and the school the same way. I cleaned my son’s locker out today, and he’s not going back to that school as long as that teacher is there.

This is unacceptable. I found out today the same thing happened to the parents of the child who was assaulted last week at Caesar Rodney High School. The district refused to release surveillance footage that captured the incident (and I will have more to say on that whole thing that hasn’t been made public yet). I tagged tons of our state legislators on my Facebook page with a link to the 105.9 article asking for legislation that would demand schools release video to parents whenever their child is harmed in any possible way.

The district will not respond to any of this. They will shut up unless they have to fire the teacher. People ask me why I write so much about bad stuff happening in our schools instead of the good. Sorry, this kind of crap outrages me. You can have many great things happening in schools, but this is what folks remember and talk about. This is a travesty. Even if this teacher used proper restraint and seclusion practices as dictated by state law, the district should still release the video to the parent. Instead, they are covering their asses.

A former board member for a district did tell me thatvideo like this is released to the police department. They will review it and eventually it would be shared with the parent(s). I explained that the video could help a parent understand what happened. It could be necessary for them to see it so the parent can seek sufficient medical or counseling treatment for their child.

I wrote an article last year on the . Seaford Middle School had 13 incidents of restraint in the 2015-2016 school year. Compared to Milford’s middle school which had 1. In Seaford, they had 38 incidents of restraint affecting 21 students. But if this situation played out anywhere close to what the mother is claiming, this was no ordinary restraint. If it went down how she said it did, this teacher should face criminal charges for assault. Dealing with special education students can be challenging for teachers and parents. But if you don’t have the proper training required to take action like this, you should do nothing and contact someone who can help. Sadly, for this student, it will be a day he will never forget.

I don’t care where a video is: cafeteria, classroom, bus, hallway or anywhere on school property. If a parent asks to see it, you show it to them, no questions asked. The act of withholding something like that immediately sends red flags up with parents. Or saying you have it but then you don’t. You reap what you sow with that kind of logic. In the case of the Family Educational Records Protection Act (FERPA), that applies to educational records. If a parent requests records on their child, the school is obligated to produce it. But is surveillance video considered an educational record? That will be the argument here. But I don’t care. If a kid gets hurt, you do the right thing and show the parent. Cause it could mean the difference between a parent deciding whether or not to sue the district.

This should NOT happen in our schools. Tonight, I am very pissed off. At this. At Caesar Rodney. At other districts where I am trying to help parents navigate through special education issues with schools. So much of what I help parents with are things every school should know by now. Districts and charterscomplain all the time about getting sued so much and the “predatory” law firms. Guess what? The very act of protecting yourself is usually what gets you sued. How does that work out for you?

Updated, 9:50pm: A big thank you to special education advocate Devon Hynson for providing a link to what FERPA says about surveillance videos-

Schools are increasingly using security cameras as a tool to monitor and improve student safety. Images of students captured on security videotapes that are maintained by the school’s law enforcement unit are not considered education records under FERPA. Accordingly,these videotapes may be shared with parents of students whose images are on the video and with outside law enforcement authorities, as appropriate. Schools that do not have a designated law enforcement unit might consider designating an employee to serve as the “law enforcement unit” in order to maintain the security camera and determine the appropriate circ*mstances in which the school would disclose recorded images.

In light of the recent video showing a student attacking another student in Caesar Rodney High School, many folks seem very confused about what the word disability means. Many think a disability has to be visual, such as a person in a wheelchair. That is hardly the case with the legal definition of the word. The Americans with Disabilities Act is very clear about what the word means:

An individual with a disability is defined by the ADA as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.

In the case of special education, disability is just the umbrella word for any number of medical disabilities. A student could have ADHD, be blind, have Autism, or any number of different classifications. To qualify for special education, whether it is an IEP or a 504 plan, the school will want to see a medical diagnosis by a certified physician.

To be crystal clear, the child who was punched in the head in the video taken in the Caesar Rodney High School cafeteria, has a disability. Just because you can’t physically see that disability doesn’t mean he doesn’t have one. Some took offense to WDEL, this blog, and other media using the word disabled in the title. Some have gone so far to say this child is not disabled. He is.

Some have said words said caused the other student to attack him. No, what caused the other student to attack him was a choice. A choice to take it to the next level. A level he got arrested for. On social media, someone asked me what I would do if they verbally attacked me repeatedly atmy job. I proudly said I would not physically attack him. I would report it and would even record him in areas where I could. It isn’t worth the consequence, no matter how upset I might be by words, to ruin my life. That is something most grown adults should understand. But for teenagers in a high school cafeteria, among their peers, it is a different world. Did the student who attacked the other student have the necessary ability to understand that if he followed through with the thought to resort to violence that there would be very real consequences? Is it defending yourself if you go from words to that level? I don’t believe it is. Because the next defense after that could very well take place in a court of law.

We can talk about the failure of adults all day long, but the heart of this issue is making choices. I’ve made choices in my life that have had consequences. We all have. It’s what makes us grow, learn, and hopefully, evolve. I choose not to let words said by others put me in a position where I have more to lose than gain. It’s that simple.

I would urge people not to toss the word disability around like it is a visual thing. Most disabilities are neurological. Those that come from the mind. They can’t be seen by others unless it manifests physically. We can’t see anger in someone’s heart. We can’t see depression. We can’t see an obsessive need to want something. These are very real afflictions affecting the disabled across the world. I advocate as much as I humanly can for the disabled because very often, they don’t have a voice of their own. Many parents of the disabled sacrifice so much of their lives advocating for their disabled child.

What has made this situation very controversial are issues of race. Some have alleged online that the other student used discriminatory words to the student that attacked him. The school, according to the student’s advocate Diane Eastburn, did not find that to be the case based on first-hand witnesses present before and during the attack. I’ve heard many parents say their child was in the cafeteria. If any of those words were said, I certainly don’t condone them. But I don’t believe they were. What we have here are circ*mstances that led to a very difficult week for Caesar Rodney School District. Parents wrestled with wanting their child to even attend the school. The district played damage control by only allowing comments of support on their Facebook page and deleting the rest. People across Delaware saw an employee arrested for sexting a student, a picture of the high school mascot holding a sign with the worst possible racial language, and then the video of this fight came out on WDEL.

What kind of message are we sending to our children that if someone uses words against you it is okay to physically attack them? Are we really preparing them for the day when we can’t protect them and they get thrown in jail? As parents or guardians, we want our children to be safe in our schools. We don’t want them to be bullied and we certainly don’t want them to be attacked. We expect the adults in the school to be able to take control of a situation as soon as possible because we put our trust in them to do the job when we can’t be there. We don’t care about official training that has to take place. We expect that training to happen before our kid is seen in a video getting punched repeatedly in the back of the head. We also expect that if our child goes to an adult about any type of bullying issue, that they aren’t made out to be a victim all over again with doubting words by the school investigator.

I’ve heard many in Delaware suggest that many of the climate problems in our schools actually come from the home, from what parents teach their children. Based on comments I’ve seen in the past couple of days, I am inclined to believe that. The ends do not justify the means. Once you make that choice to use violence, you become the aggressor. The crime (and yes, punching someone repeatedly in the back of the head is a crime) becomes worse than any words said and the consequences are much greater. This is something I tell my own son.

Sometimes I don’t know what to make of the world we live in these days. Everyone seems so polarized and wants to attack others if they don’t agree. I find myself in this position often. It is as if we have been conditioned, over time, to be like this. We defend certain actions, even if they are wrong, to be able to make a point. I can’t help but think we need to be better than this. Somewhere along the way, many have equated race issues with politics. The two don’t mix. I hate hearing anyone say something to the effect of “if it wasa white person doing this it would be a hate crime”. How can we ever effectively deal with the issues that divide us if we are always at each others throats? How can we help our children one day lead us if we don’t know how to do it ourselves? These are the thoughts I’m wrestling with more than I would like in 2017. I meandered a bit from the original purpose of this article, and that’s okay.

We need to celebrate our differences, not use them aspoints in an argument. No matter what color we are, what disability we mayor may not have, no matter what God we choose to believe in or not, no matterhow we choose to love others. We are all in this together, this human race.We are more than Democrat. We are more than Republican. This is our world. We can get along. And we should all try to help those who can’t help themselves.

I’ve heard from several sources that the fight in the cafeteria where a disabled student was pummeled could have been prevented had district staff or administration intervened. These same sources revealed that district staff come over to the high school to eat in the very nice cafeteria. On Tuesday, district staff were present during the fight, including Superintendent Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald. The reason no one tries to break up a fight? Because they are not allowed to if they have not received restraint training.

It would be one thing if this were indeed a “rare” situation, as described by Fitzgerald in his announcement about the fight today. But I’m hearing there have been several fights. Another recent one had the same scenario- a girl gets beaten up, no one breaks it up, and the school calls the parent to tell them to pick their child up and she may need medical attention. I’m sorry, but if the school or district refuses to get the training needed to properly break up a fight, then they should incur the medical expenses for a student when they fail to prevent it or act once it starts.

In terms of the beating the disabled child took, some have gone online suggesting the disabled child used the “n” word against the other student. But Diane Eastburn, the child’s advocate, said there were allegations tossed aroundbut the school found through their investigations those allegations were false. Those comments appeared on the WDEL article that broke this story. Many have asked why the student who beat the child wasn’t expelled. Any school expulsion has to go through a school board. A school may suspend a student until the school board convenes to vote on that action item, but the school cannot expel a student. The student was arrested as per Fitzgerald’s statement today.

I have serious concerns with Fitzgerald putting in words that “The District will continue to work hard to insure the safety of our students.” How is it working hard if staff and administration don’t have the means to break up a fight? That cafeteria was filled with adults according to several sources. But in the video not one of them came over to the scene in the 30 seconds the fight took place. The high school does have a School Resource Officer, but the school cannot and should not rely on one person to break up a fight. It is a logistical nightmare. What comfort does this give to the parents of the beaten child? If I were them,I would see that as a slap in the face. Because their child needed medical attention while the adults watched.

This district has been in the spotlight this week, and not in a good way. I’ve written about Caesar Rodney School District more this week than I have my entire time blogging. And I’ve done this for well over three years now. One source, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, said “This isn’t anything new. It is just boiling to the surface now.” Once you let the genie out of the bottle…

Delaware’s legislators have to find a way to make discipline issues more uniform throughout the state. They have to make sure there are proper methods for interventions before events like this erupt all over the news. It was a year and a half ago that Amy Joyner Francis was brutally murdered in a high school bathroom. We don’t need a repeat of that again. Fights will happen but I can’t help but think this district and our state could be doing a hell of a lot more to prevent them or act when they do.

In a week where Caesar Rodney has been inundated with bad news, from the custodian at Charlton sending explicit texts to a minor, to the Rider Mascot racial slur, andthis fight, it is clear this district needs to think very carefully about what kind of message they are sending to parents. Their Board of Education needs to take a very clear look at these situations and not just brush them off. They need to come up with strategies and policies to tackle this in the best interests of students.

Many parents are wondering what is happening to students. Fights are getting more vicious. Racial tensions are building up in our state. But we have far too many adults in charge who seemoblivious to the realities on the ground. People are very sensitive today and our schools and leaders have to recognize this. They must come up with better ways to help students deal with our world. We can no longer let local control dictate what happens with school climate. We must have uniform policies, training, andresources in every singlepublic school in this state.Parents or guardians must also help their children understand and cope with these issues as well. For those who say “it was like this when I was a kid”, maybe it was, but we have more resources and knowledge on how to deal with these situations now. We can’t live in bubbles. If we want to live in this world, we have to share it. And that means accepting others differences and helping others. The hate has to stop before it becomes an uncontrollable beast.

On Tuesday, a student with disabilities was beat up very badly in the Caesar Rodney High School cafeteria. According to WDEL’s Amy Cherry, this was not related to the racial slur associated with the high school mascot that shook the Caesar Rodney community this week.

The boy’s parents contacted their advocate, Diane Eastburn, because of the punishment meted out to their son who was massively beat up. He was charged by the school with “offensive touching” even though he is not seen on the video punching the other student. The word “bitch” was thrown around prior to the fight. The disabled student received two days of in-school suspension but his parents do not feel the punishment should have been given to their child since he wasn’t fighting. The parents and Eastburn contacted WDEL yesterday. In fairness, I sent Eastburn to WDEL because I was uncomfortable posting the video with minors on it. The video is very graphic as described by Cherry:

The student was repeatedly being punched in the back of the head as he used his hands to cover his head. The victim student suffered bumps and bruises to his head and face in the assault.

This has Eastburn wondering what is going on at Caesar Rodney High School since these two unrelated incidents happened in the same week:

“There seems to be an underlying hostility in that building,” alleged Eastburn. “And if they’re having problems they need to address it quickly. To be quite honest, they can’t afford not to. If they start having fights like this, someone’s going to get hurt or worse. These are lawsuits waiting to happen if they don’t start dealing with the undercurrent in that building.”

These are questions the district are going to have to look at. I sincerely hope the disabled child does not have a concussion or any lasting damage done in this brutal assault. I don’t think any student who is attacked should get a punishment like that, whether they are disabled or not. If words are said, let the punishment fit that category. But using a poor choice of words is not the same thing as offensive touching in any world.

Updated, 3:15pm: Caesar Rodney School District Superintendent Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald issued the following statement regarding this incident on the district website-

STATEMENT FROM DR. FITZGERALD REGARDINGCRHS CAFETERIA INCIDENT

“Recently a fight that previously took place in the Caesar Rodney High School cafeteria has been posted to the internet.This situation in no way is related to the recent mascot post.After an investigation by the school administration and the Delaware State Police, disciplinary action was taken and an arrest was made.Fights of this nature, while rare are unacceptable and are not tolerated in Caesar Rodney. The District will continue to work hard to insure the safety of our students.”

Caesar Rodney School District Superintendent Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald sent out an email and robo-call to parents and staff last evening about a racial epithet in connection with the Caesar Rodney mascot. It appears, based on Facebook comments on their Facebook page, that someone photo-shopped the racial slur on a sign the mascot was holding in a picture.

Many parents thanked the district for taking such swift action on the issue. The message sent out by Fitzgerald said the following:

While I am a Dover High Senators fan, I do not condone this at all. As I wrote on CR’s Facebook page, if this was a joke it isn’t funny. If it was meant to be a hate symbol, may God have mercy on your soul. Bottom line, people need to wake up. It’s the 21st Century now. We aren’t supposed to be this backwards. But apparently some have not woken up from our country’s own dark history and think it is okay to call African-Americans by disparaging names. Frankly, I’ve had enough of hate and the talk that accompanies it. We saw the worst in hate last Sunday with the Las Vegas shootings. This is the kind of news I hate to write about.

One commenter suggested getting rid of the Rider Mascot for a while until feelings calm down. That is the absolute worst thing to do in my opinion. That lets whoever did this win. It’s like the old saying, “you don’t negotiate with terrorists”. You certainly don’t give in to hate!

Today, Governor Carney’s Office announced the recipients of the $1 million in opportunity grants that are part of the FY2018 Delaware budget. Colonial was by far the biggest winner receiving $200,000 for several schools.

Governor Carney Announces Recipients of $1 Million in Education Opportunity Grants

Funding will help districts and charter schools support disadvantaged students and English language learners

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carneyon Wednesday announcedthat nine Delaware school districts and charter schools will receive a combined $1 million in Opportunity Grant funding to support programs that help disadvantaged students and English language learners succeed in classrooms across the state.

Delaware’s Opportunity Grantprogram – created and funded by Governor Carney and members of the General Assembly in the Fiscal Year 2018 budget – will help districts and charter schools improve supports for low-income students, students chronically exposed to stress and trauma, and English language learners. District and charter awardees will use the grant to fund programs in the 2017-18 school year.

“All Delaware students deserve a quality education and an equal chance to succeed. We’re working hard to provide schools and educators with the tools they need to more effectively serve students fromdisadvantaged backgrounds, and close the achievement gap,” said Governor Carney. “I look forward to seeing the progress that these schools and districts make, and will urgethem to share their successes with their fellow educators across the state. Thank you to members of the General Assembly for their leadership in helping fund this program.”

Governor Carney has pledged to take decisive actionto address Delaware’s achievement gap, and he has made it a priority to support disadvantaged students in Wilmington and across the state.In July, the Governor established the Wilmington-based Office of Innovation and Improvement, led by longtime Wilmington educator Dorrell Green, to support students and educators in high-needs schools.

For Christina School District, Opportunity Grant funding will help increase resources at Elbert-Palmer Elementary School for students and families dealing with complex trauma. Christina is focused on treating trauma as part of a larger effort to reduce student suspensions, increase student attendance, elevate student achievement, and more.

“The Christina School District is excited to receive an Opportunity Grant for Elbert-Palmer Elementary School, which will allow us to implement strategies like compassionateschools training for teachers and related resources that are critical to student success,” saidRichard Gregg, Superintendent of Christina School District. “With this funding, students at Elbert-Palmer will truly have increased opportunities–just as the name of the grant suggests. We are thankful to the Department of Education for recognizing how much our students deserve to have access to high-quality programs.”

“We are very excited about this opportunity to make Elbert-Palmer a Comprehensive Compassionate School,” saidDr. Gina Moody, principal at Elbert-Palmer Elementary School. “Staff will be given resources to become more informed practitioners who engage with students with various social and emotional needs. Our plan will focus on providing stronger positive behavior supports for Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions, such as counseling services, and universal Tier 1 supports such as preferred activities and tangible incentives. Additionally, we will focus on engaging families in the educational process through community and school events.”

Woodbridge School District plans to use its Opportunity Grant funding to contract with a behavioral health provider who will provide counseling services at Woodbridge Early Childhood Center and Phillis Wheatley Elementary School.

“The awarding of the Opportunity Grant to Woodbridge will give our staff and students new and innovative approaches to meeting the social and emotional needs of our students,”saidHeath Chasanov, Superintendent of Woodbridge School District and the 2017-18 President of the Chief School Officers Association.“We are extremely appreciative of this funding source being provided by the Governor’s Office and the Department of Education to provide additional programs for our students to be successful.”

“The Woodbridge School District is very grateful for the opportunities this grant provides,” saidMichele Marinucci, Woodbridge School District’s Director of Student Services.“We will be implementing additional innovative programs in music, mindfulness, health, wellness, and emotional stability as we continue our journey of meeting the social emotional needs of all of our students.”

Red Clay Consolidated School District plans to use the Opportunity Grant to enhance their trauma informed care so they can provide students who have greater needs with higher levels of care.

“We are extremely excited to receive this grant to work with students, families and staff members to provide trauma informed support and professional development,” saidDr. Mervin Daugherty, Superintendent of the Red Clay Consolidated School District. “The opportunity to partner with the University of Delaware will also allow us to provide trauma screening and implement group/individual interventions for students impacted by trauma. We are hopeful this path forward will become a model for other schools throughout the district and the state.”

In considering applications for funding, the Department of Education gave preference to school-level initiatives, rather than broader district or organizational programs. Grant applicants outlined a detailed plan for how funds would be used – and grant recipients are required to provide information on the outcome of the support, in an effort to showcase what is working.

District and charter school awardees specifically focused on integrating student services and trauma-informed supports to low-income students, as well as on additional supports to low-income students and English language learners.

“We are thrilled to be able to facilitate educators’ efforts to better meet the diverse needs of students throughout the state, especially those students who need the most support,” saidDr. Susan Bunting, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Education. “This opportunity also gives Delaware another way to identify what works in schools and to share successes with educators servicing similar populations.”

2017 Opportunity Grant awardees:

Colonial School District–$200,000 –Castle Hills Elementary,Harry O. Eisenberg Elementary,Pleaseantville Elementary,Wilmington Manor Elementary

This grant will support 1,970 students across four schools. The plan is for Colonial to implement trauma-informed supportsand deepen the Responsive Classrooms approach through embedded training, coaching and other supports. A group of teacher-leaders will be developed. The plan is designed for this core group of teachers to turn the training around to the rest of the staff.

Christina School District – $106,832 –Elbert Palmer Elementary (EPE)

EPE will support 250 students and their families through a comprehensive, Compassionate Care model. EPE intends to reduce student suspensions, increase student attendance, increase family involvement, increase student achievement, and provide more resources for families dealing with complex trauma.

Red ClaySchool District – $106,832 – Richardson Park Elementary

Richardson Park will provide trauma informed care to all students by changing the school level climate. They will support staff in re-conceptualizing disruptive behavior to a trauma informed lens and provide access to higher level of trauma care for students in need. The project will: 1. Produce school staff who can identify, support, and refer all students exposed to trauma and who can integrate trauma informed care with existing programming. 2. Increase access to more intensive care of students of need and their families. 3. Strengthen Richardson Park’s network of trauma referrals.

Brandywine School District – Mt. Pleasant – $100,000 –Mount Pleasant Elementary (MPE)

The intended impact of this project will be to serve: 30-40 high need students and their families with ongoing, targeted supports; 200 families with services to meet their needs throughout the school year; and the entire adult and student population. They expect to see improvements in chronic absenteeism, family engagement, climate and student achievement. MPE seeks to become a comprehensive services center, as well as implement mindfulness initiatives throughout the school.

Great Oaks Charter School – $100,000

Great Oaks will support implementation of broad trauma based and social emotional programming to support 120 students with weekly individual and/or group counseling. All 446 students of the school’s students will benefit from the implementation of a restorative discipline system designed to drive self-agency and positive decision making.Great Oaks serves grades 6-8.

Kuumba Academy Charter School – $100,000

Kuumba will use the grant to fund a portion of its comprehensive trauma-informed practices and supports package. The package addresses school culture, academic needs, family engagement and service provision through a trauma-informed and culturally sensitive lens.Kuumba is committed to providing integrated student services and trauma-informed supports to low income students.The package will serve all of the school’s 750 students in grades K-8.

Las Americas Aspira Charter School – $100,000

LAAA will implement a reading framework supporting the needs of EL students, including embedded teacher supports. This reading framework will enhance the balanced literacy framework by embedding language acquisition scaffolds so that all students, English Learners included, improve their literacy achievement and ultimately close the reading achievement gap.

Woodbridge School District – $97,678–Woodbridge Early Childhood Center,Phillis Wheatley Elementary School

Woodbridge will provide parents with the necessary knowledge to make informed nutritional choices for their families, and further develop staff members on trauma informed practices in order to support student’s academic and behavioral needs. One of the primary focus areas of the grant is to contract with a behavioral health provider to provide counseling services in both schools.

Caesar Rodney School District – $88,656–Caesar Rodney High School

Caesar Rodney will provide trauma informed supports and integrated services for all 750 English learner (EL) students.The plan is designed to train non-ESL certified teachers using a train-the-trainer model to better meet the academic and language needs of the ELs. CRHS will utilize the expertise of the University of Delaware and WIDA resources (resources to assist in language acquisition for English learner students) to target planning, instruction and assessment.

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Some very interesting choices here. These schools are definitely ones that have some high populations of high-needs students. Two of the three charters are located in the Community Education Building in downtown Wilmington. I have to wonder how many actually applied for these funds. With all the cuts to the education budget, this doesn’t even begin to make a dent to restore those funds. Many of the areas these funds will help students the most were widely discussed during the Every Student Succeeds Act discussion groupsa year ago.

Every year, the Caesar Rodney School District has a guest speaker at welcome back breakfast for teachers and staff. Usually, the guest speaker tells educators about all the things they should do in the upcoming year or sometimes it is past graduates who made it big, such as Duron Harmon from the New England Patriots. But this year’s guest speaker was a little bit different than past speakers.

Now that all the surveys are up, it is time for endorsem*nts! I’ve known who I was going to endorse in a few elections for some time. Some I changed my mind on. Some I have always known who I would NOT endorse. Some I wavered back and forth on. Some races won’t get an endorsem*nt from me at all. I don’t always go with the “popular” candidate. I look, as best I can, at the issues facing education and which candidate is willing to stick their neck out and do what is best for students. The biggest thing is if the candidate knows what the issues are. Without further ado, here come the endorsem*nts:

May 9th is in five days! Big school board elections are taking place that day!

In the Brandywine School District, John Skrobot Jr.will face Alma Ginnis. For Capital School District, Andy Ortiz and Joan Lowenstein-Engel are vying for the at-large seat. Caesar Rodney has a three-way race with Alan Claycomb, Tawanna Prophet-Brinkley, and David Failing running against each other. Smyrna will see Vetra Evans-Gunter facing Karin Sweeney. Finally, Woodbridge will have a face-off between Paul Breeding and Darrynn Harris for their at-large seat.

I sent surveys to all the candidates who had viable contact information through either the Department of Elections contact information on their website or through Facebook. Don’t forget to vote on May 9th!

These are the responses I received from the candidates inthese five districts:

As Delaware Governor Markell went on his “common core” tour today at W. Reilly Brown Elementary School in the Caesar Rodney School District, he announced $400,000 in competitive grants going to 21 Delaware schools. The goal of these grants are professional development for teachers to further implement Common Core to increase student outcomes. And God wept…

Why is Jack Markell, with nine months left in his reign as Governor, doing this Common Core tour? Which company is paying him for this? What disgusts me is the way the Governor and the DOE lure teachers in by making it look like it is for them. How much professional development do teachers need? Let’s not forget the two purposes of this tour: to thank teachers for implementing Common Core and to “debunk” the myths surrounding it. You may fool some of our teachers and administrators Jack, but this is corporate tomfoolerty at its best. Far too many Delaware parents know better and you may have fooled us once, but not twice. As the state looks for funding, our districts will take any money they can get regardless of the cost to students. I will ask again Governor Markell: where are the funds for basic special education for students in Kindergarten to 3rd grade? Answer the question Jack!

This is, in my opinion, a strong push towards theblended/personalized learning the Rodel Foundation has pushed on Delaware the past couple years. The press release doesn’t even mention this, but events from last night suggest otherwise. Last night at the Capital Board meeting, their board unanimously voted to apply to BRINC, the blended learning consortium that already includes the Brandywine, Indian River, New Castle County Vo-Tech, Colonial, Red Clay, Appoquinimink and Caesar Rodney School Districts. Despite my public comment about the very obvious data privacy loopholes in existing law.

While student identifiable information doesn’t go out, it all filters through the Delaware DOE who simply gives education “research” companies the student’s identification number. When that information comes back, the DOE has all that data attached to a student’s identification number. As well, Schoology uses a cloud systemcalled IMS that would allow any aggregate information through the Schoology application to be shared with their members. The Capital boardseemed a little too eager to get this passed. At one point, Superintendent Dr. Dan Shelton didn’t know how much it would cost the district and it took him over fifteen minutes to find the information. The board discussed how it would be good professional development for teachers without talking about what it means for students or their personal data.TheirCFO, Sean Sokolowski, said it would be paid for through Federal Consolidated Grants. Are these the same grants Markell announced today or are they separate? I would assume they are separate, but I’ve found manygrants tend to have strings attached to them, just like the federal waiver scheme the US DOE abused under Race To The Top. As we rush headfirst into this personalized learning/competency-based education/career pathway future for our students, those in the power to question things are going along to get along. I can’t understand, for the life of me, why teachers are jumping on this bandwagon. This will eventually cause theirjob functions, as instructors, to diminish in thefuture. To the point where they will become “facilitators” instead of “instructors”. Does anyone think it is a coincidence paraprofessional salaries will eventually start at the same point as a first-year teacher in Delaware? Don’t believe me? Check out Governor Markell’s proposed FY2017 budget. Go to page 202 on the pdf, section 286. While many feel, and rightfully so, that paras in our schools are underpaid, should they be paid the same as a first-year teacher? If they performed the same job function…

I have not been too impressed with Caesar Rodney Superintendent Kevin Fitzgerald in the past year. He seems to have been sucked into the DOE/Markell/Rodel whirlpool of corporate education reform. You can read more on his role in today’s announcement below.

Just today, the National Education Policy Center issued a damning reporton the success of blended and personalized learning schools and pointed out they are less successful than schools who don’t use these services. So if it is all about proficiency and increasing standardized test scores and growth, why are we pushing, as a state, a system that just isn’t working? Could it have anything to do with the billions of dollars companies are making off this smoke and mirrors? And how many of these companies are incorporated out of Wilmington, DE? As per the IMS article I linked to above, they are incorporated out of Delaware.

It is my opinion the Governor’s time could have been better spent heading to Wilmington todo more than issue a statement on the tragic and pointless death of a student at Howard High School today. His visit to W. Reilly Brown was at 11am, well after this hit the media today. As a state tries to understand the absolute horror that went on in that school today, our Governor is off playing corporate lap-dog for his education buddies. I will never understand that man.

Here is the DOE press release on these “grants”:

Updated, 5:41pm: Apparently schools did apply for these grants as found on the Delaware DOE website.

This is an important message for ALL Caesar Rodney School District parents: You need to opt your child out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment. If they started already, do not let them take one more second of this test. Refuse The Test! The Network of Public Education is calling for a National Opt Out of these high-stakes tests. They aren’t effective at all, and everyone knows it. These tests are being used for nefarious purposes. Do not believe the lies coming out ofGovernor Markell and the Delaware Department of Education. They care more about corporate profit than your child. It doesn’t matter if your kid is smart. It doesn’t matter if you are Democrat or Republican. What matters is your child, and their education. This is not education. It is a mockery of education.

Please give the principal of your child’s school a letter on Monday morning indicating you are opting your child out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment. Let the school know you want your child to receive academic instruction while the other kids are taking the test. If they tell you that you can’t opt your child out, look them in the eye and say “Yes I can, and if you make my child take this test I will call the police.” To get support from other parents, please join the Opt Out Caesar Rodney Facebook group.