And the rankings have been released:

Click to read the entire article at the NJ website:

Many Del. public high schools fail to meet federal goals
By JENNIFER PRICE • The News Journal • July 31, 2009

Twenty-one of Delaware’s 29 traditional public high schools failed to make adequate progress this year under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Middle schools did slightly better, whereas elementary schools showed far more progress.

Twelve out of 30 middle schools and 83 out of 99 elementary schools showed progress toward federal proficiency goals.

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The good news for Christina:
The restructuring plans at Gauger-Cobbs Middle School seemd to be working. Gauger was one of only two schools that made adequate progress this year. If these schools have the same success next year, they will no longer be “under improvement.”

The bad news:
All three district high schools (Christiana, Glasgow, and Newark) and Bancroft Elementary were among the eight schools statewide that failed to make adequate progress for the sixth consecutive year despite restructuring last fall.

The worst news:
Pulaski Elementary and Red Clay School District's A.I. duPont Middle become the first schools in Delaware to enter the seventh year of “under improvement” status. Under NCLB, states are allowed to take over schools when they continue to fail, but Delaware law forbids the state from total intervention. (News Journal)

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No Change to CSD Tax Warrant

After an informative presentation at the Board Meeting last night, CSD BOE voted to accept to the district recommendation that the 2009/10 tax warrant maintain the same levels as the 2008/09 warrant. For CSD tax payers, there will be no increase to school taxes.

Of note, the district cited 1% increase in revenue from taxes due to new construction, both residential and commercial (thank you Home Depot.)

On the down side, the closing of the Chrysler Plant in Newark could lead to a $1 million loss in revenue. After consulting with the State Auditor and Department of Education, the value of the former Chrysler property was not included in the calculations. The district will cease to receive revenue from the site if it is purchased by a non-for-profit entity such as the University of Delaware, the apparent fore-funner in current real estate negotiations. Furthermore, a for-profit successor entity to Chrysler could choose to level the plant, remove all the buildings, and leave the land with little to no taxable value for the purpose of school taxes.

I hope to delve a little deeper into the tax warrant in the coming days, to explain the more complicated portions of the formula. But, first I need to fact check for accuracy.

As for the board meeting itself, it started forty minutes late, indicating that executive session prior to the meeting ran long. In-coming Superintendent Marcia Lyles was again in attendance. During public comment the Board acknowledged outgoing member Beverly Howell for her years of service. The other noteworthy action of the night, voting on the consent agenda, was complicated by the decision to table all of Item B - Bid Awards for Foreign Language Translators, Elementary Counseling Services, Behavior Intervention Specialist Services, In School Alternative Program, and Student Support Services [ whose job it is to "assist building staff in monitoring in various capacities such as Hall Monitor and In School Suspension Monitor" (6/23/09, School Board Meeting Agenda, p. 4, BID #CSD-2009-05.)] The vote was 4-2 in favor of tabling.

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New CSD Superintendent observes tonight's board meeting

Here's an official Children and Educators First! Welcome to Dr. Marcia Lyles - in town, scoping out the new digs in prep for her July move. Brief introductions were had before Dr. Lyles was swept away by the attention-seekers.

A brief word of thanks to David Resler, acting board president, for publicly explaining the back story to consent agenda votes. Issues are debated and questions posed during executive session prior to the public meeting where the board then votes. Not exactly transparent, as the questions and answers never reach the public's ears, but the explanation is appreciated.
Moving along - What bucket of money is the funding for the new computers in our elementary schools coming from? Will they be new or refurbished? How old are they? How are we disposing of existing technology? Just a few questions brought to mind by Shirley Saffer's public request for information during the Board Member Requests portion of the evening.

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A Bump in the Road to a New Superintendent

Christina district revises plan to appoint new head
The News Journal • April 16, 2009

The timeline for appointing a new superintendent in the Christina School District has been revised because of scheduling of site visits for each of the remaining two candidates.

Those two finalists are Marcia V. Lyles, deputy chancellor for Teaching and Learning in the New York City, Department of Education, and Freeman Williams, the interim superintendent in Christina.
It was announced initially that a decision on a new superintendent would be made on or before Tuesday. But the district's school board now plans a site visit in the Christina School District April 24 and a visit of the New York City Public School system April 27.

The board now plans to appoint a new superintendent on or before May 19.

Former Superintendent Lillian Lowery left to become Gov. Jack Markell's Education Secretary.

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