Sen. Henry Works for Delaware's Students... And SBOE Email Addresses

Senate Majority Whip Margaret Rose Henry's reponse to a constituent:

Dear XXXXX

Unfortunately the legislature does not have anything to do with making the decision to keep a school opened - it is the State Board of Education that makes the final decision. I would recommend your lobbying efforts be directed to the members of the State Board. I support the school and have heard wonderful things about the students and the progress that has been made academically. I am so sorry about the financial issues. I do plan to support your efforts to keep the school opened.

Sincerely,
Margaret Rose Henry

After receiving Sen. Henry's advice, Pencader parents searched high and low for the contact information for the members of the State Board of Education.  Although the state board members are appointed, PAID, government officials and their bios are published on the Department of Educations website, their email addresses have been kept out of the public eye, likely locked in Jack Markell's secret guarded vault in the Governors Mansion. Always resourceful, the Pencader community has succeeded in attaining the state board's email addresses.

For those interested in contacting the state board over the Charter School issues or other concerns, here they are:

Dr. Terry Quinn Gray, tgray@doe.k12.de.us
Jorge Melendez, Jorge.melendez@pnc.com

Gregory Coverdale, gcoverdale@DOE.K12.DE.US; gcoverdalejr@hotmail.com

G. Patrick Heffernan, pheffernan@DOE.K12.DE.US

Barbara Rutt, barbararutt@yahoo.com

Dr. James, Wilson, imjwilson@comcast.net

Dr. Terry Whittaker, whittakt@udel.edu

Dr. Lillian Lowery, llowery@doe.k12.de.us

Compensation

The compensation of State Board members is specified in 14 Del. C. §104(h), which states the following:

(h) The members of the Board shall receive $100 for each day’s attendance at the meetings of the Board not to exceed 24 days’ attendance in any 1 calendar year; and they shall be reimbursed for the actual travel and other necessary expenses incurred in attending meetings and transacting the business of the Board. http://www.doe.k12.de.us/ddoe/files/pdf/desbe_proceduresmanual.pdf

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Delaware Waits.

We do a lot of waiting here. 
For snow removal. 
For schools to reopen. 
For the Gov. to forgive snow days. 
For the State Sec. of Education  to announce the schools that will pilot the Mass Insight Turnaround Zone. 

The News Journal initially pegged last week for the big "announcement," but those who've been around a while know that DOE is more strategic than that, or rather their waters are too muddy for the transparency tax payers deserve.  If they had played the transparency card with Race to the Top, chances are some school boards would not have signed on.  And so, I can't help but hypothesize as to why our turnaround schools have yet to be named.  Perhaps, they are busy lining up their lead partners, partners, DOE employee Dan Cruce earlier speculated, that must be local due to Delawareans' deep trust issues.  (Any wonder why we have trust issues?)

Or perhaps, they are busy aligning to Mass Insight's latest Turnaround Strategy -- Internal Lead Partners.

Or waiting for M.I. to release any of the following reports:

Leveraging Title 1 School Improvement Grants (scheduled for release in February 2010)
Provides recommendations to states on the most effective process to allocate the Title 1 School Improvement grants under the new federal guidelines.
Best practice state policy (scheduled for release in March 2010)
Offers advice on how policy can be created to encourage optimal conditions for school turnaround, drawing on promising practices from existing and forthcoming state legislation.
Building a District Turnaround Office (scheduled for release in May 2010)
Provides guidance on creating a District Turnaround Office, an organizational structure designed specifically to manage turnaround efforts within the district.
Building a State Turnaround Office (scheduled for release in April 2010):
Describes the structure and functions of the State Turnaround Office, an office of the State Education Agency responsible for all turnaround efforts within the state.

It's all conjecture, but in lieu of transparency and hard facts, conjecture is all we have.

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From the Newark Post: Comp. Training School In Newark forced to close!

http://www.newarkpostonline.com/articles/2010/01/04/news/doc4b42b47f8e54f988059211.txt
Computer training schools shut down


Published: Monday, January 4, 2010 9:49 PM CST

A computer training school was shut down, with a bank being blamed for the action.

According to a notice on its website, ComputerTraining.edu was shut down by BB&T bank and forced to close all schools and corporate offices with no notice to students, creditors, employees, management or shareholders. ComputerTraining.edu operates a campus in Newark.

After seventeen years in business, on Christmas Eve December 24th, 2009 ComputerTraining.edu was sent an email notifying them that their primary financier, BB&T bank, had frozen their line of credit, bank accounts and was seizing all assets immediately, according to the posting. They also instructed Computertraining.edu to lock down all locations and not allow employees access to collect personal belongings. This request stunned the ComputerTraining.edu management team who refused to comply. All employees were allowed access and terminations were made face to face, the posting reported.

Regardless of the fact that there were sufficient funds to do so, BB&T decided not to pay ComputerTraining.edu employees or keep training centers open to allow enrolled students to complete their schooling. Several attempts have been made by ComputerTraining.edu management to remedy the situation without success.

Current students should contact their state's board of education as soon as possible to work through refunds and remedies. ComputerTraining.edu has posted surety bonds and restricted cash deposits with the states which will be used to help students transfer to another school or obtain refunds.

ComputerTraining.edu is working together with Sallie Mae and all State Agencies to ensure that BB&T does the right thing and teaches out the classes and/or guarantees all refunds, the posting claimed.

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