Tuesday, September 27, 2011

First Posting - Why a BSD Parent Blog

Welcome to the first edition of P.O.W.E.R.  I am inviting other parents in my area to join our conversation on parent involvement with Race to the Top (RTTT) results and what we are or are not seeing in our individual school environments.

I am frustrated by the lack of grassroots involvement, parent voice and information sharing in the district and across the state around this Federal Grant process that gets back down to the parent level at the schools.  This is a unique and unprecedented opportunity to make an impact. (Every public school in the state was allocated money.) And make no mistake – this is a RACE!  And year 1 (or the first lap) is over!

I understand that the first year was all about planning and resource gathering with District Plans, DDOE budget approval processes, and a new testing system, but year 2 has already started and as a parent, I’m not sure these efforts are effective or going to produce the results everyone says they will.  Yes, this is a huge effort that is “above and beyond” a teacher or principal’s current day-to-day responsibilities but that is all the more reason, we as parents need to be paying attention.  This is potentially a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to move the entire DE Education system forward – let’s make sure there is ACCOUNTABLE for getting the results promised. 

Are you seeing changes in your schools and in the classrooms that are positive for our kids? What needs to be “tweaked” to make sure we are headed in the right direction, but not waste valuable time and money? Are these plans really “walking the talk” or is it all educational politics as usual? I’m not sure and want to hear from other parents.  Thus this Blog.

I am hoping you will join me and add your voice, concerns and potential talents to this Blog’s parent efforts.  I want to share resources, organize actions and discuss a variety of parent concerns.

Here are some of my topics of interest – what are yours?:
  • DCAS results – oh where do we start? There is so much to cover on this topic once you start asking questions about the data and understanding the background behind this test and its process.
  • Data Coaches – what do these people do?  Was anyone hired within year 1 who really understands the system who can answer parent questions? How are they helping teachers and parents?  Is this potentially a waste of money? Is the system so difficult that the teachers can’t understand their own classroom results – see DCAS discussion!
  • Grant Money – where is it going?  Districts were given specific allocations under this Federal Grant – above their normal operating budgets; Brandywine supposedly received $ 1,217,176 of RTTT money during year 1 (2010-2011) and should receive $ 1,358,224 during year 2 (2011-2012) with the fiscal year being July to June during any given year.  Did they get it? What adjustments were made and why? How was it used?  Was it money well spent for our district and our schools and ultimately our kids?
  • Mentoring – this may be the best grassroots effort to help kids – can your company help, just by supporting the effort with time and people?
  • School Budgets being squeeze – Did you know that in the last 4 years the BSD budget allocation has been decreased by approximately $4 million by the DDOE.  This year’s budget alone was reduced by $1.9 million, yet the overall enrollment in BSD has increased.  The Superintendent is beginning to organize a 2012 Operating Referendum – we as parents need to know the details and get our voice heard. There are 5 working groups where parents can add their voice.
  • Achievement Gap – we’ve heard about this and know it exists, but let’s put some real data against it that parents can understand to better define it for all of us.  What percentage of the population at each school is defined by this? How big is the gap?  How do the DCAS test scores define this gap and help to monitor it?  What real challenges do teachers have that we can solve quickly – how do we get resources into the classroom effectively?

Each one of these topics is not easy and can be complicated once we get into the details.  And not all of the topics may be of interest to everyone  – but we need to keep the information front and center and consistently shared with all of us.  I hope you will join us and continue to follow the conversations and stay an informed parent.

Yours sincerely,

Ashley Dalzell-Gray

Friday, September 16, 2011

P.O.W.E.R.
Parents Observing Workable Educational Reform

A grassroots effort organizing parent involvement that immediately impacts the educational landscape for ALL kids and monitoring “on the ground” results from Race to the Top in Delaware.  These efforts are starting with a concentration of parents in the Brandywine School District, but we know some of our concerns may impact others statewide.