Nichole Dobo is much nicer than I am: describes DOA DOE teacher incentive program as "evolving"

But then, she has to actually pay the bills and stay in the good graces of her employer.

So here's what she says about the fact that Red Clay and Christina (perhaps others, DOE is not talking) turned down the poorly conceived teacher bonus program:

Teacher Bonus Program Evolving

The state’s teacher retention and bonus program schools were announced earlier this month. Since then, the deadline has passed for charters and districts to indicate if they are going to take part.

The program, paid for with part of the state’s federal $119 million Race to the Top grant, would give certain teachers a $10K bonus to stay in certain schools. This bonus program accounts for a sizable chunk of grant.

The state department of education has since extended that deadline. Because of that deadline extension the state declined to provide to The News Journal the list of responses from districts and charters.

The News Journal has independently confirmed that by the first deadline the state’s two largest school districts — Red Clay Consolidated and Christina — both declined to participate in the program. The state has since sent letters asking for reconsideration and offering a new deadline.

Here's what I say: isn't it remarkable that the State's two largest school districts just turned down a program intended to expend 7% of the entire Race to the Top funding for Delaware?

What does that tell you about the lack of buy-in for a poorly conceived and potentially divisive incentive program?

And what does it tell you when the State, rather than strong-arming these districts like it did to Christina in 2011, sends a letter begging them to reconsider?

It tells you that elections have consequences.

Comments

Anonymous said…

and that the DOE can't write a coherent, evidence based plan to help teachers. Sad. So very sad.

June 5, 2012 at 1:11 PM

Comment Rescue (?) and child-related gun violence in Delaware

In my post about the idiotic over-reaction to a New Jersey 10-year-old posing with his new squirrel rifle , Dana Garrett left me this response: One waits, apparently in vain, for you to post the annual rates of children who either shoot themselves or someone else with a gun. But then you Libertarians are notoriously ambivalent to and silent about data and facts and would rather talk abstract principles and fear monger (like the government will confiscate your guns). It doesn't require any degree of subtlety to see why you are data and fact adverse. The facts indicate we have a crisis with gun violence and accidents in the USA, and Libertarians offer nothing credible to address it. Lives, even the lives of children, get sacrificed to the fetishism of liberty. That's intellectual cowardice. OK, Dana, let's talk facts. According to the Children's Defense Fund , which is itself only querying the CDCP data base, fewer than 10 children/teens were killed per year in Delaw

The Obligatory Libertarian Tax Day Post

The most disturbing factoid that I learned on Tax Day was that the average American must now spend a full twenty-four hours filling out tax forms. That's three work days. Or, think of it this way: if you had to put in two hours per night after dinner to finish your taxes, that's two weeks (with Sundays off). I saw a talking head economics professor on some Philly TV channel pontificating about how Americans procrastinate. He was laughing. The IRS guy they interviewed actually said, "Tick, tick, tick." You have to wonder if Governor Ruth Ann Minner and her cohorts put in twenty-four hours pondering whether or not to give Kraft Foods $708,000 of our State taxes while demanding that school districts return $8-10 million each?

New Warfare: I started my posts with a discussion.....

.....on Unrestricted warfare . The US Air force Institute for National Security Studies have developed a reasonable systems approach to deter non-state violent actors who they label as NSVA's. It is an exceptionally important report if we want to deter violent extremism and other potential violent actors that could threaten this nation and its security. It is THE report our political officials should be listening to to shape policy so that we do not become excessive in using force against those who do not agree with policy and dispute it with reason and normal non-violent civil disobedience. This report, should be carefully read by everyone really concerned with protecting civil liberties while deterring violent terrorism and I recommend if you are a professional you send your recommendations via e-mail at the link above so that either 1.) additional safeguards to civil liberties are included, or 2.) additional viable strategies can be used. Finally, one can only hope that politici

Search This Blog