Kilroy's post - Delaware state legislators snubs concerned students is about Moyer, the recent rally.
Where is Innovative Schools? Innovative Schools state they are a non-profit organization committed to promoting outstanding student achievement in Delaware by developing excellent schools.
Here is Innovative Schools Vision:
Over the next five years, Innovative Schools will increase the number of high-quality school seats available for Delaware students by:
Advancing the development and opening of innovative, high-quality charter schools that meet the needs of Delaware students.
Working with Delaware schools to increase their capacity to turn around underperforming schools.
Increasing the leadership capacity of school leaders and teaching staff.
Improving the quality of public schools by implementing nationally recognized reform programs. Helping schools renovate or purchase school facilities through the Loan Guaranty Fund.
Innovative Schools also helped Moyer to obtain financing for building acquisition, renovation, construction, or leasehold improvements.
http://www.innovativeschools.org/
Who sits on the Board of Directors at Innovative Schools:
Paul Herdman, Ed.D.Board Chairman, President and CEO, Rodel Foundation of Delaware
Martha ManningCommunity Volunteer
Peter MorrowPresident, Welfare Foundation
Craig SchroederCommunity Volunteer
Matthew SwansonCEO, Fine Stationery Solutions, Inc.
Advisory Board
Richard Carter, Ed.D.Principal, Talley Middle School, Brandywine School District
Stephanie Clark FitzgeraldNational Director of New Leaders Community Support New Leaders for New Schools
Kevin HallCEO and PresidentCharter School Growth Fund
Charles S. McDowell, Esq.Attorney, Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP - Board Chair, East Side Charter School
Paul Herdman served in the Secretary of Education’s office for two governors in Massachusetts, a state that is now the nation’s top performer, during the wholesale redesign of the state’s policies on standards, choice, and finance.
Mass Insight is located in Massachusetss and has signed Delaware, along with five other states (Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts and New York) in a three-year public-private partnership to create scalable and sustainable strategies for turning around clusters of their lowest-performing schools.
Martha Manning founded the Delaware Charter Schools Network, which is a membership association of all of Delaware’s charter schools.
Peter C. Morrow serves as the Executive Director of the Welfare Foundation, and formerly served as Executive Director of the Longwood Foundation from 1997 to 2009.
Matt Swanson currently serves on the board of Layton Preparatory School as a Foundation Director, and First State Innovation, a nonprofit economic development initiative led by the U.S. Department of Commerce and charter with improving the entrepreneurial landscape in Delaware.Advisory Board.
Kevin Hall served as Chief Operating Officer of the Broad Foundation. He is also a co-founder and former senior vice president of business development of Chancellor Beacon Academies, which manages public charter and private schools across the United States. He also held positions at McKinsey & Co., Goldman, Sachs & Co., and Teach For America.
Stephanie Clark Fitzgerald is National Director of New Leaders Community Support for New Leaders for New Schools. She is the immediate past President and CEO of the Rodel Charitable Foundation of DE. As an education consultant, Stephanie assisted in opening two schools in Washington, D.C. for the Edison Project; provided school-level accountability development for Perspectives Charter School in Chicago, Illinois; and with KPMG Consulting, conducted performance reviews for districts and states and assisted in developing and marketing an education data warehouse.
Charles S. McDowell, Esq. is currently Chairman of the Board of East Side Charter School in Wilmington, Delaware which serves 400 + pre K – 8th grade inner-city students.
Innovative Schools have been paid by the following schools: $251,968.
Academy of Dover
Delaware Academy of Public Safety and Security
Delaware College Prep Academy
Family Foundations Academy
Las Americas Aspira Academy
Moyer Academy
Odyssey Charter
Pencader Business and Finance
Prestiage Academy
Reach Academy for Girls
Sussex Academy of Arts /Science
Thomas Edison Charter
Christina School District
Innovative Schools Development Corporation - $66,828.74 when I look this up, http://www.dlc.org/print.cfm?contentid=251957 Innovative Schools website came up.
Academy of Dover
Delaware College Prep Academy
Family Foundations Academy
Odyssey
Christina School District
Teacher of America has been paid by the following schools: $190,000.00.
Delaware College Preparatory Academy
East Side Charter
Kuumba Academy
Prestige Academy
Thomas Edison Charter
Red Clay School District
Innovative Schools also helped Moyer to obtain financing for building acquisition, renovation, construction, or leasehold improvements.
William Guenther , who is President of Mass Insight Education and Research Institute in Boston, a policy and research group that has been instrumental for years in establishing rigorous academic standards in Massachusetts, generally considered one of the highest performing states in the country.
Mr. Guenther is also on the Board of Advisors for Renaissance School Services.
Renaissance School Services has been paid by East Side Charter $324,649.
Charles S. McDowell, Esq.Attorney, Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP - Board Chair, East Side Charter School Chair, and sits on the Board of Directors for Innovative Schools.
Delmar DustPan: A Day In The Garden
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16 comments:
INNOVATIVE SCHLS OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICE 12/9/2009 $39,606.00
DE ACA OF PUB SAFETY AND SECURIT - EDUCATION
INNOVATIVE SCHLS OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICE 9/24/2009 $17,728.00
INNOVATIVE SCHLS OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICE 12/10/2009 $18,012.00
LAS AMERICAS ASPIRA ACADEMY
Looks like they got their hooks in two more charter schools
"Innovative Schools"
Can you say Lead Partner???
NOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Yes hold them accountable for Moyer's failure and bar them from being involved with other charter schools.
Let's put the blame where it belongs -- and that's NOT with Innovative Schools. As far as I knww, I.S.D.C. doesn't hire the staff and/or form the boards.
The blame lies with buffoon Theo Gregory who has always been completely stuck on himself. He is the school's leader -- he should have done something. And the board should have taken action to get rid of him long ago.
The rest of the blame should go to the governor who most likely offered Moyer as a sacrifical lamb to the state teachers union to reward them for acting like they are going along with RTTT (watch what happens if we get any of the money -- the teachers will be backtracking like crazy if they think any of this stuff will actually happen.
"The rest of the blame should go to the governor who most likely offered Moyer as a sacrifical lamb to the state teachers union to reward them for acting like they are going along with RTTT"
Are you sure it wasn't to prove to Arne Duncan that he has the courage to closs failing charter schools? If he was kissing the union's butt he would have told his puppet Lowert and the state board not to approve the 6 charter schools for fall 2011. But if what you say is true then Markell threw kids out in the street for politics.
Wow! Kilroy is one heck of a detective! Follow the money.
"The rest of the blame should go to the governor who most likely offered Moyer as a sacrifical lamb to the state teachers union to reward them for acting like they are going along with RTTT, ..."
This is pure BS. No deal like this was ever cut. DSEA is hardly scared by the likes of Moyer, and would not enter into such a ridiculous, offensive agreement.
Unfortunately, it appears that Moyer broke enough of the cardinal rules governing charters that it caught someone's attention. #1 rule: Make an effort to pay attention to the details and follow the basic agreements set forth. When T. Gregory repeatedly did not organize the school properly, they decided that it was time to pull the plug.
Jeez. If they pulled the plug on a community public school like Bancroft or Warner, would you same people be so upset?
And will someone tell the NJ that these charter schools are PUBLIC SCHOOLS. They keep casting charters as special and distinct, as if they were semi-private.
Uncle Bob,
I totally agree. No deal or concessions going on here.
I don't know if anyone agrees with me on this but I do not think Lowrey relished doing this at all. I don't think it was making an example of the "lowest fruit on the tree" like Gregory said to the NJ. They knew the families were going to be unhappy and make their opinions know. No one in Dover wants that.
But it's a shame they can't boot Gregory and keep the school open. He did an awfull job and the students and families are paying the price.
Yes, if Innovative Schools was involved in the guidance or governance of Moyer, they should definitiely be seen as accountable. I am not certain what role Innovative Schools is supposed to play, but someone could have/should have been paying closer attention here. Moyer is not the only charter with Innovative Schools ties that has had some problems meeting standards and following rules. Pencader comes to mind.
You people who want to blame Innovative Schools for Moyer's mess don't know what you are talking about.
Innovative Schools can help secure financing for a school. If they don't like what they see in the school, they can refuse to help with the financing, but if the school finds another sorce, there is nothing to stop them. Innovative Schools does a good job supporting potential charter schools, but they are not the entity to blame for failure -- the blame lies with the board of the charter school and with the head of the school.
By the way, I have no connection with Innovative Schools and I am not connnected to any charter school. I'm just an interested taxpayer who thinks that Innovative Schools has been wrongly blamed for the failings of a pompous jerk named Theo Gregory and an ineffective charter school board.
http://www.innovativeschools.org/content_pages/view/about_us
"We Tailor Solutions to Your Unique Needs A site audit is at the heart of each Innovative Schools program. It is used to determine a school’s strengths to build upon and unique needs. The information generated from the audit is used to develop a comprehensive plan that builds upon successful practices,replaces ineffective practices with research-based strategies, and empowers school communities to effect positive change for students. Progress monitoring ensures the ongoing success of positive change."
" Progress monitoring ensures the ongoing success of positive change.""
Once the charter is issued, Innovative Schools has no power to do anything. They can advise, but they don't have the power to force a change -- that lies with the chartering organization.
STOP BLAMING INNOVATIVE SCHOOLS FOR THEO GREGORY's AND HIS BOARD'S FAILURES.
"Progress monitoring ensures the ongoing success of positive change"
So they failed to ensure success.
"So they failed to ensure success"
Moyer is rated commendable. Is that considered success?
Never meant that Innovative Schools was to bear the sole blame. The question of the post was "should IS be held somewhat accountable?" The answer is YES YES YES. Any large infoluential organization associated with this school should be somewhat accountable, including DOE.
"Any large infoluential organization associated with this school should be somewhat accountable, including DOE."
Only the organization that chartered the school or the state board (same in Moyer's case) can take action to change or shut down a charter school. Innovative Schools has not authority to change the school. They can advise, but that's as far as they can go.
The state board should have taken srong steps to save the school a long time ago, but they didn't. They have done a grave injustice to the children who attend Moyer.
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