Cape District Teachers Circle the Wagons
January 25th, 2007 by Dan GaffneyAfter I revealed problems at Mariner Middle School as told by actual teachers in the school, the minutes of the Cape teacher union meetings have been mysteriously removed from the CHEA web site. A little too much publicity I’d say. The “culture of secrecy” between educrats and parents continues.
Just for fun, here is a cached screen shot of the site the day we discussed it on the air.  This image shows the minutes were up on the site, but removed today.
Teachers have a right to speak out against a weak administration, and I applaud the union members for coming forward.Â
January 25th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Actions like this do not promote confidence in our Cape School System; in fact, they tear down confidence.
There has been a series of events in the past several years in which the public, at least I, have had cause to wonder if we are being given the whole story. The recent new high school bond referendum and the sudden shortfall of operating funds both come to mind. And didn’t we just learn that our two new middle schools, Beacon and Mariner, designed and built by some of the same individuals now involved in the new high school, got very low ratings on energy efficiency.
This makes the dedicated teaching staff look bad, undeservedly so I am sure. The point is that the leadership of our school district, the school board and the school administration, have to finally get a wake up call and respond to it in terms of leveling with the public.
If there are problems, like the current Mariner Middle discipline problem, like the fighting that occasionally happens at the HS, like the monetary shortfalls, like the HS construction problems, let us know the details and let us work together to resolve them.
January 25th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
It certainly would be nice to see a positive post about education. Why not mention Frankford Elementary School and their trip to the State of the Union. Do you realize that there are good things happening in our local school districts?
January 26th, 2007 at 4:37 am
defishing:
It was the principal of the school who went, and we are very aware. The story aired on WGMD many times, and appeared on the web here:
http://www.wgmd.com/newspost/fullnews.php?id=2653
January 26th, 2007 at 8:37 am
In passing, I cannot avoid repeating that the school district is making a big mistake to construct the new HS at the current location, in my view. This is a short cited plan, and one which may well not be cost effective in the long run when more expansion will be necessary. We need to have more room for expansion as the population of our district continues to grow, looking ahead 30-40 years. My guess is that the liquidated value of the current building and land could purchase a larger parcel west of Del 1. There has been no construction yet. How difficult would it be to transfer the plans to a new site, together with whatever design changes would be necessary to make the building more energy efficient, like reincorporating the solar collectors previously planned, now dropped?
Let’s get ourselves straight, honorable and intelligent about our school system, and throw these political games away in the dumpster for once and for all! To discard this idea of a new location because a few important people in Lewes want the HS to remain where it is, is neither sensible nor practical, in my view.
January 28th, 2007 at 9:20 pm
Perry, what about global warming and DE? Since the State will be under water before 2100, I don’t believe any money should be allocated for a new High School. I think they should make do with what they have, teach kids how to build arks, and take advantage of the sale Lowes is running on sump pumps. Just a thought. I could be wrong.
January 29th, 2007 at 8:45 am
Perhaps we should build the new HS on the large sand dune in Cape Henlopen State Park, powered by off-shore wind turbines. School busses could then be morphed into gigantic yellow colored helicopters with blinking red lights!
January 29th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Sorry, Perry. Just a little tongue-in-cheek there. Couldn’t help myself.
I agree, always have, on your wind power assessment. Before this forum, old version and new unimproved version, I have kept myself informed of developments in this field in NJ, NY and DE. To me, it’s the only way to go, with the least amount of downside. Unfortunately, as with most publicly unfamilier technologies, getting the masses’ ear, before even trying to educate them, is a monumental task. Too many people are living for the moment. Some problems are just not going to disappear, simply because we choose to ignore them.