The Committee of 100 | FYI Archives

At its October 28th meeting, New Castle County Council unanimously approved Councilperson Karen Venezky's Ordinance 03-069 (see Fall 2003 FYI). Dubbed the “Brownfields Ordinance,” this legislation does more than facilitate redevelopment of brownfields. It removes the New Castle County Planning Board Public Hearing for Minor Redevelopment Plans. This Public Hearing requirement was a major factor in property owners and developers deciding not to use the redevelopment option. This option provides significant flexibility for the redevelopment of parcels that are otherwise impossible to develop under the Unified Development Code (UDC) without myriad variances. This is a win for the community, as every parcel must be “improved” under the redevelopment option, and a win for owners and developers, who now have far more options.

Committee of 100 Recognized

At its first Annual State of Our Schools Breakfast, the Brandywine School District commended The Committee of 100 for all of its work in helping the District turn around and continue to improve. Special Certificates of Appreciation were given to Stephan Lehm, President of VanDemark & Lynch and Chairperson of The Committee of 100 Education Task Force, for his leadership, along with retired ICI President Kent Riegel, of the Financial Review Task Force, and to Beverley Baxter, The Committee of 100 Executive Director, for her leadership and commitment to education reform in the Brandywine School District.

The Committee of 100 continues to work closely with the Brandywine School District. Several members meet on a continuing basis as part of a business leaders group. In addition, Superintendent Bruce Harter recently asked for two representatives from The Committee of 100 to serve on a Task Force on Defining Quality in the Brandywine School District. Ed Tarlov, Partner, Elzufon Austin Reardon Tarlov & Mondell, and a member of the Education Task Force, and Beverley Baxter served on the Task Force. The Task Force's Draft Report is on the Brandywine School District website (www.bsd.k12.de.us). Superintendent Harter has now asked additional members of The Committee of 100 to join other community leaders in reviewing the Draft Report.

No Child Left Behind Hits Delaware

The federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, which became law in January 2002, has set Delaware's accountability system on its ear. When Delaware's first education reform legislation was passed in 1997, it followed a dozen years of research that had resulted in educational standards, accompanying curriculum, and testing based upon the standards. NCLB has required the State to change its system.

Under the Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP), students are tested in grades 3, 5, 8, and 10 in reading, writing and mathematics and in grades 4, 6, 8, and 11 in science and social studies. The resulting “accountability grades,” along with other “indicators” (such as grades, classroom projects, and district tests) determine whether students are performing adequately (Distinguished, Exceeds the Standard, Meets the Standard) or less than adequately (Below the Standard, Well Below the Standard). Those failing to meet the standard must attend summer school or have an Individual Improvement Plan (IIP) to bring their performance up to standard. Students in grades 2, 4, 6, 7, and 9 are also tested in reading, writing and mathematics to help teachers and parents know how students are progressing.

Under NCLB, each state sets its own standards, or targets, for English/Language Arts and for Mathematics, as well one “other indicator.” The “other indicator” for high schools must be the graduation rate; however, states can choose the indicator for elementary and middle schools. Delaware has selected the combined scores on Science and Social Studies. NCLB requires that every school and district meet every performance target every year. In addition, every subgroup–White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, Special Education, Limited English Proficient (LEP), and Low-Income–in every school must meet every standard, and 95% of every subgroup must take the test. If fewer than 95% of students in any subgroup in any school fail to take the test, or if any subgroup fails to meet the standard in any of the performance areas, then the entire school will fail to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and will be Under School Improvement (USI). If any school in a district fails to make AYP, the district itself fails to make AYP.

The most positive thing about NCLB is that it forces schools and districts to meet the needs of all children, not just those who are easiest to educate. The children most often “left behind” are low-income, at-risk children. Under NCLB, there are consequences for both schools and districts which fail to meet AYP, ranging from improvement plans to restructuring. The consequences are greatest, however, for Title I schools (those schools which receive federal funding for low-income students needing additional academic help). Students in Title I schools which do not meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for two years can transfer to any other school in the district which is making AYP.

The most negative parts of NCLB are the discrimination against diversity and the arbitrariness of the disparate standards from state to state. A homogeneous school may have no subgroups, and so have only five scores, whereas a diverse school, with every subgroup, could have 37 scores. Because missing only one score (e.g., testing 94%, rather than 95%, of Hispanic students in math) marks a school as failing to meet Adequate Yearly Progress, even an excellent school can be labeled “failing.” Likewise, to ensure they look good, states can choose to set lower standards to more easily meet those targets.

On paper, Delaware will not fare well under NCLB. Delaware schools are among the most diverse in the nation and Delaware's standards are among the highest in the nation. Delaware has no intention of lowering its standards, even though the NCLB “grades” will penalize the State for aiming so high for its students. Delaware Representative Mike Castle, one of the authors of NCLB, has indicated that he understands that NCLB needs to be tweaked. Just what changes might be made, and when, are uncertain.

New Castle County Redistricted

At its October 28th meeting, New Castle County Council voted 5-2 to approved the redistricting plan submitted by the Redistricting Committee appointed by Council. The Delaware General Assembly mandated that all New Castle County Council districts be divided to create twelve districts from the existing six (plus Council President, elected at large). In the November 2004 elections, residents of New Castle will elect six new members of Council. A number of civic leaders, notably those who have consistently opposed economic development within the County, are preparing to run for Council.