It appears that Delaware Valley High School has gotten the official "Come on down!" to join the Emperor and Hellman's Heroes on "The Price Is Right: Morrisville Edition"
Joe Kemp has left a new comment on your post "Kate Fratti Nails It!":
UPDATE: The only reason Mr. Hellmann had not previously expressed interest in using DVHS for our high school students was because they got his email address wrong and he hadn't known about it until recently. We will most likely be bringing David Shulick in to speak to the community regarding his proposal.
Please check the comments section of the "Kate Fratti Nails It!" post. There is a lot of good information there regarding DVHS, including the link to the PA Dept of Education website where DVHS is listed as an alternative school for disruptive youth, boasting "WE OFFER SCHOOL DISTRICTS the ability to seamlessly refer “at-risk” youth in need of behavioral, emotional, academic and/or special education services to our highly effective programs at a cost that is far LESS than what districts spend INTERNALLY."
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
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11 comments:
This would be by far the most egregious act by Hellmann if he brings this team in after the showdown in the auditorium.
Do we know when he will be coming to present?
THIS IS IMPORTANT AND MUST BE STOPPED.
This Board's willingness to sacrifice our children is so disheartening. How can adults care so little about children. I know he said he will put this to referendum, but I have no confidence that the majority of our community shares this lack of care about our children. It's like living in the twilight zone.
There are so many ways this could go horribly wrong. Begin making lists of questions/comments now.
Will we be permitted to question?
Does anyone know whether the idea is to farm out/outsource/outuition/whatever our"AT RISK" students or do they want to get rid of ALL the students?Or,perhaps all the High School kids?I can't see them thinking that they could get away with this,but you never know...
Joe, do you have a date for presentation?
First, let me say I have nothing against alternative schools, I worked in one. A student should be there because the specific school is deemed the best educational environment to suit the need of that student, often social/emotional/or behavioral. They should be specifically geared toward the needs of the children they serve, and they receive specific certification to deliver such services. There are some good alternative schools and they are the only resort for some students. But, does an alternative school qualify as an appropriate public school - "the least restrictive environment" - for all students?
Is the board majority, otherwise known as Mr.Hellman, considering this as a potential location for his mysterious tuitioning out plan that has yet to be properly, publicly discussed and debated? Does he believe that this is an appropriate setting for all of our children, or only for those who are not Catholic (since the only other apparent potential destinations are Catholic schools?)
This is bizarre and disturbing, and clearly reflects the serious detriment this board majority has in understanding their limits and responsibilities, and the rights of the children they are supposed to be serving. It also hints at a frightening and innacurate picture this board majority seems to have about our students. My stomach churns when I think back to comments at the microphone referring to our students as "scum" "perverts" and such. As George Bolos said at the January meeting "These are not children of a lesser god, they are our children!"
Again, we are faced with uncertainty because there has BEEN NO PUBLIC DIALOGUE by the board on this matter. Is this part of the "tuitioning out" plan, or simply an outreach on the part of the school to inform our new school board of their unique services for children who need them, as would be appropriate? How long are we going to accept being kept in the dark?
This is the description of Delaware Valley High School as pasted directly from their site -
" Delaware Valley High School is one of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s oldest private licensed, accredited and "approved" high schools specializing in "at risk" high school youth with motivational and/or behavioral issues.
A full service alternative educational facility, offering a range of unique educational services for "at risk" youth, designed to teach responsibility, instill motivation, and turn potential "drop outs" or "problem students" into High School graduates, and facilitate post graduate education. "
When trying to link to the Bucks location, this is the message received:
" The Bucks/E MontCo section of this site is under construction.
Active discussions are in progress with various districts
and we are in the process of expanding this site. "
This is an article from the Intelligencer - December 07 I think
Alternative school plans withdrawn
By JACOB FENTON
The Intelligencer
A Philadelphia school for troubled youth has withdrawn a plan to open a new facility for 170 high school students in Ivyland after neighbors complained about the proposal at a meeting last month.
Delaware Valley High School - Bustleton -“does not want to fight with any neighbors, period,” said president David Shulick on Tuesday. “We want to be located where everyone will view us as a resource rather than as a problem.”
The new location would have served students from districts in Bucks and Eastern Montgomery County who now attend the school's only location in the Bustleton section of Philadelphia.
Proposed in the Ivybrook Corporate Center, off Bristol Road near Greeley Avenue, the facility would have been equipped with inner and outer locks preventing students from leaving.
The school is pursuing three other possible locations in Bucks County, Shulick said, but would not disclose where.
“We will be open in Bucks County by the fall,” he said.
About 60 residents turned out for a Nov. 28 hearing to voice concerns about traffic, safety and the cost of policing the neighborhood.
Stephen Imre, a council member, said at the hearing that he was troubled by police reports indicating problems at the school's Philadelphia location.
The school needed a conditional use permit to open. Council members didn't take a vote on the permit but “asked a lot of questions,” said council President Robert Severn.
“There was a second meeting scheduled for more testimony so we really had not completed any kind of deliberation or acquired enough information to make a meaningful decision.” The second hearing was canceled when the plan was withdrawn.
The school's president was concerned with neighbors “who were obviously going to do anything and everything they can, including making false statements about (Delaware Valley High School - Bustleton), to stop the approval. We have no desire to engage in anything like that,” Shulick said.
While opponents had argued that there were already plenty of alternative schools in the area, Shulick said DVHS served seven districts in the area.
Jacob Fenton
I am sure there are many fine alternative schools and DVHS may be one of them. The point is, they are meant for students that have trouble dealing with (oftentimes this means they have been expelled from) their local school district.
I know Morrisville SD has referred troubled kids to DVHS, so they are probably reputable for what they do.
But, is an alternative school really the right thing for ALL kids? Are you as a parent, grandparent, concerned citizen really ok with sending the kids there? Really?
With all due respect to DVHS, I am not.
Hopefully I can clear up a few things. I don't want anyone to panic. Or to be kept in the dark. To the best of my knowledge, Mr. Shulik contacted the board by email of his own volition after reading about the tuitioning plan in the Courier. It didn't seem to me to be a good idea as they are not now equipped to do the job and they've never, as far as I can tell, been anything but an alternative school for at-risk students. These are questions I'll ask. I'll also do my best to allow community members to question Mr. Shulik. There are a LOT of questions.
I don't have a date, I'll let everyone know as soon as I know. Hopefully, it'll be the regular meeting and not the agenda (that being next week).
We're working on a date for the community forum, but no news on that yet. It wouldn't hurt if this proposal is in the open when that takes place.
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