Update: Moyer Files OCR Complaint, last ditch effort

Moyer May Rise Again...

Well, folks, in a few short hours the deal will be done.  The building formerly known as Moyer will be sold to the state and Virginia-based K12 will move in for the kill.  Do I smell a sweetheart deal?  Who do we know who is also from VA?

So long, Moyer.  It was nice knowing you...

Looks like Moyer's going to pull on last ditch effort to free themselves from the grip of DOE -

PRESS RELEASE:
Don McQueen, National President

African American Association of Charter School Administrators
3211 Bramer Drive
Raleigh, NC 27604
(919)538-8060

The African American Association of Charter School Administrators (Association) has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights against the Delaware State Board of Education and the Delaware Department of Education alleging that Maurice J. Moyer Academy (a Wilmington, Delaware based charter school) was discriminated against on the basis of the racial makeup of the school when the State Board of Education failed to renew its charter on allegations that the school did not meet state performance standards in violation of Title VI of Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Association has asked the Office of Civil Rights to take action to restore Moyer’s charter and allow it to continue to operate.

The Association asserts that Moyer outperformed the state composite score and the composite scores for Brandywine, Red Clay, Colonial, and Christiana School Districts (the surrounding regular public school districts) when the scores are controlled for race and income status. Moyer’s student population was 96.9 percent black, 2.2 percent Hispanic, and 22.5 percent Special Education. Moyer’s student population was 89.2 percent low-income. When you take the state composite scores which includes all sub-groups (white, black, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, and so forth) and compare that composite to Moyer it appears that Moyer did not perform. However, then you isolate the scores and compare homogeneous subgroup to homogeneous subgroup Moyer significant outperformed the state and local school districts.

According to Don McQueen, National President of the Association "it makes absolutely no sense to close Moyer or remove its leadership when it was clearly doing a better job of serving its student population than the state and local districts. The data shows the students are better off under Moyer’s current leadership."

In May, 2010 the Association completed a report entitled: "Study of the Maurice J. Moyer Academy: Student Performance." The study notes that "The Delaware Department of Education did not make equitable comparisons and has reached an erroneous conclusion about the performance of Moyer Academy." The study also notes that "Across the nation States are attempting to carry out the President’s mandate to close low performing charter schools without developing fair and mathematically sound methods to determine whether African American, Low-income, and Special Education populations are better served by the Charter school than the traditional public schools. The result is states are closing Charter schools that serve special targeted populations that are outperforming traditional public schools due to erroneous information. This does a disservice to our educational infrastructure and to high risk African American students."

( Visit the Association on the Internet at : http:/!aaacharteradministrators.or~/default.aspx )