![]() ![]() The school had been given a January 1 deadline to ensure that members or affiliates of Greek fraternal organizations that founded the school no longer held a majority of the seats on the board and that those members no longer have a role in selecting individuals who fill the seats reserved for those who are not members of the fraternal organizations. During that meeting, one board member suggested that one candidate, a black woman, should not be appointed merely for the sake of diversity, lest she be regarded as “a token.” According to the blog post, it was not clear whether the reference was to the candidate’s ethnicity or her gender, but the board did choose a white male to fill the vacancy.įriday’s announcement by the Department of Education did not refer specifically to the comments at the December 3 meeting, but it did state that the department would be reviewing whether Odyssey was complying with probationary terms related to the composition of its board of directors. The Blue Delaware blog post also included a link to a December 3 meeting that at which the qualifications of candidates for openings on the board were discussed. ![]() “The board is taking, and will continue to take, essential first steps to address accountability, heighten inclusivity awareness and provide sensitivity training to better serve our diverse community,” Wolcott said, adding that he has advised leaders at Academia Antonia Alonso of the steps he will be taking. He called the comments “hurtful and insensitive” and said he has asked for the resignation of the board member responsible for the remark. “This is a distressing process for our entire OCS community,” said Josiah Wolcott, president of Odyssey’s board of directors in a statement issued Friday afternoon. The discriminatory comments became an issue earlier this week when the Blue Delaware blog published a commentary that included a link to the recording of the board meeting that had been posted to Odyssey’s website. Academia rents the building from Odyssey, which acquired 35 acres of the Barley Mill Plaza office park west of Wilmington in 2015 after the DuPont Co. That condemnation refers to remarks made by unidentified board members during a January 15 meeting of the school’s board of directors about whether a solution to traffic control problems would be to “put a fence up” or “build a wall” separating Odyssey’s buildings from the building occupied by Academia Antonia Alonso, a dual-language Spanish-English charter school. ![]() “Additionally, Bunting condemns the discriminatory statements regarding Academia Antonia Alonso Charter School allegedly made by board members in a recording of a board meeting publicly released,” that announcement added. Secretary of Education Susan Bunting notified the school that it is being placed on formal review for possible violations of its charter and of a probation imposed last July that remains in effect until June 30, according to a announcement made Friday by the Department of Education. A week after thinking it might have resolved the major remaining issue of its probation, Odyssey Charter School is once again in hot water with the state Department of Education. ![]()
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