Homeland Security high school planned in Delaware

While the Bush administration pushes for massive budget cuts to education, the Delaware Academy for Public Safety and Security is partnering with Innovative Schools to build a school that will prepare children for service in the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE, which continues to terrorize the immigrant community, is part of Homeland Security.

Rather than providing a decent education for all, the capitalist system invests money in training hired thugs to keep workers fearful. In early April, the proposal for a charter high school dedicated to preparing students for the Homeland Security front lines was approved by the city of Wilmington, Del.

Homeland Security does not exist to protect the nation from terrorism; it is an instrument of state repression. Its Immigration and Customs Enforcement arm is responsible for breaking up families and terrorizing communities, primarily those of Latino and Arab communities. It has been behind the numerous raids targeting working-class immigrants across the country, which have greatly intensified since the 2006 immigrant rights demonstrations that swept the nation.

The charter school will use the inner city youth of Wilmington as guinea pigs in their experimental project. According to the 2007 census, the majority of the city is African American. The curriculum is not meant to give these youth the skills needed to go on to college or provide them broad opportunities, but rather put them on track for a career in Homeland Security.

Together with seemingly harmless courses, the proposed curriculum includes SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) and prison-guard courses. Students will be called “cadets.” In addition, two hours of after-school sports or homeland security training will be available for cadet volunteers.

Unlike regular public schools, charter schools are publicly funded schools exempt from certain federal regulations. This school only adds to the argument against the charter system. Public money will fund the school’s revolting curriculum and goals when the money could be going to a public high school that provides a well-rounded education.

The first principal of the institution is to be Dr. Fred Fitzgerald, a retired captain in the Marine Corps. Fitzgerald is also a former executive for Coca-Cola in Jacksonville, Fla., and a former Director of Operations for the Port of Wilmington. His military and corporate background make him well-qualified to run an institution that will provide the skills and ideology to turn children into agents of the capitalist state.

The Delaware Academy for Public Safety and Security and Innovative Schools are creating a Homeland Security version of a marine recruitment center, but on a much grander scale. This institution will set a dangerous precedent for high school education—one that must be fought and defeated.