Education in the First State
June 29, 2016
20 teachers honored, one to be DE Teacher of Year         
Twenty teachers, representing the state's 19 school districts and the Delaware Charter School Network, have been named teachers of the year. One of them will be chosen as the State Teacher of the Year this fall. (Photos)
 
Twenty Delaware teachers are finalists to be named Delaware's 2017 Teacher of the Year.

Selected from among the 9,000 public school teachers in the state, the candidates were nominated by their districts or the Delaware Charter School Network because of their ability to inspire students with a love of learning, demonstration of professional traits and devotion to teaching. Already leaders among the colleagues in their buildings, each now has assumed a role representing educators in their districts or the charter network. And in October, one will take over the state title from 2016 Delaware Teacher of the Year Sandra Hall, a fourth grade teacher from Smyrna School District.

Learn more about the 2017 District/Charter Teachers of the Year:

 
Smarter Analytics give teachers power over instruction 
       

Chief Academic Officer Michael Watson and Brandy Cooper, Milford's 2016 Teacher of the Year, review Smarter Analytics with Milford teachers.
 
When Brandy Cooper, a sixth grade math teacher at  Milford Central Academy in the  Milford School District, saw Delaware's new Smarter Analytics data system for the first time this past April, she said she immediately knew her colleagues needed to do the same.

Cooper, the 2016 Milford School District Teacher of the Year, was first introduced to Smarter Analytics during a Teacher of the Year presentation focused on enhancements to the way teachers access data from different classroom, district-level and statewide assessments, including the state's annual Smarter test each spring. 

"Last year Smarter was more of a mystery. There was little direct info on how to interpret the data - just a score that didn't really mean anything," Cooper said. "Now the data is presented in a system that's user-friendly, provides good comparisons and allows you to look at specific categories depending on your needs."


 
Delaware College Scholars graduates first class
                         
Governor Jack Markell joined the first graduating class of Delaware's College Scholars at a special ceremony at St. Andrew's School in Middletown earlier this month. (Photos)
 
Three years ago, the state launched the public-private partnership with St. Andrew's School in Middletown, giving high-achieving students who would be the first in their families to attend college the chance to spend part of their summers gaining the academic and social skills necessary for college success through a free residential program. They returned last summer, joining a new class of students in the second cohort. The third cohort arrived at St. Andrew's earlier this month.
 
The program started with 36 students in the first cohort and now serves 115.  All 35 of the students who remained in the program from the first cohort have been accepted into college with 34 planning to attend and one student still uncommitted.  Most will be the first in their families to attend college.

Congratulations to these amazing, hard-working students. We celebrate with you and wish you the best of luck as you pursue your college degrees!

Partnership gives city students home libraries
                     
Stubbs Elementary fifth-grader Aazariah Crippen was honored as a champion reader earlier this month at a Wilmington Blue Rock's game as part of the My Very Own Library program. (Photos)
 
Every child in eight city elementary schools was able to take home 10 free books of her or her choosing this school year, a start to their very own home libraries.

My Very Own Library (MVOL) is an initiative that supports students' love of reading and helps students build their very own libraries. All students in the participating schools receive one new book a month. A partnership between Christina and Red Clay Consolidated school districts with United Way to bring MVOL into their schools resulted in more than 36,000 new books being given to more than 3,600 Wilmington students this year.

"When we talk about the reading level of kids in our community, and the fact that we have to work collaboratively to increase it, this is just one of the ways we believe we can make a difference - and it is also a strong demonstration of partnership," said Michelle Taylor, President and CEO of United Way of Delaware.

Hundreds of students, families and teachers joined their community at the Wilmington Blue Rocks Stadium earlier this month to celebrate the end of the first year of the program in their schools and to acknowledge student and parent reading champions representing each school with a free night of family fun. The celebration also was to thank partners DuPont and Scholastic and to highlight the importance of reading.



31 educators, college students selected as fellows
        
In addition to the policy projects they are working on this summer, the fellows participate in weekly leadership development and speaker series sessions with Delaware leaders in state government and non-profit organizations.
 
The Delaware Department of Education recently welcomed 31 summer fellows. All are promising future leaders and current educators who have a passion for education and want to gain hands-on exposure to policy work.
 
Fellows are charged with important projects critical to Delaware's policy agenda. They also are participating in weekly leadership development and speaker series sessions with Delaware leaders in state government and non-profit organizations.  These sessions are intended to develop them as leaders and provide context on education issues of national importance. The fellowships will culminate in a presentation of their work and policy recommendations to department staff and leadership.
 
"I am excited to have the fellows working with us this summer. They bring deep and diverse backgrounds in education as well as other fields that will help inform and shape our work," Secretary of Education Steve Godowsky said. "Having the expertise of current college students, recent graduates and current educators will contribute to a broader perspective that will strengthen our policy decisions."

Meet the fellows and learn about their policy projects:

 
Other Good News in Delaware's Public Schools