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Education in the First State
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Welcome back! It is going to be a great year!
Frank welcomes students arriving at Sunnyside Elementary on the first day of school Monday (more photos).
Remember Frank? Students at
Sunnyside Elementary School in the
Smyrna School District were welcomed back to their first day of school Monday by this adorable bulldog. Frank's job at Sunnyside is to greet students as they enter school. He also works with his colleague, Sunnyside Counselor Dina Samonte, by providing "Frank Time" for students who earn punches on their "Paws-itive Behavior" cards. Using Frank Time, students get rewarded for positive in-class behaviors like listening to the teacher, staying on task and completing their work.
See other Sunnyside back-to-school pics
here. And read more about Frank (and see more adorable pics!)
here.
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ESSA provides chance for community to shape state plan
Governor Jack Markell is joined by Red Clay Consolidated School District's Lewis Elementary students Tuesday as he signs an executive order creating his ESSA advisory committee. (more photos)
The Department of Education is seeking help from educators, families and other community members as it develops Delaware's state plan under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act.
The department will engage representatives of stakeholder groups in two
discussion groups. The first group will focus discussions on technical topics related to Measures of School Success and Reporting. The second group will focus discussions on provisions for Student and School Supports. Participants for these topical discussion groups can be nominated on the department's ESSA
web site through September 9. The discussion groups will provide information to an advisory committee created by Governor Jack Markell's recent
executive order.
A series of
community conversations later this month will allow parents, teachers, administrators, and others to offer input on specific questions that the state must address in its plan. These discussions will take place at the following times and locations:
6 p.m., Tuesday September 20 at Cheer Center, Georgetown
10 a.m., Saturday September 24 at Christina Cultural Arts Center, Wilmington
6 p.m., Tuesday September 27 at Bunker Hill Elementary School, Middletown
5:30 p.m., Thursday September 29 at Collette Education Center, Dover
Register for the conversations
here.
The public also is invited to provide input through online surveys found on the Department's
ESSA web site and by submitting feedback to
[email protected].
Read more about the Governor's advisory group
here.
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New role lets educators lead in and out of classroom
Krista Seifert welcomes arriving students to East Dover Elementary School. As the school's instructional culture teacher leader, she is building a philosophy around culture, discipline and culturally responsive teaching. Connecting with students and families is an important part of that work (more photos).
Heather Mann, a 23-year educator, spent five years supporting other educators as a literacy coach, but the work took her away from working directly with students.
A new teacher leader pilot has provided a third option.
"I loved working with the teachers. I wanted back in the classroom because I loved teaching. Now I can have a balance of both," she said.
Mann is among 19 teachers selected to serve as teacher leaders in the pilot that launched this school year. The program is among the first of its kind in the nation to take place at the state level.
Providing this kind of teacher leadership opportunity was among the recommendations of the
Committee to Advance Educator Compensation and Careers. During his administration, Governor Jack Markell has championed the creation of a compensation system that makes Delaware educator salaries more competitive with neighboring states and rewards teachers for helping their peers to best support our students.
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Schools stand out in building-level state test results
Seaford Middle School students participate in an afterschool Mine Craft Club last year, helping them apply lessons learned in school to strategies in the popular game. The school had some of the greatest gains in the state on the Smarter Assessment last year.
New state assessment results released this month show strong gains made by schools across the state.
While the state as a whole showed progress in almost all grades and subgroups for both Smarter English language arts (ELA) and mathematics, the
building-level scores reveal even stronger gains at some schools.
For example,
Brandywine School District's Harlan Elementary School saw an overall gain of 14 percentage points in grades 3-5 ELA, which included an almost 40-point gain in third grade ELA (13.8 to 53.7 percent proficient). In math, the third grade gain was 28.4 percentage points (17.9 to 46.3 percent)
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'Day Zero' helps families, drivers prepare for year
Appoquinimink School District last week completed its first ever 'Day Zero' event in which bus drivers and aides participated in a dry run along the very routes that they are collecting and dropping off students this school year. Find more photos here.
The first day of school can have a lot of jitters, starting with getting on the bus.
Appoquinimink School District leaders aimed to help students and families ease some of those concerns with its first Day Zero event last week. Bus drivers and aides completed a dry run along their routes, allowing students and families to meet them and feel more comfortable on the first day of school.
"More than 8,250 students ride a bus to school every day" in Appoquinimink, explained Stacey Bacon, the district's acting transportation supervisor. "We want to make sure it's a positive experience by giving our drivers time to get familiar with the stops, the turnarounds, any construction changes, and the pickup and drop-off times."
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Other Good News in Delaware's Public Schools
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Texts help students, families with college process
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