Education in the First State
June 24, 2015

Celebrating the Good News about Delaware Public Schools

 

All over the state, Delaware students, teachers, principals and parents are working together to ensure that students are prepared for college and careers after high school. The goal of this newsletter, Take Note: Education in the First State, is to highlight success and progress toward that goal. We welcome your suggestions for examples of the great work our educators, students and parents are doing that should be celebrated. Please send your ideas for stories that should be included here to: Take.Note@doe.k12.de.us.

 

Also, please pass this along to other interested friends and family members to sign up for Take Note.
 
Celebrating the 2016 Teachers of the Year


Nineteen Delaware teachers have been nominated for the honor of being named Delaware's Teacher of the Year for 2016.

 

Selected from among the 9,000 public school teachers in the state, the candidates were nominated by their districts 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. And in October, one will take over the state title from 2015 Delaware Teacher of the Year Megan Szabo, a middle school science teacher from Caesar Rodney School District.

 

Earlier this month, the nominees spent a day meeting with past State Teachers of the Year and Department of Education leaders. We asked the teachers to share their thoughts on teacher leadership.

 

"The implementation of (professional learning communities) in our school and district has given teachers an outstanding opportunity for leadership across content areas. It has provided opportunities for collaboration as well as vertical and horizontal articulation throughout the district," said Amanda Chas, Appoquinimink School District Teacher of the Year. Read more from the teachers and find the full list of nominees as well as photos here. Congrats to all!

Delaware College Scholars gain academic, social skills through summer residential program

 

 

Delaware students from across the state are spending part of their summer gaining the academic and social skills necessary for college success thanks to a free residential program launched in Delaware last year.

 

The Delaware College Scholars (DCS) program provides nearly 80 rising juniors and seniors the opportunity to live and learn at St. Andrew's School in Middletown for three weeks this June, giving Delaware students the know-how to enroll in and graduate from a four-year university and helping to ensure that each student is prepared to succeed in his or her post-secondary plans. This year's attendees include rising seniors returning after their inaugural year last year and a new class of rising juniors entering the program for the first time. DCS also aids in reducing "summer melt," which describes the trend affecting 10 to 20 percent of college-eligible students, usually from low-income families, who fail to follow-through on their plans to attend college in the fall. The program gives a preference to those from low-income families who would be first-generation college-goers. This year, the students from the 2014 inaugural class have returned to join the 42 first-time attendees.

 

All the students spend their days taking SAT preparation classes as well as college essay writing, math and literacy courses aimed to prepare them for university-level work. They learn human development and general organization and study habits, as well as different ways to relax and reduce stress through yoga, dance and sports. Advisory sessions from current college students also help the juniors and seniors get a first-hand perspective of university living. Throughout the next school year, students will visit area college campuses to gain exposure to selective universities and learn about the college admissions and financial aid process.

See more photos here.
Student Spotlight

One student's mission to empower his generation
 

 

Kasai Mathew William Guthrie, a 17-year-old junior from Glasgow High School, is on a mission to empower his generation through access to information. Guthrie, who has participated in academically advanced programs from a young age, started high school courses in his 7th grade year and founded three companies by age 14. He is the creator of Kasai Says, an interview show where he interviews successful people and celebrities from a student's perspective. Guthrie hopes to show other kids the ins and outs of how to obtain success in every area of their life to inspire them to be more than just athletes and rappers. His prized project is the "We Need our Fathers" campaign, a national campaign where he shares his personal story of a life-changing tragedy that resulted from his father being absent in his life. He describes how he overcame that to not only move on in his own life but to inspire both absent fathers and their children to reconcile. Through the "We Need our Fathers" campaign, Guthrie provides CDs, e-books and videos for absent fathers, children and single mothers on topics that he and his family personally experienced, such as reconciling relationships, forgiveness and how to have healthy expectations.

 

On May 30, Guthrie hosted a workshop for teenagers, sponsored by the state Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services. The topics included "10 Ninja Secrets for Winning at Life for Teens," "Prevention Tools for Success," and "How to Bring Out the Super Hero in YOU." 
Principal Spotlight

State's top elementary school principal: "My teachers are talking constantly about instruction."

Charlynne Hopkins in costume (cheerleader) with 3 staff members for a school talent show.

 

Charlynne Hopkins, principal of John Clayton Elementary School who was chosen recently as Delaware's 2015 Elementary Principal of the Year, has been a school leader for 14 years. We asked her recently about her school and about leadership. She credited her school's success to her teachers' constant focus on instruction: "We are constantly looking at the data from different assessments during the year and making decisions." Read more of her thoughts here. 
School Spotlight

John Bassett Moore Intermediate School celebrates 2014-15 successes

Special Olympian Athletes being recognized at School Board Meeting for their amazing efforts

 

Students at Smyrna School District's John Bassett Moore Intermediate School have a lot of accomplishments to celebrate. The school's leaders shared these end-of-year academic gains:

  • 86% of students showed growth on the Star Reading Assessment, and 91% made gains on the Star Math Assessment from fall to spring.
  • 65% of special needs students showed growth on the Scholastic Reading Inventory Assessment from fall to spring.
  • 47% of special needs students grew one to two Lexile grade reading levels from fall to spring.  

Staff at the school also have improved the school's community, the school's leaders say, through:

  • Hosting first Parent Information Night to share information on Smarter assessments, Google technology and Common Core;
  • Sponsoring a community fall festival;
  • Collecting 2,000 cans for a food drive;
  • Adopting 10 families for holiday gifts; and
  • Raising charitable funds through various fundraisers to benefit the Boys and Girls Club and B+ Foundation

Other Good News in Delaware's Public Schools

 

What are students saying about the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)? Christin Pratt and Liam Stiller from Caesar Rodney's Postlethwait Middle School describe how NGSS changed their feelings toward science.

 

Students had fun with creative problem solving at the 29th annual Meaningful Economics and Entrepreneurship Competition.

 

Seven districts earned state grants to support college access and readiness efforts.

 

Practice materials for the redesigned SAT now are available for free online.