Thank You, JPMorgan Chase!

On Thursday, October 25, Paul A. Herdman, President and CEO of the Rodel Foundation of Delaware, gratefully accepted on behalf of Vision 2015 a youth education grant from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. The $180,000 contribution will help fund executive leadership training for the newly launched Vision Network of districts and charter schools, with support targeted to the Kuumba Academy Charter School in Wilmington. Read more.

Pictured in above photo: Standing (from left): Robert W. Rescigno, Vision Network Liaison; Dr. Sondra Shippen, Head of School for Kuumba Academy; Dr. Paul A. Herdman, President and CEO of the Rodel Foundation of Delaware; Helen M. Stewart, Vice President and Community Relations Manager at JPMorgan Chase; Susan Budinger, Founding Director and Chair, Rodel Foundation of Delaware; and Wilson J. Braun, Jr., Managing Director, J. P. Morgan Trust Company Seated (from left): Kuumba Academy students Maya Belardo, C'Jia Hudson, Angelina Jiminez Willis, Rahim Tonic, Nakai Thomas, and Jymere Stillis-Stanford

On Thursday, October 18, the Delaware Department of Education (DOE) launched the state recommended curriculum, which defines a K-12 curriculum map with benchmarks and includes model units and resources for teachers. The DOE is working with all Delaware public school districts and charter schools to demonstrate how their curriculum is aligned to the standards in all content areas, and to provide tools and resources to all teachers to help ensure high-quality classroom instructional units and assessments that will meet the needs of their students, while aligning with expectations in the standards.

The Vision Network of districts and charter schools kicked off its first executive leadership training on Thursday, October 11. About 80 district and school leaders, including 16 teachers, participated in sessions with other districts from around the state and brainstormed activities to evaluate their role as instructional leaders. Delaware Secretary of Education Valerie A. Woodruff commended the participating districts and charter schools for their commitment as pioneers and emphasized that they have the Department's commitment to address administrative and regulatory obstacles identified by the Network. The Vision 2015 Implementation Team presented leaders from each participating school with a banner that reads "Proud to be a Vision Network School." Look for a Vision Network school near you!

Vision 2015 applauds Sally Pitts-Rakes, recently honored with a Governor's Outstanding Volunteer Service Award. Sally was chosen due to her leadership in creating the "Challenging Yourself Enhances Your Ability to Excel Beyond Remediation" project, which was implemented at A.I. duPont High School in September of 2006. The project has grown to include over 60 students and has evolved into other programs, the latest being the development of a Peer-Tutoring Center. For more Outstanding Volunteer Service Award winners, click here.

We would also like to congratulate Courtney Fox, recently named Delaware's 2008 Teacher of the Year! Read more.

To get the latest information on how to become involved with Vision 2015, please visit our web site: www.vision2015delaware.org or e-mail us at info@vision2015delaware.org.

On Friday, November 9 and Saturday, November 10, the Delaware Public Policy Institute, the Delaware State Education Association, and Vision 2015 will host "Teachers: Career Paths, Compensation and Collective Bargaining in the 21st Century." This free conference, held in Dover, will bring together many of the nation’s leading educators, policy experts and union representatives from around the country to discuss new approaches to teacher compensation, career paths and collective bargaining.

New York City Department of Education Deputy Chancellor Christopher D. Cerf will kick off the forum on Friday evening, speaking on New York City's pioneering work in public education transformation. Pre-registration is required. For more information and to register, click here.

"JPMorgan Chase is proud to invest in such an exciting and innovative project, which aligns tightly with our goals to build capacity within public schools and help underserved students prepare for and gain access to college. The Vision Network will accelerate student performance and help build a bright future for all Delaware children. We hope to be one of many more partners, both public and private, that rise to meet this challenge."

--Helen M. Stewart, Vice President and Community Relations Manager, JPMorgan Chase

"Vision 2015 is an incredible partnership that is far reaching and challenging... We reached a plateau in regard to student success in Delaware, and we needed a boost... I want to thank the four districts and the two charter schools for participating in the Vision Network, for their success in the past and for the success I know they will have in the future."

--Valerie A. Woodruff, Secretary, Delaware Department of Education

Eighty-two percent of teachers have said that their instruction has improved by having clearly defined learning goals for students.

Source: Align High School Standards with Real-World Expectations,, Achieve, Inc., citing The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Delaware is one of only thirteen states to adopt a college- and work-ready curriculum. These requirements help ensure that students graduate prepared for the demands of college and the workplace (Closing the Expectations Gap 2007, Achieve, Inc., April 2007). Local and national studies have shown that the academic intensity of a student’s high school curriculum is the single greatest predictor of college completion and does much to reduce the achievement gap (Adelman, Clifford. "Answers in the Tool Box," June 1999.

Unfortunately, only about one-third of Delaware's high school graduates were prepared for college in 2002, and only 2 in 10 whites and 1 in 10 African Americans and Hispanics will earn a two- or four-year college degree by their mid-20s if we continue on the same path we have been on. (Education Counts database, Postsecondary Education Opportunity research letter #132, "College Entrance Rates by Race/Ethnicity for Recent High School Graduates 1960–2002," 2003; NCES, "Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2004; Graduation Rates, 1998 & 2001 Cohorts; and Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2004," 2006.)

Vision 2015 recommends requiring a statewide curriculum for all schools, with the opportunity to opt out, so that students get the same education no matter where they live or go to school. Delaware has taken steps in the right direction; the recommended curriculum is one, as is the Delaware Virtual School, which will offer rigorous courses to all students no matter where they live or go to school.