On Monday April 20th, Governor Markell signed legislation that will enable our state to attract nationally-recognized programs—like Teach For America (TFA) and Teacher Residency Programs—to recruit and support more of the "best and the brightest" to teach in our public schools.

"Signing this legislation demonstrates that we are willing to transform our education system by changing the underlying policies and practices that will make the greatest difference in how we educate our children," said Governor Markell.

The Governor was joined at the signing by Secretary of Education Lillian Lowery, House and Senate Education Committee Chairs Terry Schooley and David Sokola, and several other bill sponsors. Read more.

Learn more about TFA and why the organization is interested in expanding to Delaware.

Smarter Spending Update

The Delaware Department of Education recently shared details on a proposal to merge district and charter school administrative services to increase efficiency and save money. The proposal would create four regional service centers to provide things like professional development and human resources. Currently there are nineteen district providers. This type of service consolidation was first recommended by the Leadership in Educational Achievement in Delaware (LEAD) Committee in its Cost Efficiency Study (January 2008) as a way to capture savings through system efficiencies, so more money can be directed to crucial classroom initiatives. Read more about the proposal.

Child Poverty & Economic Opportunity

On Wednesday, April 22, the Child Poverty Task Force released an "Analysis of Child Poverty and Economic Opportunity in Delaware," which outlines recommendations focused on reducing child poverty and giving all Delaware children the promise of a bright and successful future.

Vision 2015 is proud that the recommendations in the education category of the report align directly with the core recommendations of Vision 2015: high standards, high-quality early childhood education, developing and supporting the very best teachers, empowering principals and teachers to be leaders in their schools, innovation and accountability, and equitable funding. Read our full statement here.

To mark the release of the report, the Task Force and Governor Markell hosted a Governor's Summit on Child Poverty and Economic Opportunity, Building Bright Futures: Advancing the Child Poverty Agenda. Vision 2015 Chair Skip Schoenhals joined Secretary Lillian Lowery for an afternoon panel on the future of education in Delaware.

Secretary Lowery noted that Delawareans have been pushing for the same education reforms over the past few years, and that now is the time to muster the will to make things happen. She also emphasized that kids should be at the forefront of our discussions.

Read more about the summit here.

VISION-aries

"States that are simply investing in the status quo will put themselves at a tremendous competitive disadvantage for getting those additional funds. I can't emphasize strongly enough how important it is for states and districts to think very creatively and to think very differently about how they use this first set of money."

-U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, on how states should approach ARRA state stabilization funds and Race to the Top funds, Washington Post, March 25, 2009

Research

Teacher residency programs in Boston and Chicago have had significant success in recruiting, training, and retaining high quality teachers.  The majority of teachers in these programs teach high-needs subjects and are people of color.  These teaching programs are highly selective, admitting as few as 18 percent of applicants. Ninety to 95 percent of teachers in these programs are still in the classroom after three years, compared to about 70 percent of traditional teachers.  

Source: Center for Teaching Quality, Creating and Sustaining Urban Teacher Residencies, August 2008

Contact

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

Join the Discussion

Education Voters of Delaware will be hosting a "Listening Tour" to provide a means for citizens who care about our public schools to learn about pending legislation and lend their voices to the discussion. The first stop on the tour will be on Tuesday, May 19 at 7:00pm at Ezion Mt. Carmel Church on Walnut Street in Wilmington. It’s free and open to all. Contact Doug Gramiak, Executive Director, for more information (RSVPs are not required but would be appreciated).

Delaware Schools Could Benefit from Federal Recovery Funds

We've all been hearing a lot about the federal "stimulus package" or "recovery bill" lately. Officially known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), this recently passed federal legislation contains almost $150 billion for K-12, early childhood, and higher education programs throughout the country. A portion of this money is already being distributed to individual states based on a specified formula. But there is also a competitive fund—the Race to the Top fund—of $5 billion that will go to just a handful of forward-looking states that commit to fostering innovation and challenging the status quo.

Delaware’s success in this highly competitive process will be determined by how innovatively we use the first distribution of funding. Read more about the U.S. DOE's guidelines for these competitive funds.

Want to learn more?

Senator Tom Carper has created a compilation of federal agency funding opportunities available to communities, nonprofits, individuals, and businesses through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  You can find more information about available funds and programs here.

Lieutenant Governor Matt Denn has been named the "Stimulus Czar" for Delaware. Find out more about Delaware's plans for the recovery funds, and share your ideas here.

Did You Know?

A new McKinsey & Company report found that the underutilization of human potential in the United States is extremely costly.  If America had closed the international achievement gap between 1983 and 1998 and had raised its performance to the level of such nations as Finland and South Korea, United States gross domestic product (GDP) in 2008 would have been between $1.3 trillion and $2.3 trillion higher. If we had closed the racial achievement gap and black and Latino student performance had caught up with that of white students by 1998, GDP in 2008 would have been between $310 billion and $525 billion higher. If the gap between low-income students and the rest had been narrowed, GDP in 2008 would have been $400 billion to $670 billion higher.

Source: The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America’s Schools, McKinsey & Company, April 2009.

Mark Your Calendar!

Families, Individuals & Communities Conference

The Families, Individuals & Communities Conference will take place on Friday, May 1, and will bring together individuals who are concerned with improving the quality of life for families, individuals and communities on Delmarva. Conference Objectives: To identify challenges that face families, individuals and communities; to develop strategies to address challenges; and to enhance individual skills. For more information and to register, visit the Sussex Child Health Promotion Coalition website.

Building a Village for Your Child

The Parent Information Center (PIC) of Delaware is sponsoring its spring workshop series on Saturday, May 16, in Georgetown, Delaware. The day-long series of workshops, "Building a Village for Your Child: Linking Families, Schools and Communities," will focus on how parents can identify and tap into valuable resources to help their child succeed in school. Workshops will be in both Spanish and English and will include topics such as bullying, learning styles, Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), and preparing a child for school. Visit PIC of Delaware's website for more information and registration details.

For information on other events open to the public, and to submit an event, please visit the Vision 2015 community events page.