The Race is On

After months of strategic planning and stakeholder engagement, the Markell administration submitted Delaware’s $107 million Race to the Top application today. To hear the governor’s announcement, click here.

We congratulate Governor Markell and Secretary Lowery for their leadership as Delaware competes for a share of the $4.35 billion federal fund designated to support states that are truly committed to bold education reform. We will learn in early April if our state’s plan will be awarded funding in the first round.

State Board Approves Bold New Regulations

Last Thursday, the Delaware State Board of Education approved crucial regulations to ensure greater flexibility and accountability in our public schools. The regulations, which amend the current educator evaluation system and enable transformational supports for Delaware's lowest-performing schools, were passed unanimously, signaling strong and broad support for bold action in the First State.  Read a statement from Governor Markell here.

With the State Board of Education's action, Delaware becomes 1 of just 6 states with a teacher evaluation system that requires teachers to demonstrate student growth in order to earn a satisfactory or effective rating. We also are now 1 of 7 states to create a group – in Delaware’s case it will be called the Partnership Zone – through which the lowest-performing schools will engage in fundamental reform and receive new resources.

These regulations address key elements of the state’s Race to the Top application, yet are essential to improving our schools – in any case.  Learn more about the State Board meeting in The News Journal and the Dover Post.

Celebrating Dr. King

Delawareans of all ages and backgrounds came together yesterday to honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by participating in community service projects to improve lives, bridge social barriers, and move our nation closer to the “Beloved Community” that Dr. King envisioned.

Vision 2015 applauds all Delawareans who chose to use their day off as a "day on" in service to our community. 

Mark Your Calendars!

PTA Reflections Program

PTA believes all children deserve a quality arts education and encourages students to pursue artistic expression through participation in its annual arts Reflections Program. The program offers students in preschool through grade 12 the opportunity to create works of art for fun and recognition. Submissions are due to the Delaware State PTA office no later than January 21.  For more information click here.

Early Childhood Poverty, Health and Education Public Forum

Sponsored by the Coastal-Georgetown AAUW, this event will be held on January 21 at 9:30 at the Epworth United Methodist Church in Rehoboth Beach and will feature Representative Terry Schooley. Learn more.

Mentoring Works Summit

In honor of National Mentoring Month, a collaboration of mentoring organizations and key stakeholders in education are launching the first annual "Mentoring Works" Summit on Tuesday, January 26 at the Sheraton Hotel, Dover. Learn more.

To find more events or to add your community event to our webpage—visit the Vision 2015 community events page.

Contact us! 

For more 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.

 Poised to Break New Ground

Delaware's successes in building a world-class education system continue to position the state as a leader. There is now a window of opportunity that provides an unprecedented chance to further improve the futures of more than 125,000 students enrolled in Delaware's public schools. Our state is ahead of the education reform curve in many ways, and through our shared determination and bold action we will continue to lead the way to world-class schools. Here is a look at some of our achievements:

·         Delaware leads the nation in closing the achievement gap. In this month’s Education Trust report, the First State is noted as 1 of only 4 states that are making the most progress in narrowing gaps among student groups.

·         Delaware is 1 of the top 11 states in the nation in terms of its data infrastructure, with a governor that is leading the push to move our state to internationally benchmarked standards. In fact, last week Governor Markell was in DC speaking on this subject in his role as a co-chair of the Common CoreStandards Initiative.

·         We are at the leading edge on student assessment – the Department of Education recently contracted with the American Institutes for Research to build its new computer-adaptive assessment system and growth model.

·         No other state boasts such a broad coalition of education, government, business and civic leaders than that which is working together to implement Delaware’s Vision 2015 plan. And the Vision Network, which now includes 25 schools serving 20,000 students – has been described as "groundbreaking."

VISION-aries

“These reforms are a result of the partnership we have with our legislators, educators, administrators, school boards, businesses and parents.  It’s clear that what works best about Delaware is that we can all come together as neighbors to find solutions like this.” 

-- Delaware Governor Jack Markell, in a statement of support for the state’s new regulations passed by the State Board of Education,  January 14, 2010

"The federal Race to the Top grant program offers Delaware an opportunity to strengthen and enhance our current high-quality public education system. It will aid Delaware in its efforts to strive to enable all students, especially those in low-resourced schools and those with social and economic disadvantages, to reach their full potential and successfully enter the workforce of the future.

-- Delaware State Education Association President Diane Donohue, in a letter of support to the Department of Education, January 13, 2010

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Coming up…

In our next newsletter, find out who’s putting Delaware on the map.