Wilmington Education Advisory Group Meetings Announced

Wide array of Wilmington Educators, Parents and Community Leaders Selected to Serve

Wilmington, DE – Today, Wilmington Education Advisory Group Chairman Tony Allen announced the members of the advisory committee formed by Governor Markell through Executive Order 46. The body was created to advise the Governor and his administration on how best to strengthen educational opportunities for all Wilmington students and to support family engagement.

The group convened for the first time earlier this month, and began to review options considered by earlier groups and commissions to improve access to quality public education options. The group will build upon this earlier work and extend it to meet the challenges now facing Wilmington students and families. The group has tasked itself with putting forward clear, actionable, recommendations that address both structural and programmatic barriers impeding the progress of many Wilmington students, especially low-income students.  These barriers not only diminish student achievement in school, they also limit lifelong opportunities for productive and rewarding lives and work.

Dr. Allen, a long-time Wilmington resident, civic leader and bank executive offered the following on the work of the committee, “The work of this advisory group is important, but it is not new.  There is more than 100 years of evidence suggesting that low-income children – from urban and rural environments – can succeed at very high levels but need more in the way academic and non-academic supports to realize their full potential.  Over the last 20 years, there have been specific, consistent recommendations offered in support of the success and well-being of Wilmington children.   Now is the time to translate agreement on recommendations into actions that are implemented.”

The group’s first meeting took place on November 5, 2014, and information on that session is posted here.  The group includes the following citizens:

  • Norma Ivonne Antongiorgi – La Academia Antonia Alonso Charter School board member, retired Wilmington teacher
  • Mayor James Baker – Former Mayor of the City of Wilmington, Chairman Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League
  • Rosemary Banks – retired Wilmington teacher
  • Adriana Bohm, Ph.D. – Wilmington parent and School Board Member
  • Melissa Browne – Wilmington parent and Pre-K Lead Planner, Relay Graduate School of Education
  • Nikki Castle, Ph.D. – research evaluator and founder, East Side Charter School
  • Councilman Nnamdi Chukwuocha – education committee chair, Wilmington City Council
  • The Reverend Meredith Griffin, D.Min. – education committee chair, Interdenominational Ministers Action Council (IMAC)
  • Henry Harper, Ph.D. – retired superintendent
  • Susan Hessling – teacher  at Warner Elementary
  • Elizabeth Lockman – Wilmington parent and community advocate
  • Chandra Pitts – Wilmington parent, community activist, Executive Director of One Village Alliance
  • Marco Ramos – Program Coordinator, Latin American Community Center
  • Richard “Mouse” Smith – President, Delaware NAACP
  • Shefon Taylor – Wilmington parent and Public Allies Alumna
  • Cheryl Trawick – retired Wilmington administrator
  • Meghan Wallace – former special education teacher
  • Shelia Wyatt – retired Wilmington teacher

The following schedule of upcoming meetings of the Advisory Group in Wilmington:

  • Monday, November 24th from 5:30pm to 7:30pm at Warner Elementary School
  • Saturday, December 6th from 8:00am – 12pm at the Community Education Building
  • Tuesday, December 9th from 5:30pm to 7:30pm (location to be announced)
  • Tuesday December 16th from 5:30pm to 7:30pm (location TBA)