Students in 85 schools across the state will benefit from $2.6 million in grants awarded today by the Delaware Department of Education.

This is the fourth year the department has awarded Reimagining Professional Learning grants to support the work of schools committed to improving the quality and efficacy of professional learning for teachers in Delaware and thus increase learning opportunities and outcomes for students.

The schools represent 16 districts, four charter schools, and two Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families schools.

“These grants have the potential to enhance learning outcomes for more than 54,000 students,” Secretary of Education Susan Bunting said.

To date, the Reimagining Professional Learning Grants have provided more than $1.1 million to fund initiatives in 74 schools. In the 2018-19 school year, the $541,500 in grants to 32 schools impacted more than 750 teachers and more than 22,000 students. This year, the number of schools receiving grants more than doubled, as did the number of students who will be impacted by that funding.

This year’s grantees plan a variety of programs, many dealing with implementing high quality instructional materials in both mathematics and English language arts, closing achievement gaps among subgroups of students, starting after-school programs, hiring full-time learning coaches, creating multi-tiered systems of support, providing instruction in academic and trauma-informed teaching strategies, and cultivating professional learning communities that use data to inform practice and participate in a continuous cycle of improvement.

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Media Contact: Alison May, alison.may@doe.k12.de.us, 302-735-4006.

DELAWARE COASTAL CLEANUP VOLUNTEER REGISTRATION TO CLOSE SEPT. 2

DOVER – Volunteers are still needed and encouraged to join the 32nd annual Delaware Coastal Cleanup, to be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 14. Sponsored by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, the cleanup spans more than 45 sites in New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties, including river and ocean shorelines, as well as wetland and watershed areas.

Volunteers are strongly encouraged to preregister at https://de.gov/coastalcleanup to ensure enough supplies are readied for each Cleanup site. Preregistration will close Monday, Sept. 2.

Cleanup sites that still need additional volunteers include:

Kent County
• Big Stone Beach
• Bennetts Pier

Sussex County
• Slaughter Beach
• Lewes Boat Ramp
• Deauville
• South Bethany Beach

Delaware’s Cleanup is part of the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup, the world’s largest annual clearing of trash from coastlines, rivers, streams, and lakes by volunteers. Information collected helps identify the source of the debris and focus efforts on eliminating or reducing it. For more information, visit oceanconservancy.org.

For more information about the Delaware Coastal Cleanup, please contact Joanna Wilson, Delaware Coastal Cleanup coordinator, at 302-739-9902, or joanna.wilson@delaware.gov.

Media contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Vol. 49, No. 226

DOVER – The Kent Conservation District invites everyone to a rompin’, stompin’ good time at its 20th Annual Barn Dance fundraiser to be held from 6 to 11 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11 at the Harrington Fire Company, 20 Clark Street, Harrington, DE 19952. The event features a down-home meal including beef and dumplings, fried chicken, and all the fixings, plus live and silent benefit auctions, and dancing to DJ music.

Tickets are now on sale for $20 per person or $35 per couple. Tickets for children 12 years and under are $10 each, while children under two are admitted free. Reserved tables seating eight are available for $150, and must be reserved in one name and paid by a single check.

Funds raised through the Barn Dance support the Delaware Envirothon, an annual competitive, problem-solving, natural resource challenge for high school students which is co-sponsored by DNREC. Additionally, DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship guides the Conservation Districts staff in providing technical and financial assistance to Delaware’s farmers, landowners, and homeowners to protect and enhance the state’s soil and water resources.

For tickets or more information, please call the Kent Conservation District at 302-741-2600, ext. 3.

Media contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Vol. 49, No. 223

SEAFORD – DNREC, the Nanticoke Watershed Alliance, the City of Seaford, and Friends of the Nanticoke River are seeking volunteers to lend a hand, picking up trash at Williams Pond from 9-11:30 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 21, as part of DNREC’s annual Delaware Coastal Cleanup.

Now in its second year, the Williams Pond cleanup is part of DNREC’s Reclaim Our River (ROR) program, acting as a reminder that the ocean is always downstream. ROR is a partnership between DNREC, the Nanticoke Watershed Alliance, Delaware Nature Society’s Abbott’s Mill Nature Center, Town of Blades, and City of Seaford. The program offers a series of monthly activities that support clean waterways and educate residents on techniques to improve water quality.

Williams Pond empties into the Nanticoke River near Nanticoke Memorial Hospital. Removing trash from the pond and near the park improves water quality, wildlife habitat, and overall health of the ecosystem.

Volunteers can join teams collecting trash from the shoreline and streets. Registered volunteers will receive a free lunch provided by the City of Seaford. The group will meet at Soroptimist Park to sign in and receive supplies, such as gloves and trash bags.

More information can be found at https://nanticokeriver.org/coastalcleanup2019. Questions can be directed to Beth Wasden at 443-944-1175 or bethwasden@nanticokeriver.org

Attendees are encouraged to follow the event at www.facebook.com/NanticokeRiver.

For more information about the 2019 Delaware Coastal Cleanup, which will be held statewide Saturday, Sept. 14, visit https://de.gov/coastalcleanup.

Media contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 49, No. 225

On view from September 6-27, 2019
Free opening reception on Friday, September 6, at 5 p.m.

Wilmington, Del. (August 27, 2019) – “Human Connection,” an exhibition of sculptures, pastels, and drawings by Olga Nielsen, will be on view in the Delaware Division of the Arts’ Mezzanine Gallery from September 6-27, 2019. The artist will host a free opening reception on Friday, September 6, from 5-7 p.m. Nielsen will present quick sketching sessions with a live model who will pose for short sketches during the opening reception. Visitors are invited to bring their sketchbooks and pencils.

A nationally recognized artist, Nielsen works in a classical realistic tradition of figurative art, whether her medium is clay or pastel. She will exhibit three-dimensional sculpture and relief sculpture which has a flat background with images rising above it into space. To complement the sculpture, Nielsen will hang pastel and charcoal portraits on the surrounding walls.

Her work is inspired by the beauty of the human form, and most of her sculptures, paintings, and drawings focus on the female figure. Nielsen captures the everyday moments of life, their poetry, and their timeless universal meaning. She explains that the connection between the artist and the viewer is the purpose of her art.

Image: Sophomore, 2016, Bronze, 22” x 12” x 10”

The Mezzanine Gallery, open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is located on the second floor of the Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington. The “Human Connection” exhibition was previously scheduled for March 2019, but was delayed due to construction in the Carvel Building.

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Contact: Dennis Lawson, Interim Communications Coordinator
302-743-8927 (cell), dennis.lawson@delaware.gov

The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is dedicated to cultivating and supporting the arts to enhance the quality of life for all Delawareans. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit arts.delaware.gov or call 302-577-8278.