Visits Gaudenzia Fresh Start in City of Wilmington
Visits National Title I Distinguished School, Lake Forest Elementary

For Immediate Release: February 2, 2012

Wilmington, DE (Thursday, February 2, 2012) – On Friday, February 3, Lt. Governor Matt Denn will be in New Castle and Kent Counties.

The Lt. Governor will visit Gaudenzia Fresh Start in Wilmington to learn more about the services they provide and take a tour of the facility. Gaudenzia’s mission is to help people affected by chemical dependency, mental illness and related conditions achieve a better quality of life, allowing them to live as productive and accountable individuals. Gaudenzia also conducts research and educates the community on the causes, treatment and prevention of addictions, mental illness and related conditions.

The Lt. Governor will be joined by CEO Michael Harle, Division Director Steve Blank, Development Director Gadi Aronson, Fresh Start Director Derek Davis and Board Member Bert DiClemente.

The Lt. Governor will then visit to Lake Forest Elementary –a National Title I Distinguished School. Lake Forest Elementary was one of two Delaware schools selected for its outstanding performance in exceptional student achievement for two or more years. Nellie Stokes and Lake Forest Elementary were recognized during the National Title I conference in Seattle in January. Lake Forest was selected for its outstanding performance in closing the achievement gap between student groups.

Title I is the largest federally funded, pre-collegiate education program in the country, providing more than $17 billion in federal aid to schools and districts serving students in poverty. The goal of Title I is to ensure that all children, especially those living in economically disadvantaged conditions, have the opportunity to receive a high quality education. Schools selected for national recognition must have a poverty rate of at least 35 percent for the selected year and have met or exceeded state standards for making adequate yearly progress for two or more consecutive years.

He will be joined by Secretary Lillian Lowery and Principal Susan Piavis.

Friday, February 3, 2012

10:00am – 11:00am Visit to Gaudenzia Fresh Start
604 W. 10th Street
Wilmington

1:00pm – 2:00pm Visit Lake Forest Elementary School
124 West Front Street
Frederica

Wilmington, DE – On Thursday, February 2nd, Lt. Governor Matt Denn will be visiting Appoquinimink High School in Middletown.

He will tour the building and talk with the principal, Gayle Rutter, from 9:00 – 9:30am.

From 9:30 – 10:00, the Lt. Governor will speak with Mr. Tom Baker’s AP World History class and will answer questions from students.

From 10:05 – 10:35, the Lt. Governor will meet with student Lauren Camp, who organized the “Interact Club;” a club that organizes students to do volunteer and charity work in the Middletown community.

Lt. Governor Denn usually visits one school a week where he enjoys meeting students, school leadership, and teachers as he focuses on education in the state of Delaware.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

9:00am – 10:45am Visit to Appoquinimink High School
1080 Bunker Hill Road
Middletown

$49,000 Grant Provides One-on-One Adult Mentors for 200 Youth in Grades 1-5

Dover – Friday, December 9, 2011 – On Monday, December 12, Lt. Governor Matt Denn, Chair of the Criminal Justice Council, will announce a $49,000 Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant to Big Brothers Big Sisters. This Byrne Grant, through the Criminal Justice Council, will fund a new collaboration between Big Brothers Big Sisters and Children & Families First that would deploy Mentor Coordinators, employed by Big Brothers Big Sisters, in three elementary schools that are part of the Eastside Community Schools initiative – Bancroft, Stubbs and Elbert-Palmer – to assist youth in achieving academic success and reducing delinquency.

Lt. Governor Denn will be joined by mentors and mentees who will share their stories; representatives from Eastside Community Schools; Mary Fox, Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters; Leslie Newman, CEO of Children & Families First; Drew Fennell, Executive Director for the Criminal Justice Council; the Delaware Mentoring Council (funder); United Way of Delaware (funder); JP Morgan Chase (funder); Christina School District (funder and host district).

These three schools, situated on the Eastside of Wilmington – with a combined 935 students – are facing serious challenges. All three of these Christina School District schools face high rates of poverty, disciplinary offenses and failure to meet minimum academic standards. The need for prevention and intervention services for these students and communities is critical.

In 2009, the Eastside Community Schools Project, led by Children & Families First was initiated to add centralized family support services to the communities served by these three schools. Mentoring is a crucial piece of the services needed for Eastside students and Big Brothers Big Sisters has been assisting all three schools in providing adult mentors for students. Over the past school year, several corporations have dedicated employee mentors to these three schools. However, results have been mixed due to the lack of resources to support the mentoring efforts.

The new Mentor Coordinators would provide on-site implementation of each school’s program in accordance with the highest standards of mentoring. They will make sure that resources targeted to the specific academic and social needs of these students are provided to mentors, in order to ensure the best outcomes for students. This expansion of services will also allow for after-school mentoring, as well as mentoring during the school day.

Children growing up in Wilmington’s Eastside neighborhood face significant risk factors for crime, including poverty rates of up to 61% and alarming rates of violent crime. All three schools in the Eastside Community School project are Title I schools, with percentages of low-income students ranging from 93.5 to 99.3% and special education enrollment ranging from 12.7 – 19.6%. We know that poverty puts children at increased risk for a wide range of problems, including lower cognitive abilities, lower school achievement, lower high school graduation rates and lower occupational status and wages as an adult. (Kids Count 2011)

The intended outcomes for participating youth include: increased commitment to school (improved grades, attitude toward school & classroom behavior); decreased disciplinary referrals/infractions; and improved attendance.

Monday, December 12, 2011

11:00am – 12:00pm Criminal Justice Council Funding Announcement
Stubbs Elementary School
Auditorium
1100 North Pine Street
Wilmington

Visits Red Clay School District Schools with Superintendent Daugherty
Visits Pencader Homework Club
Cheers on Prestige Academy and Moyer Academy at Basketball Game

Wilmington – On Wednesday, December 7th, Lt. Governor Matt Denn will be in New Castle County.

Lt. Governor Denn will join Red Clay School District Superintendent Dr. Merv Daugherty on a tour of some of the schools in the Red Clay District, per the invitation of Dr. Daugherty. Specific schools listed below; please call for specific times if you are interested in attending.

The Lt. Governor will then visit the Pencader Hundred Community Center’s Homework Club. Located in Sparrow Run, approximately 20 middle and high school students come in for homework club four nights a week (Monday – Thursday). These students come directly to homework club instead of going home right after school.

Finally, Lt. Governor Denn will take in a basketball game in Wilmington. On October 24th, Lt. Governor Denn served as Principal for a Day at Prestige Academy Charter School in Wilmington. When talking with the young men there, they invited him to attend the game on December 7th and the Lt. Governor looks forward to a good game!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

9:00am – 11:30am Tour of Red Clay School District Schools
Meet at Warner Elementary School
801 W 18th Street
Wilmington

Tour to include:

·Warner Elementary School (801 W. 18th Street, Wilmington DE 19802)
William C. Lewis Dual Language Elementary School (920 North Van Buren Street, Wilmington, DE 19806)
Conrad Schools of Science (201 Jackson Avenue, Wilmington, DE 19804)
John Dickinson High School (1801 Milltown Road, Wilmington, DE 19808)
Thomas McKean High School (301 McKennan’s Church Road, Wilmington, DE 19808)
TIME PERMITTING – Marbrook Elementary School (2101 Centerville Road, Wilmington, DE 19808)
2:45pm – 3:30pm Visits Pencader Community Center’s Homework Club
Pencader Hundred Community Center
5 Teal Circle, Sparrow Run
Newark

4:00pm – 5:30pm Prestige Academy vs. Moyer Academy Middle School
Moyer Academy
610 E. 7th Street
Wilmington
*Game starts at 3:30pm.

Presents Academic Achievement Award to Millsboro Middle School
Stops by Georgetown Chamber of Commerce Mixer
Provides Keynote at 45th Anniversary of Manor House in Seaford

DOVER – Today, Lt. Governor Matt Denn will attend events in Sussex County.

The Lt. Governor’s first stop is to present an Academic Achievement Award to Millsboro Middle School. The 5 winners were announced in Wilmington on August 30th, but today, Lt. Governor Denn will present a tribute recognizing the hard work done by the students, teachers, and faculty at Millsboro Middle School. He will be joined by students in an assembly.

These awards, created by legislation spearheaded by the Lt. Governor and passed by the DE General Assembly in 2009, give five public schools each year $150,000 for significantly closing the achievement gap and/or exceeding their adequate yearly progress for two or more consecutive years.
These schools receive $150,000 that parents, administrators, and teachers will decide how to spend. Delaware was the first state in America to take advantage of a clause in the federal Title 1 law to set aside 5% of new Title 1 money to make special awards for excellence, meaning only Title 1 schools are eligible. Awards have to be made for performance in one of two categories: either exceeding AYP for two consecutive years, or showing success in closing the achievement gap. In addition, four of the five schools must be in the top 25% of the state with respect to their population of children in poverty.

Lt. Governor Matt Denn then attends a Georgetown Chamber of Commerce mixer.

He will then make remarks at the 45th anniversary of the Manor House in Seaford. The Manor House has approximately 190 residents in independent and assisted living. The facility provides skilled nursing care and is a much needed resource for seniors in southern Delaware.

Wednesday, September 21

1:00pm – 2:30pm Academic Achievement Award Presentation
Millsboro Middle School
302 E. State Street
Millsboro

4:30pm – 5:00pm Georgetown Chamber of Commerce
Heritage Shores Club
1 Heritage Shores Circle
Bridgeville

5:15pm – 6:00pm 45th Anniversary Celebration
Manor House
1001 Middleford Road
Seaford