More than 180 students brought home medals from this month’s Delaware Educators Rising State Leadership Conference — with more than 80 students qualifying for the national conference this summer.

Winners in the children’s literature competitive events were awarded scholarships from University of Delaware and winners in the Educators Rising Moment, a speech event, were awarded scholarships from Wilmington University.

Rising education professionals engaged in multiple professional learning sessions hosted by University of Maryland Eastern Shore, University of Delaware, and Wilmington University, as well as keynote sessions with Sinead Ronan (2024 Delaware Educational Support Professional of the Year), Representative Sherae’a Moore, Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long, and Cory Hafer, 2024 Delaware Teacher of the Year.

The Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) partnered with University of Delaware to host the event in Newark.

Delaware Educators Rising is a career and technical student organization (CTSO) affiliated with the Delaware Teacher Academy. The organization integrates learning opportunities into existing education and training programs to prepare Delaware youth for future education careers.

Educators Rising students participate in professional and personal development events, engage in state and national educational competitions, and expand their experiences as rising educational professionals. The program is also engaged in Delaware Grow Your Own, which allows school districts and charter schools throughout the state to recruit future teachers early from within their own teacher academies.

For a list of awardees and more photos, visit Educators Rising results.

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

Appoquinimink School District’s Bunker Hill Elementary School and Capital School District’s Kent County Secondary Intensive Learning Center have earned Delaware’s Sapphire Award for Excellence in School Counseling.

This state recognition, now in its fourth year, recognizes school counseling programs that are comprehensive, data-informed and designed to serve all students.

“Both these schools have used data to strategically design services and interventions to improve student outcomes,” Secretary of Education Mark Holodick said, noting each program uses a combination of classroom lessons, small group counseling and individual supports to support the success of its students.

The schools design programming to meet the specific needs of their students.

Brittni Piser, school counselor at Bunker Hill Elementary, wants her students to learn the importance of good behavior early in the their school career. She teaches students about their emotions and how to manage them in ways that will help them to be successful through her classroom lessons and small groups, as well as her check in/check out program for students who need additional support.

Andrea Woodard, school counselor at the Kent County Secondary ILC, focuses a lot of her work on getting students on track for graduation. She provides interventions such as classroom lessons, individual planning, and collaboration with others to help students plan for their future and make connections between school success and achieving those goals.

Research shows that school counseling programs that are aligned to the American School Counselor Association’s (ASCA) National Model improve student outcomes. These comprehensive programs: 

• Are based on data-informed decision-making;
• Are delivered to all students systematically;
• Include developmentally appropriate curriculum focused on the mindsets and behaviors all students need for postsecondary readiness and success;
• Close achievement and opportunity gaps; and
• Result in improved student achievement, attendance and discipline.

Through the Delaware Department of Education’s partnership with the Delaware School Counselor Association (DSCA) and the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), both schools are now eligible to also receive ASCA’s Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) award.

The schools will be recognized formally for the honor during DSCA’s National School Counseling Week celebrations February 5-9, 2024. 

Bunker Hill Elementary is Appoquinimink’s first school to earn this award. The Kent County ILC joins South Dover Elementary as the second school in Capital to earn this award. Capital is the only district to earn multiple awards.

The Sapphire Award is open to all Delaware public school districts and charter schools. School counseling programs must be implemented by a state-certified school counselor.

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

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona today recognized 353 schools as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2023, including three schools in Delaware. The recognition is based on a school’s overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups on assessments.

The Delaware schools named as National Blue Ribbon Schools were:

• Bear – Olive B. Loss Elementary School, Appoquinimink School District.
• Newark – Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, Christina School District.
• Ocean View – Lord Baltimore Elementary School, Indian River School District.

“This prestigious award recognizes the hard work of these school communities’ students, families, staff and leadership to support the success of all students,” Delaware Secretary of Education Mark Holodick said. “Congratulations. May we learn best practices from these exemplars that can support other schools across our state.”

See U.S. Department of Education release for more information.

Photographs and brief descriptions of the 2023 National Blue Ribbon Schools are available at https://www.nationalblueribbonschools.ed.gov/.

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

The DIAA Board of Directors’ is pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 DIAA/Harry Roberts-Senior Scholar Athlete awards. The award is named in recognition and memory of Dr. Harry Roberts, former superintendent of the Caesar Rodney School District who served DIAA on several committees, most notably as chair of the DIAA Sportsmanship Committee for many years.

“We are honored to award this year’s winners for their athletic leadership, service and dedication to their academics. The commitment our student athletes dedicate to their academic achievements as well as their athletic achievements is a testament to the outstanding young men and women participating in DIAA sports. We wish all the award winners much success as they become leaders in the community and embark on the next chapter of their lives,” said Executive Director David L Baylor.

The awards are presented annually by the DIAA based on a student’s academic, athletic and leadership accomplishments.  DIAA has named Harry Roberts Senior Scholar-Athlete winners since 1999 to 137 scholarship recipients from 39 different member schools.

The 2022-2023 winners are:

Females:

First ($2,000): Abigail Cholewa, Caesar Rodney High School

Second ($1,500): Madeline Bissessar, Mount Pleasant High School

Third ($1,000): Lila Seiler, Newark Charter School

Males:

First ($2,000): Nathan Cho, Conrad School of Science

Second ($1,500): Isaac DeMaio, Delaware Military Academy

Third ($1,000):  Cameron Lawson, Caesar Rodney High School

For more information regarding DIAA , visit the DIAA website or follow DIAA on Twitter (@DIAA_Delaware), Instagram (diaa_de) or on Facebook (@DelawareInterscholasticAthleticAssociation).

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

A school counselor from the Lake Forest School District is the state’s 2023 Delaware Behavioral Health Professional of the Year.

Dana Carey of Lake Forest North Elementary School said she makes sure her students know they are loved, cared for, and their basic needs are met.

“I have created positive relationships with my students by making meaningful connections I am a safe adult they can count on to listen to them, help them throughout their day, and be by their side when they need me,” Carey said. “I have sat by students’ sides when they have had to talk to community agencies, I have delivered food to their homes, and I have provided them with clothing and school supplies when their families were not able to do so on their own.”

Secretary of Education Mark Holodick and House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst made the surprise announcement at a statewide banquet honoring the 20 district and charter network behavioral health professionals of the year.

Carey said an initiative close to her heart has been making sure her students have food security. At the beginning of the school year she administered a school-wide assessment of students’ food needs and identified 75 students with food insecurity. She then partnered with the Food Bank of Delaware to set up a backpack site at the school. Each week as students prepare to be out of school for the weekend, the food bank provides the 75 students with two breakfast meals, two lunch meals, drinks and snacks. Carey checks in with the students every week as she delivers the food to them, and she also partners with the Felton United Methodist Church to provide families with additional food in emergencies.

In the fall she organized a school-wide food drive, collecting 1,600 non-perishable items to help stock the food pantries at the church and Lake Forest High School.

“My goal for this project is for my students to understand that we are a school family. We take care of and support each other to the best of our ability,” Carey said.  “In addition, we need to work together to give back to the community the best we can even when at times we struggle ourselves. Providing my students with community service opportunities promotes self-esteem and life satisfaction.”

Lake Forest North Elementary School Principal Erin Dotson called Carey a true leader.

“When Mrs. Carey isn’t handing out school supplies or dispersing food for students to have for the weekend, she is teaching social emotional learning classes, holding social groups and individual sessions with students. I have never met a kinder and more caring person,” Dotson said. “The students are her first priority. If she discovers a need for her students, she will do whatever it takes to assist.”

The Delaware State Behavioral Health Professional of the Year (BHPY) program is administered by the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE). The program recognizes outstanding service by school employees who are health care practitioners or human service providers who offer services for the purpose of improving an individual’s mental health. The Delaware Charter School Network also is invited to participate. Employees considered for the award include:

• School counselors
• School social workers
• Licensed clinical social workers
• School psychologists
• School nurses

From those nominated at a local level, one behavioral health professional of the year moves forward to represent each district or the charter school community in the state program. Each district/charter network winner receives a $2,000 personal award from the winner’s district or charter school. The state program then chooses one person annually to serve as Delaware’s Behavioral Health Professional of the Year. State winners receive an additional $3,000 personal award from DDOE as well as $5,000 to be used for the educational benefit of his or her students.

Learn more about all the 2023 District/Charter Behavioral Health Professionals of the Year here.

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