WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney and Dr. Susan Bunting on Friday announced the launch of the Governor’s Institute for School Leadership (GISL), a two-pronged training program for aspiring school leaders and current district leaders.

A partnership between the Governor’s Office, Delaware Department of Education, University of Delaware, and Delaware’s public schools, the institute launches this month with two programs: Superintendent Study Council and Assistant Principal Academy.

“We know how critical great school and district leaders are to the success of our schools,” said Governor John Carney. “This is a two-pronged approach to support the professional learning of those at both ends of the school leadership spectrum. The Institute will help foster critical collaboration and leverage best practices to develop a talented cohort of school and district-level leaders.”

Dr. Susan Bunting, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Education said supporting and developing school and district leadership is critical to the state’s school system.

“Both current and aspiring leaders need the kind of ‘on-the-job support’ that this institute offers. The challenges they face evolve constantly. Having both a peer network and the opportunity to collaborate with state and national experts will facilitate their making the best decisions for both our educators and students,” she said.

The Superintendent Study Council creates a leadership network of Delaware school district superintendents and other district office administrators who will meet monthly for discussion, collaboration, and professional learning on relevant and timely topics related to school improvement, equity, and improving outcomes for all students.

“The opportunity for superintendents and other leaders to network together and learn from experts in the field is invaluable. This will only strengthen leadership across our state,” said Appoquinimink Superintendent Matt Burrows.

The Assistant Principal Academy is a highly selective 12-month program designed to develop distinguished assistant principals into transformational building-level principals. The program consists of five modules of instruction aligned to the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL), coaching by University of Delaware Academy for School Leadership (DASL) leadership coaches and a practice-based mentorship with a successful building principal.

Academy fellows must have three or more years of experience. The first cohort includes 12 assistant principals representing schools from across Delaware.

“I appreciate that at the core of the Governor’s Institute for School Leadership program is a targeted focus on cultivating the capacity and disposition of assistant principals to confront and alter conditions that place barriers to student success. As a fellow, I am grateful for the opportunity to immerse myself in this work with a stellar cohort of forward-thinking educators from across the state and renowned national researchers in the field,” said Nathalie Princilus, assistant principal at New Castle County Vocational Technical School District’s Delcastle Technical High School.

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National online cybersecurity talent search and competition open to all Delaware high school students

Dover – Governor John Carney today announced Delaware’s participation in CyberStart America – an innovative, online cybersecurity talent search and competition sponsored by the National Cyber Scholarship Foundation and SANS Institute. Delaware’s high school students are encouraged to explore their aptitude for cybersecurity and computer science by participating in the program and will have the opportunity to win scholarships, as well as prizes and recognition for their schools.

The CyberStart America program is a series of 100% online challenges that allow students to act as cyber protection agents, solving cybersecurity-related puzzles and explore related topics such as code breaking, programming, networking, and digital forensics. The program can be assigned as part of homework, can form the basis of an extracurricular club, or students can just try it on their own. Participating students and their teachers do not need knowledge or experience in information technology or cybersecurity to take part. Everything they need can be learned in the game. The program is free for schools and students, and all Delaware students in grades 9-12 are invited to participate. Building on the success of last year’s Girls Go CyberStart program, this year’s CyberStart Game is open to all high school students. Anyone who reaches level 5 in Game will qualify for the national competition to win scholarships. To further encourage participation of young women and JROTC cadets, communities are offering additional support and community-specific awards within the overall scholarship competition.

“This is a great program that builds on our statewide efforts to provide students with real-world experience and technology skills that will be valuable in any career,” said Governor John Carney. “These competitions offer fun activities for young people to explore and learn about the high-tech, high-impact field of cybersecurity.”

“CyberStart is a great way empower and inspire young people to pursue STEM fields including cybersecurity,” said Acting Chief Information Officer Jason Clarke. “In a pilot of the program last year we had over 180 students participate and 16 succeeded in reaching the national finals. This year we hope to triple the number of students participating and reaching the scholarship round.”

“The CyberStart challenge is both a fun and educational experience that gives students the chance to engage in lively hands-on learning and the opportunity to earn valuable college scholarships. We hope even more students will participate in the challenge this year,” Secretary of Education Susan Bunting said.

The National Cyber Scholarship Foundation anticipates awarding scholarships worth a total of $2 million for use at any accredited college to 600 high-scoring students across the nation who participate in the competition in 2021, with students able to compete for state-specific and community-specific prizes as well as national championship status. There will also be incentives for Delaware high schools to encourage more students to reach the qualifying level in CyberStart Game, including exclusive access to additional cybersecurity education resources and recognized cyber skills mastery badges for their students.

Complete details may be found at www.cyberstartamerica.org. High school students may register for the program beginning October 30 and may begin playing the CyberStart Game at 12:00 AM EST, November 15. They may continue playing, and invite their friends to join them, through February 28, 2021. Students will be informed that they qualify for the CyberStart National Scholarship Challenge Round (the “Nationals”) as soon as they have achieved sufficient progress, but they are allowed to continue playing and learning in order to build more skills that will be useful to them in the Nationals. To see the types of challenges students will face in the games, visit https://go.cyberstart.com.

Participating students and schools are encouraged to share updates on social media with #cyberstartDE.

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About the Delaware Department of Technology and Information

The Department of Technology and Information (DTI) is the state’s central IT organization, chartered to deliver core services to other state organizations and exercise governance over the technology direction and investments of the state. DTI provides enterprise services that enable other organizations to effectively fulfill their missions.

www.dti.delaware.gov

www.digiknow.dti.delaware.gov

About SANS Institute

The SANS Institute was established in 1989 as a cooperative research and education organization. SANS provides cyber security training and certification to professionals at governments and commercial institutions world-wide. Renowned SANS instructors teach over 50 different courses at more than 200 live cyber security training events as well as online. At the heart of SANS are the many security practitioners, representing varied global organizations from corporations to universities, working together to help the entire information security community.

https://www.sans.org

African American students, Hispanic students, and students with disabilities recorded the highest graduation rates on record

WILMINGTON, Del. – Delaware high school students are graduating at their highest levels in at least a decade, according to the 2019 graduation data released on Wednesday by Governor John Carney and Dr. Susan Bunting, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Education.

The statewide graduation rate for the Class of 2019 was 88.27 percent, an increase from the Class of 2018, which had a graduation rate of 86.69 percent. Class of 2020 data will not be available until 2021.

African American students, Hispanic students, and students with disabilities also recorded the highest graduation rates since the State of Delaware began tracking additional data in 2010, according to the results released on Wednesday.

Click here for the latest graduation data from the Delaware Department of Education.

“More Delaware students are graduating high school ready for college or a career,” said Governor Carney. “That has been a focus of Secretary Bunting and her team at the Department of Education since we took office in 2017 – and it’s great news for the future of our state. The data we’re releasing today shows that Delaware’s progress is broad, and that Delaware’s educators are committed to helping all of their students succeed. That work continues. We will remain committed to supporting our educators and students, and continuing to invest in public education. Nothing is more important to the long-term success of our state.”

Due to COVID-19 school building closures, data collection for the state’s dropout rate typically released with the graduation rate data has been delayed. That report will be released in the fall.

“This data is important because it is more than a set of numbers in a report. It confirms that more Delaware high school students are leaving high school with a diploma, an important milestone in furthering their education and career. I congratulate the educators, families and students whose hard work has led to this progress,” said Secretary Bunting. “However, we still have work to do. Our subgroup data shows that some student groups are not graduating at the same rate as their peers. We must provide additional targeted supports to ensure every child is leaving high school with the diploma that will open the door to future success.”

This year’s rate is the highest since the state changed how it calculates graduation rates in 2010-11.

The Class of 2019 graduation rate was 85.02 percent for Hispanic students, 86.37 percent for African American students and 90.7 percent for white students.

The Class of 2019 four-year graduation rate was 71.59 percent for students with disabilities and 75.25 percent for English learner students.

By county, New Castle had the highest graduation rate at 90.5 percent followed by Kent at 87.38 percent and Sussex at 87.06 percent.

Find more subgroup data as well as graduation rates by high school in the full report from the Delaware Department of Education.

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Media Contact:
Christina Dirksen, Strategic Communications Manager, DTI
(302) 739-9500 Christina.Dirksen@delaware.gov

DigiGirlz Program Contacts:
Claudette Martin-Wus, DTI
(302) 739-9636, claudette.martin-wus@delaware.gov

HANDS-ON TECH DAY FOR 8^TH AND 9^TH GRADE GIRLS

 DOVER, Del. — Registration is now open for Delaware DigiGirlz Day 2020, which is celebrating its 10^th anniversary! Girls in the 8^th and 9^th grades (or ages 13-15) are invited to spend a day filled with hands-on learning that feature careers in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.  DigiGirlz Day is designed to encourage young women to explore the possibilities available in those fields.

DigiGirlz Day is May 20, 2020 at Delaware Tech’s Terry Campus in Dover starting at 8:30 a.m. It is free and open to 8^th and 9^th grade girls (ages 13-15) in Delaware public, private, charter and home schools. Individual students are also encouraged to participate. Pre-registration is mandatory – continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.

“DigiGirlz Day is such a creative and fun way to empower young women and get them excited about STEM careers,” said Governor John Carney. “We want to thank Microsoft, as well as all the partners who have made this event possible for the last 10 years and inspired more than a thousand young Delaware women.”

“Providing inclusive opportunities is a priority and we’re pleased that since Delaware began hosting DigiGirlz Day we’ve been able to reach more than 1,200 young women,” said Delaware Chief Information Officer James Collins. “With the ongoing support from our partners, it is our goal to encourage young women to pursue STEM opportunities that can potentially turn into the careers of tomorrow. This is a great example of how we can leverage public/private partnerships for the greater good.”

“The girls who have attended this annual event in the past have gained a better understanding of potential STEM careers – from being a video game designer, a drone pilot, or a robotic coder to a 3D digital artist or cyber security professional,” Secretary of Education Susan Bunting said. “The day is a lot of fun, and the girls leave with valuable experiences, which we hope will influence their career exploration in the future.”

“Microsoft is proud to be a part of the 10^th Annual Delaware DigiGirlz event. Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. It is especially important for us to give back to young women in technology,” said Microsoft Community Development Specialist Nick Christine. “As an organization we want to continue to ensure that the technology field is a place where everyone feels welcome. This is due in part to people traditionally viewing technology as a male dominated field.  This is not the case and we want everyone to feel welcomed and empowered with technology.”

This year’s DigiGirlz Day features several different career track explorations including game design, drones, 3D digital art and mixed reality robotic coding.  Creating 3D Jewelry, learning about phishing, virtual reality, circuitry, social media and photo/video editing are additional offerings during the event.

DigiGirlz is sponsored by Delaware’s Department of Technology and Information, Microsoft, Delaware Department of Education, Delaware Technical and Community College, Wilmington University, University of Delaware, Delaware State University, Cyber Streets, and the Delaware Center for Educational Technology.

Registration information can be found at https://2020digigirlz10yearsindelaware.eventbrite.com

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About the Delaware Department of Technology and Information

The Department of Technology and Information (DTI) is the state’s central IT organization, chartered to deliver core services to other state organizations and exercise governance over the technology direction and investments of the state. DTI provides enterprise services that enable other organizations to effectively fulfill their missions.

www.dti.delaware.gov

Council will gather feedback from educators statewide, increase the voice of teachers in policy decisions

DOVER, Del. – Governor John Carney and Dr. Susan Bunting, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Education, announced on Tuesday the establishment of a new Teachers Advisory Council to gather the feedback of educators from across the state.

Secretary Bunting invited two teachers from each of the state’s 19 school districts and six charter school educators to join the group, which will facilitate communication, contribute to solutions, and help increase the voice of teachers in policy decisions. The group will meet bi-monthly to discuss a variety of issues affecting teachers.

“Educators work on the front lines helping prepare Delaware’s children for the future,” said Governor Carney. “We are committed to transforming the Department into a true support agency to help schools and educators better serve their students. This new advisory council will help ensure that we are listening to educators every step of the way as we make policy decisions that affect the classroom. Thank you to the educators who are participating, and Dr. Bunting and our team at the Department of Education for convening this group.”

“This is an opportunity for me to hear directly from those who work closest with our children and often feel the most direct effects of our policy decisions,” said Secretary Bunting.

Teachers participating on the new advisory council were recommended by their superintendents or the Delaware Charter School Network for the voluntary role. Secretary Bunting has asked each to share his or her personal feelings as an individual rather than serve as a representative of a district or charter school’s position on an issue.

This group is in addition to the Teacher of the Year Advisory Council, which Secretary Bunting also meets with bi-monthly.

Educators participating in the new advisory council include:

• Kristyn Bradford of Lake Forest North Elementary in Lake Forest School District
• Seth Buford of Milford High School in Milford School District
  Shorel Clark of Brittingham Elementary School in Cape Henlopen School District
• Marisa Clarke of Central Elementary in Seaford School District
• Guy Cooper of Providence Creek Academy charter school
• Luke Crossan of Waters Middle School in Appoquinimink School District
• Todd Cushman of Delmar Middle School in Delmar School District
• Chelsea Darczuk of East Side Charter School
• Robert Edmondson of Seaford Middle School in Seaford School District
• Catherine (Katy) Evans of Sunnyside Elementary School in the Smyrna School District
• Christina Gallo of Lake Forest High School in Lake Forest School District
• Shelby Gordon of Bunker Hill Elementary School in Appoquinimink School District
• Emily Green of Caesar Rodney High School in Caesar Rodney School District
• Robert Harrod of Cape Henlopen High School in Cape Henlopen School District
• Matt Hoopes of Concord High School in Brandywine School District
• Shelley Hovanec of Woodbridge Early Childhood Education Center in Woodbridge School District
• Michelle Howard of Delmar High School in Delmar School District
• Lesley Louder of Dover High School in Capital School District
• Tina Lykens of POLYTECH High School in POLYTECH School District
• Jennifer MacDonald of Smyrna High School in Smyrna School District
• Nathalie Melvin of South Dover Elementary School in Capital School District
• Phyllis Mobley of Harlan Elementary School in Brandywine School District
• Elaine Norris of Mispillion Elementary School in Milford School District
• Petra Palmer of Delcastle High School in New Castle County Vo-Tech School District
• Michael Paoli of Hodgson High School in New Castle County Vo-Tech School District
• Sarah Polaski of Christiana Middle School Academy in Christina School District
• Moraima Reardon of Woodbridge High School in Woodbridge School District
• Lisa Richardson of Millsboro Middle School in Indian River School District
• Matthew Sabol of William Penn High School in Colonial School District
• Dara Savage of Early College High School charter school
• Cameron Sweeney of POLYTECH High School in POLYTECH School District
• Crystal Thawley of Sussex Technical High School in Sussex Technical School District
• Elizabeth Van Aulen of Wilson Elementary School in Christina School District
• Anthony Varrato of Sussex Technical High School of Sussex Technical School District
• Kim Weber of Welch Elementary in Caesar Rodney School District
• Leigh Weldin of Conrad School of Sciences in Red Clay Consolidated School District
• Karen Willey of Sussex Academy charter school
• Jill Young of Lord Baltimore Elementary in Indian River School District
• Stacie Zdrojewski of Red Clay Consolidated School District Office

The Teacher Advisory Council will meet on Tuesday, March 27th from 4:30 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at the Collette Education Resource Center Conference Room, 35 Commerce Way, Suite 1, Dover.

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