Smyrna Elementary School and West Seaford Elementary School are among a host of U.S. schools that have been named a 2023 National ESEA Distinguished Schools for the extraordinary success of their students. The National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators (NAESPA), formerly the National Title I Association, has been selecting examples of superior, federally funded school programs for national recognition through the National ESEA Distinguished Schools program (formerly the National Title I Distinguished Schools program) since 1996.

Smyrna Elementary School, in the Smyrna School District, is being recognized as a National ESEA Distinguished School for Closing the Achievement Gap between student groups, and the academic progress that the students made during the 2022-2023 school year on standardized achievement tests.  Cynthia McNatt is the school’s principal.

West Seaford Elementary School, in the Seaford School District, is being recognized as a National ESEA Distinguished School for Excellence in Serving Special Populations, and the growth and progress towards English Language proficiency that the multilingual learners made during the 2022-2023 school year.  Laura Schneider is the school’s principal.

The 2023 National ESEA Distinguished Schools will be honored February 7-10, 2024, at the 2024 National ESEA Conference in Portland, Oregon.  More information about all National ESEA Distinguished Schools is available on the NAESPA website: www.ESEAnetwork.org/awards.

Sixteen Additional Schools Recognized Locally as DE Recognition Schools

Delaware Secretary of Education Mark Holodick is pleased to commend and recognize 16 additional schools from across the state for their growth and progress in three categories.  Awards are given for Exceptional Student Performance and Growth on the state’s assessment for grades 3-8, Academic Growth and Closing the Achievement Gap between student groups on the grade 3-8 assessment, or Excellence in Serving Special Populations where multilingual learners showed exceptional growth toward meeting proficiency on ACCESS tests.

Thirteen schools that are named 2023 Recognition Schools will receive an $8,000 award, a certificate, and a banner to hang in their building.  Three schools are being recognized as Schools of Continued Excellence and will also receive a certificate and a banner. These schools also were recognized last year for their outstanding performance and are not eligible for the financial award in this consecutive year.

2023 Recognition School Award Winners for Exceptional Student Performance:

• Claymont Elementary School, Brandywine SD
  • Principal – Eryn Smith
• Lake Forest East Elementary School, Lake Forest SD
  • Principal – Jeffrey Sheehan
• Phillip C. Showell Elementary School, Indian River SD
  • Principal – Christy Kerr

2023 Recognition School Award Winners for Closing the Achievement Gap:

• Benjamin Banneker Elementary School, Milford SD
  • School Leader – Chad Luzier
• Lake Forest North Elementary School, Lake Forest SD
  • Principal – Erin Dotson
• Etta J. Wilson Elementary School, Christina SD
  • Principal – Mabel Boutte

2023 Recognition School Award Winners for Excellence in Serving Special Populations:

• Brookside Elementary School, Christina SD
  • Principal – Eric Stephens
• Harry Eisenberg Elementary School, Colonial SD
  • School Leader – David Distler
• Milton Elementary School, Cape Henlopen SD
  • Principal – Clara Conn
• North Georgetown Elementary School, Indian River SD
  • Principal – Sarah Green
• Phillis Wheatley Elementary School, Woodbridge SD
  • Principal –  Zachary Huber
• Seaford Central Elementary School, Seaford SD
  • Principal – Chandra Phillips
• South Dover Elementary School, Capital SD
  • Principal –  Lenita McIntyre

2023 School of Continued Excellence:

• Blades Elementary School, Seaford SD
  • Principal – Christy Parsons
• Rehoboth Elementary School, Cape Henlopen SD
  • Principal – Doris Person
• Woodbridge Early Childhood Education Center, Woodbridge SD
  • Principal – Dane Sears

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

The Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) has been awarded an $809,000 federal grant to purchase one propane and three electric school buses for the Colonial School District through the federal Clean School Bus Rebate Program. Nationally, these awards are part of the first $1 billion of a five-year, $5 billion program created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, championed by Delaware’s Congressional delegation of Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons and Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (all D-Del.) and signed into law by President Joe Biden in November 2021.

The department — which qualifies the same as a school district as an applicant for this rebate because the state is a funder, purchaser and title owner of almost 500 school buses – submitted rebate applications for Colonial and four other districts. The award by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was from a random generation of grant applications from around the country, and Colonial’s was the first on the lottery list among the Delaware districts.

“Reducing transportation-related emissions is a key part of our Climate Action Plan, and we need to expand cleaner types of transportation across our state,” Governor John Carney said. “Thank you to President Biden and our congressional delegation for supporting continued investments in cleaner transportation – an important step in our efforts to address greenhouse gas emissions.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Rebate program incentivizes both electric and propane school bus purchases since both are cleaner than diesel engine buses. Delaware school bus fleets already contain about 108 propane buses. These will be Delaware’s first electric school buses.

“Thanks to our historic investment in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, electric school buses are soon coming to communities across our nation,” said Senator Carper, chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “Today’s announcement means that the Colonial School District will be able to replace dirty school buses with cleaner alternatives. Importantly, these updates are going to result in cleaner air for students to breathe, more good-paying jobs, and a better future for our planet. I commend EPA Administrator Michael Regan and the Biden Administration for their continued commitment to deploying clean school buses, especially in disadvantaged communities.”

Senator Coons said he is grateful for the administration’s support in replacing diesel-burning school buses and creating good-paying jobs in manufacturing nationwide: “Investments in the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to modernize our school bus fleets will help us combat climate change and bring down fuel costs for schools, all while ensuring students in Colonial School District and every state across the country ride to class without breathing in harmful pollutants.”

Said Rep. Blunt Rochester, “With the transportation sector representing the single largest source of carbon emissions in the United States – we know that we have a tremendous opportunity with fleet and large capacity vehicles to help in our mission to reach net zero emissions. That’s why the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program – which I was proud to vote to create through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – is such a critical tool to modernize the vehicles that bring our kids to and from school every day while reducing our carbon footprint. I want to commend the Colonial School District for putting together a compelling plan to win this grant from the EPA – and I look forward to seeing these low and zero-emission school buses out on the roads of Delaware.”

The Clean School Bus Program will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save money for school districts and produce cleaner air. Diesel air pollution is linked to asthma and other conditions that harm students’ health and cause them to miss school, particularly in communities of color and Tribal communities. Phasing out these diesel engines will ensure cleaner air for students, bus drivers, and school staff working near the bus loading areas, and the communities through which the buses drive each day. The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from these bus replacements will also help to address the outsized role of the transportation sector in fueling the climate crisis. The program will also save school districts money as they upgrade school bus fleets, replacing older, heavily polluting buses with brand new clean school buses, while freeing up needed resources for schools.

“We are constantly looking for ways to improve our services to our students and families, while making the bus environment more appealing for our drivers,”  Colonial Superintendent Jeffrey Menzer said.

The EPA rebate program requires that the new clean buses replace older school buses that are currently in service, with the primary category for replacement being diesel buses from 2010 or before. Delaware has engaged in a concerted effort to replace older school buses over the last few years with newer, cleaner ones, and 99 percent of the state-owned buses were already newer than 2010, with 76 percent 2016 or newer.

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

The Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) hopes to help five school districts fund a total of 14 electric school buses and 17 propane buses through the federal Clean School Bus Rebate Program.

The department — which qualifies the same as a school district as an applicant for this rebate because the state is a funder, purchaser and title owner of almost 500 school buses – submitted the rebate applications for:

• Brandywine – 7 propane
• Caesar Rodney – 2 propane
• Capital – 3 electric, 1 propane
• Colonial – 3 electric, 1 propane
• Red Clay Consolidated – 8 electric, 6 propane

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Rebate program incentivizes both electric and propane school bus purchases since both are cleaner than diesel engine buses. Delaware school bus fleets already contain about 108 propane buses, and the additional requested propane bus rebates continue that transition effort. The 14 electric school buses requested would be Delaware’s first.

“We’re grateful for the support of the Delaware Department of Transportation and the Loudoun County School District in Virginia on this project. The expertise and advice of these partners helped us draft a strong proposal that, if successful, will help us continue our transition to a cleaner school bus fleet,” Secretary of Education Mark Holodick said.

DART, the state’s transit operator within the Delaware Department of Transportation, began its transition into electric transit buses with six buses, and Loudoun County School District in Virginia began with five in a 700-plus fleet. Representatives of both entities told DDOE of the need to understand the operational limits, maintenance, worker training, charging and other logistics before making electric buses a larger part of a fleet that must remain fully reliable. Because the Clean School Bus program requires getting rid of older buses when the new ones are purchased, neither the old nor new buses can simply be treated as “spares” in a fleet – they must be operated daily.

The EPA rebate program requires that the new clean buses replace older school buses that are currently in service, with the primary category for replacement being diesel buses from 2010 or before. Delaware has engaged in a concerted effort to replace older school buses over the last few years with newer, cleaner ones, and 99 percent of the state-owned buses were already newer than 2010, with 76 percent 2016 or newer. The Delaware rebate applications, if all granted, would replace all state-owned school buses that are 2012 or older.

The EPA expects to make award announcements in October with plans for future application rounds in the coming years that could allow the state to further expand its cleaner bus fleet.

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

SMYRNA, Del. – Ruth Ann Irwin, BG (Ret.) on Friday was sworn in as the U.S. Selective Service System’s Delaware State Director by the U.S. Selective Service Acting Director, Craig T. Brown. She was nominated by Delaware Governor John Carney and appointed by Brown. ­­

Irwin will serve as liaison between the Selective Service System and the Governor’s office. She will represent the Governor and the Selective Service Director regarding Agency matters in Delaware.

“With more than three decades of service with the Delaware Army National Guard, Ruth has the experience necessary to carry out the duties of the Delaware State Director for the U.S. Selective Service System,” said Governor Carney. “I was pleased to nominate Ruth, and that she will be the first woman to lead this post. Thank you to Acting Director Brown for appointing Ruth as State Director, and we look forward to our continued partnership.”

“We are extremely pleased with the Governor’s nomination of Ruth to serve as the Delaware State Director and look forward to working together,” said Acting Director Brown. “Her experience will help ensure that Delaware maintains its high registration rate.”

Until 2005, Irwin worked at Alliant Tech Systems (ATK) when she transitioned from the Manager of Industrial Security and Human Resource Supervisor to the full-time Commander of the 31st Weapons of Mass Destruction – Civil Support Team, Delaware Army National Guard.

Irwin’s military career has spanned more than 30 years with the Delaware Army National Guard including a year in Afghanistan. She retired in 2012 from the Delaware National Guard where she was the Director of Operations and Training.

“I am truly honored to be the first woman to serve as Delaware’s State Director for the Selective Service System,” Irwin said. “I’d also like ‘the First State’ to become number one in registration, local board membership and readiness programs. The Agency’s readiness mission serves an important role in our national defense and registration is a key step for all men – especially should they one day seek federal benefits, such as employment or student aid.”

Irwin received a master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College and earned two other master’s degrees from the University of Kentucky, in Library and Information Sciences; and Wilmington University, in Human Resources Management.

Irwin splits her time between her home in Bear, Delaware, and her summer home in Ocean View, Delaware. She is married to Peter Fedorkowicz, BG (Ret.), former Director of Logistics, Delaware Army National Guard.

*Federal law requires all male citizens, as well as male non-citizens residing in the U.S., to register with Selective Service within 30 days of their 18th birthday. At 26, a man becomes too old to register. Those who do not comply jeopardize eligibility for numerous federally funded benefits, job training, government employment, and U.S. citizenship for male immigrants.

*The Agency seeks volunteers to serve on Selective Service boards. Interested citizen-volunteers can submit an application available at www.sss.gov. For more information about the Selective Service or to download the Selective Service System’s new Public Service Announcements you may call the Public and Intergovernmental affairs office at (703) 605-4100.

Governors call for Red Flag Laws, Universal Background Checks, Banning Assault Weapons and High-Capacity Magazines, Stricter Reporting Requirements

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney and the Governors of California, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington today issued a letter calling on President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to take action on sensible gun safety measures.

Read the letter here:

To: The President of the United States, Donald J. Trump
Cc: Senate Majority Leader, The Honorable Mitch McConnell

Our country continues to mourn the tragic events in Gilroy, El Paso, Dayton, Philadelphia, and Odessa. These five unnecessary and horrific tragedies took at least 34 lives, wounded dozens, and caused emotional trauma to countless others. Unfortunately, these losses account for only a fraction of recent gun-related deaths. In 2019, over 10,000 people have been shot and killed, and 570 people were killed by a gun in the past two weeks alone. Thoughts and prayers won’t fix this disturbing trend. Enough is enough.

Public safety is the first and most important responsibility of government, and the failure to act to protect the public is a failure in leadership. As Governors, it is our responsibility to listen to our communities’ calls for action. However, a patchwork of state laws will never be a substitute for coherent national policy.

The federal government has a history of acting on gun reform when the American public demands it. In 1934, the federal government regulated machine guns. In 1968, the federal government banned mail order gun sales. In 1994, the federal government implemented a 10-year ban on assault weapons. Americans are again calling on their government to act, and it’s time to listen.

Putting an end to the gun violence epidemic is not a Republican or Democratic issue, it is an American issue. Gun deaths do not have to be the norm. The time is now to break the cycle by enacting four common-sense measures. We implore you to work with Congress to pass sensible gun legislation that includes the following four policies that a majority of Americans support:

• Pass Extreme Risk Protection Order legislation, commonly referred to as Red Flag laws, preventing individuals who pose a risk to themselves or others from purchasing or possessing a firearm;
• Pass universal background checks closing the private gun sales loophole;
• Outlaw assault weapons and high-capacity magazines; and
• Establish stricter reporting requirements to prevent those deemed by a mental health professional to be a danger to themselves or others from purchasing a firearm

The American public supports action. So do we.

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View and download a copy of the Governors’ letter.

Learn more about Governor Carney’s call for comprehensive gun safety reforms.

Related news:

Governor Carney Signs Beau Biden Gun Violence Prevention Act

Governor Carney Signs Red Flag Legislation

Governor Carney’s Statement on Bump Stock Ban

Governor Carney Signs School Safety Legislation

New Delaware Law Requires Safe Storage of Firearms

Governor Carney Signs Legislation Strengthening Penalties on Straw Purchases