Individuals and organizations recognized for their dedication to trauma-informed care.

WILMINGTON, Del. –  Governor John Carney and First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney on Wednesday announced eight recipients of the Compassionate Champion Awards, the state’s recognition program for organizations and individuals in Delaware providing exemplary trauma-informed care. Each 2021 award winner falls within a distinct category –  education, first responder, healthcare, community organization and government – and represent those who go above and beyond in providing compassionate care.

“Across the state of Delaware, we have organizations and individuals who have made the commitment to serve their communities using trauma-informed approaches,” said Governor Carney. “This year, more than ever, it has been crucial to serve with compassion and an understanding of trauma and its effects. Our Compassionate Champion Award recipients have gone above and beyond to make Delaware and its citizens stronger, healthier, and more compassionate. We thank them for all they do for the community.”

“In the past year, we’ve seen the impacts of trauma perhaps more clearly, more publicly, than ever before. And, thanks to our Compassionate Champion Award recipients and many others in our state, we’ve also seen the impact and promise of how we can support each other,” said First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney. “These organizations and individuals have answered the challenge of the past year-plus to support and strengthen communities throughout Delaware. We’ve seen that trauma and challenge are not destiny; that we have the tools to build a better future, and that together, we can do just that.”

2021 Compassionate Champion Award Recipients:

Education:  Sarah Pyle Academy

First Responder:  New Castle County Division of Police, Hero Help Behavioral Health Unit

Healthcare:  ChristianaCare, special recognition to Dr. Stacey Boyer, PsyD and Megan O’Hara, LCSW

Community Organization:  Children & Families First Trauma Response Team

Government:  Erin Connelly, Victim Services Coordinator, Delaware Department of Correction

Due to the extraordinary nominees this year in the education and first responder categories, we are proud to recognize the Compassionate Champion Award First Runners Up:

Education 1st Runner Up: The Bancroft School

Education 1st Runner Up:  Evan G. Shortlidge Academy

First Responder 1st Runner Up: Melissa Pennachi, Newark Police Department

To celebrate the award recipients, a virtual celebration event will take place on Thursday, June 3 at 6:00 p.m. The event can be viewed on the Governor’s Facebook and YouTube pages.

Since 2018, the Family Services Cabinet Council has worked to implement Executive Order #24, which launched efforts to make Delaware a trauma-informed state. The Family Services Cabinet Council is a cabinet-level group reestablished by Governor Carney in February 2017 to coordinate public and private services for Delaware families.

For more information on the Compassionate Champion Awards, visit de.gov/cca. To learn more about Trauma Awareness Month, visit  traumamattersdelaware.org.

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Awards recognize leaders, organizations that provided meals for children during spring and summer

WILMINGTON, Del. – First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney and members of the End Childhood Hunger Task Force (ECHO) on Friday announced recipients of “First Chance” awards. The award recipients consist of leaders and teams that stepped up to keep feeding Delaware children when school buildings had to close from mid-March through June due to COVID-19.

“School-based food services represent our front line of defense against childhood hunger and in support of the nutrition essential to healthy development and learning,” said First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney. “When school buildings had to close, it took a wide range of teams – comprised of dedicated, creative, determined individuals – to devise and implement plans to continue to feed our kids. We are so very grateful for their extraordinary work, which they are still doing, on behalf of the children of Delaware. We are proud to recognize these leaders and teams with First Chance awards for extraordinary service to Delaware’s children during the pandemic.”

First Chance Award Recipients:

• Appoquinimink School District – Janice Vander Decker

• Boys & Girls Club of Delaware – Tony Windsor

• Brandywine School District, School Nutrition – Colleen Carter

• Caesar Rodney School District – Paul Rodgers

• Cape Henlopen School District – Cheryle Lord-Gordon

• Capital School District – James Trower

• Christina School District – Andrea Solge

• City of Wilmington, Department of Youth and Families, Food Service Program – Victoria Fuentes-Cox

• Colonial School District – A. Paula Angelucci

• Community Education Building PS #5 LLC – Havena Hollins

• Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Delaware Division of Social Services – Mondel Powell

• Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Delaware Division of Social Services (Pandemic-EBT Customer Service Team) – Maggie Smith, Carolyn Kincaid, and Marcella Spady

• Delaware Department of Transportation – Mike Rivera, Dan Sturgeon, Warren Ziegler, Butch Kelley, and Laura Brown 

• Delaware National Guard – Captain Kevin Caneco, Army 1st Lt. James Willey, and Sgt. 1st Class Brian Turner

• Ezion Fair Community Academy – Reverend Dr. Christopher Curry

• Family Outreach Multipurpose Community Center Inc. – Stephanie Dukes

• Food Bank of Delaware – Sanjay Malik

• Harry K Foundation – Harry Keswani

• Indian River School District – Clifton Toomey

• Lake Forest School District – Jennifer Montano

• Laurel School District – Julie Gibbons

• Milford School District – Sharon Forrest

• Polytech School District – Carol Arrington

• Red Clay Consolidated School District – Jessica Terranova RD, LDN

• Seaford School District – William Mengel

• Smyrna School District – Roger Holt

• Tarbiyah School – Dr. Amna Latif

• The Little People Child Development Center – Janice Palmer

• Woodbridge School District – Joann Joseph

• YMCA of Delaware – Courtney Hoy

The award recipients, many of whom are Delaware’s Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sponsors, were able to coordinate sites early this spring so that families could pick up meals for children to eat at home. Additional organizations and community partners worked with the SFSP sponsors to ensure students had nutritious meals outside of school. 

Members of the statewide ECHO Task Force selected the award recipients. With a central team convened by the First Lady, the Task Force includes representatives from the Food Bank of Delaware, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health and Social Services. The task force’s specific goals include increasing participation and building partnerships in support of the Summer Food Service Program and alternative model school breakfasts. The task force also seeks to promote awareness of all programs, public and private, available to Delawareans experiencing food insecurity.

“The Delaware Department of Education is grateful for all of the hard work and dedication of the Summer Food Service Program Sponsors who quickly jumped into action when schools closed,” said Aimee Beam, an Education Associate for Nutrition Programs at the Delaware Department of Education. “Without their creativity and hard work, many children would have gone without the nutritious meals that the need to grow and learn.”

“Nothing is more important to all of us at the Department of Health and Social Services than making sure that Delaware children in need receive meals regularly,” said Ray Fitzgerald, Director of DHSS’ Division of Social Services. “We are grateful to all of the First Chance award recipients who helped us meet that priority during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“The demand for food assistance as a result of the pandemic has been unprecedented,” said Charlotte McGarry, Chief Programs Officer for the Food Bank of Delaware. “It has truly taken our entire community to ensure that the nutritional needs of Delawareans – especially our children – are met. We are so thankful for all of the hunger heroes who have stepped up during this crisis to make sure children’s most basic needs are met.”

First Lady Carney launched the First Chance Delaware initiative in 2018 to recognize and facilitate effective partnerships, to share research and best practices, and to promote opportunities to collaborate in support of Delaware’s children. First Chance Delaware focuses its work on ending childhood hunger and expanding access to nutritious food for low-income children; promoting learning readiness through literacy, health and parent-child engagement programs; and advancing the recognition of – and effective responses to – adverse childhood experiences.

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(Dover, DE) Delaware’s First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney will host a virtual kick-off of the 2020 statewide Summer Library Reading Program, Imagine Your Story, on Wednesday, June 17 at 10 a.m. with State Librarian Dr. Annie Norman. The launch is co-sponsored by the Delaware Division of the Arts and will feature a virtual performance by Turtle Dance Music with Matt Mazar.

“Promoting foundational language skills is a critical part of giving all of Delaware’s children a ‘first chance’ to succeed,” said First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney, who convenes the  First Chance Delaware initiative and serves as honorary chair of the Delaware Library Card Campaign and the Dolly Parton Imagination Library pilot program. “The library habit supports educational success and also supports strong families, with two-generation programs and access to a range of services. I’m very proud of my Delaware library card, because of what it does for me and what it represents for our community.”

The virtual kick-off can be accessed at the Delaware Libraries website, along with details about the program and registration.

Delaware libraries are noted for hosting the longest running statewide public library summer reading program in the nation. Now in its 42nd year, the annual Summer Library Reading Program provides early literacy programs to help children build and develop reading and language skills; teen programs that motivate teens to read and discuss literature; and programs that encourage adults to experience the joy of reading.

“Librarians help to generate a passion for reading and learning,” said Governor John Carney. “A healthy reading habit motivates, inspires, encourages creativity and prevents the summer slide.”

“For more than 40 years — for generations of Delawareans — Delaware libraries have been cultivating reading and learning passions,” said State Librarian Dr. Annie Norman. “Whatever your interest, whatever your talent, the library supports it.”

Young “pre-readers” (children who can’t yet read) can get credit for books that are read to them. Throughout the summer, online this year, libraries provide a variety of fun and educational arts, cultural, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) programs to encourage reading and spark curiosity.

Registration for the Summer Library Reading Program at all public libraries is free online. Incentive badges are awarded based on reading and activity milestones.  Delaware libraries encourage Delawareans of all ages to track their reading and learning during the summer and throughout life.  A variety of tips, tools, and techniques for tracking individual interests are available on the Unleash Inner Genius guide.

Visit the Summer Library Reading Program for the schedule of online events throughout the summer. The Performing Arts component of the program, including Turtle Dance Music, is sponsored in partnership with the Delaware Division of the Arts.

About:

Summer arts programs are supported by the Delaware Division of Libraries and, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division of Arts promotes Delaware arts events on DelawareScene.com

The Delaware Division of Libraries, a state agency dedicated to unleashing the potential in all Delawareans in partnership with Delaware Libraries and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, offers free access to the online catalog (delawarelibraries.org); Wi-Fi; computers/internet; eBooks; programs/workshops; community partnerships; and more.

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DOVER, Del. – On Saturday, December 7, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Governor John Carney and First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney will host a holiday open house at Woodburn, the Governor’s Residence. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet the Governor and First Lady, tour Woodburn and Hall House, view holiday decorations, and enjoy holiday treats. The event is free and open to the public.

WHAT:       Holiday open house and tours at Woodburn.

WHO:         Governor John Carney

First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney

WHEN:       Saturday, December 7, 2019

10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. *Governor Carney will arrive around 12:00 p.m.

WHERE:     Woodburn

151 Kings Highway Southwest
Dover, DE 19901

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The Woodburn Holiday Open House is one of several events taking place in Dover on Saturday, December 7:

Saturday, December 7, 2019
“The First State”

9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Guided tours explore Delaware’s ratification of the U.S. Constitution and its legacy as the first state to enter the union. First Saturday in the First State program. The Old State House, 25 The Green, Dover.

Saturday, December 7, 2019
Delaware Day Awards Ceremony

10:00 a.m.

Event honors participants in the Delaware Department of State’s 18th Annual Delaware Day Fourth Grade Competition which challenges students to create displays that help illustrate and explain the U.S. Constitution and the role played by Delawareans in the writing and ratification of the nation’s founding document. Delaware Public Archives, 121 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Dover.

Saturday, December 7, 2019
“Holidays With Victor.”

9 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Guided tours examine holiday music recorded by Victor Records accompanied by 78-rpm records played on authentic Victor Talking Machines. First Saturday in the First State program. Johnson Victrola Museum, 375 S. New St., Dover.

View more events from the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs.

Op-ed by Tracey Quillen Carney, First Lady of Delaware
Honorary Chair, Kindergarten Registration Campaign

This month, we launched the first ever Kindergarten Registration Campaign in Delaware. And I can hear families asking exactly what I would have asked in the hectic preschool years of our kids’ lives: “You want me to think about next fall – now?”

Of course, students won’t ever be turned away from attending their feeder pattern school. But families should know that kindergarten registration is not a one-step process, and there are advantages and opportunities that come with starting early—opportunities that can help give children the best possible start to the school year. A good start to kindergarten helps set kids on a path to future success, including the all-important benchmark of grade-level reading.

So yes, speaking to my fellow parents/caregivers, now really is the best time to start planning for next fall, and our schools are eager to help. We can help each other, too, by spreading the word and encouraging all parents/caregivers of children who will be age five by August 31, 2019, to learn about and complete kindergarten registration as early as possible.

First, families need to identify your home schools, even if you plan to look into choice or charter options, and learn exactly what each school requires for registration. No one should be wary of the documents requested; schools will work with all Delaware residents in consideration of family circumstances. But recognize that you might need time to make physical exam appointments and gather materials. Each school also has a number of forms for families to complete, and it’s worth finding out early if you—or your family members, neighbors, or friends with rising K students—are going to need any help or additional information.

You also want to ask about kindergarten registration events, which are already underway at some schools and will continue into the spring. Most districts host both day and evening events—some even have “kindergarten registration weeks”—not only to offer help with forms, but also to get to know your child and your family. Early registration maximizes opportunities to build a sense of connection to the school community, with the adults who will work with your child and with other families who will be starting K along with yours.

In addition, at registration events and appointments, schools are able to share information about learning activities and opportunities that are available before the start of kindergarten—including a variety of spring/summer programs and free online materials, like those at ReadingBrightStart.org and delawarereadinessteam.com.

We have 28 districts and charters that offer kindergarten in Delaware. Each has its own schedule of registration events. Along with the Delaware Department of Education, school districts are working hard to make the registration process as easy as possible. But it just doesn’t make sense to leave registration until late spring or summer, as many families currently do. It deprives you of opportunities to help children to be ready on day one of kindergarten, and it impedes our schools’ ability to plan with precision for incoming K classes.

For families who want to explore choice/charter options, remember that you must register in your “home school” first and then complete the choice/charter process, as well. There is not an official deadline for choice requests, but keep in mind that the first lottery selections for choice spots are in early January. Again, whatever your plans, starting the registration process now just makes sense.

In a recent survey conducted by the Delaware Readiness Teams—community-based teams of early childhood specialists and early learning providers, district and school staff, teachers, parents, and neighbors—76% of parents/caregivers described the kindergarten registration process as “hard” or “extremely hard.” For those who completed the survey in Spanish, 98% said the registration process was hard or extremely hard. The sooner families learn about kindergarten registration, the more support they can get in addressing any questions.

The Delaware Readiness Teams have compiled “Get Ready for Kindergarten” packets, which have been available at special events this month and have been distributed to many libraries and pediatric/family practice offices, as well as to early childhood education providers, throughout our State. To request a packet—or to learn more in support of your family, friends, and neighbors—please email delawarereadinessteams@gmail.com.

When it comes to promoting school readiness and the future of our children—all of Delaware’s children—we are in this together. Thank you to everyone who is a part of Delaware’s Kindergarten Registration Campaign.