State Seeks Sponsors For Child and Adult Care Food Program

The Delaware Department of Education is seeking sponsors for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulates the program, which is managed locally by the Delaware Department of Education.   Sponsors in CACFP can receive reimbursement for meals served in compliance with program regulations at qualifying child care centers, adult day care centers, emergency shelters, family day care homes and afterschool programs.  Sponsors may be reimbursed for up to two meals and one snack, or two snacks and one meal, per participant each day.  Participant eligibility is tied to income eligibility guidelines that are adjusted annually by the USDA.  The current eligibility guidelines are as follows:

FOR USE BY CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM

INCOME ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR REDUCED PRICE MEALS

Effective Date:  July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022

These are the income scales used by Child Nutrition Programs to determine eligibility for free and reduced price meals.

 

FREE MEALS – 130% REDUCED MEALS – 185%
 

Household

Size

 

Yearly

 

Monthly

Twice

per

Month

 

Every  two weeks

 

Weekly

 

Yearly

 

Monthly

Twice

per

Month

 

Every  two weeks

 

Weekly

1 $16,744 $1,396 $698 $644 $322 $23,828 $1,986 $993 $917 $459
2 $22,646 $1,888 $944 $871 $436 $32,227 $2,686 $1,343 $1,240 $620
3 $28,548 $2,379 $1,190 $1,098 $549 $40,626 $3,386 $1,693 $1,563 $782
4 $34,450 $2,871 $1,436 $1,325 $663 $49,025 $4,086 $2,043 $1,886 $943
5 $40,352 $3,363 $1,682 $1,552 $776 $57,424 $4,786 $2,393 $2,209 $1,105
6 $46,254 $3,855 $1,928 $1,779 $890 $65,823 $5,486 $2,743 $2,532 $1,266
7 $52,156 $4,347 $2,174 $2,006 $1,003 $74,222 $6,186 $3,093 $2,855 $1,428
8 $58,058 $4,839 $2,420 $2,233 $1,117 $82,621 $6,886 $3,443 $3,178 $1,589
For each additional household member, add:  

 

$5,902

 

 

$492

 

 

$246

 

 

$227

 

 

$114

 

 

$8,399

 

 

$700

 

 

$350

 

 

$324

 

 

$162

 

Conversion Factors: Conversion is required if there are multiple income sources with more than one frequency (Example: a ‘monthly’ Social Security check and a ‘weekly’ wage stub), the participating agency must annualize all income by multiplying: Weekly income by 52; Bi-weekly income (received every two weeks) by 26; Semi-monthly income (received twice a month) by 24; Monthly income by 12

For more information please call the Delaware Department of Education Nutrition Office at (302) 857-3356.

                                                                                                                                                                       

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits.  Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.  Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:

(1)   mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights

1400 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;

(2)   fax: (202) 690-7442; or

(3)   email: program.intake@usda.gov.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

 


Schools Recognized for Outstanding Language Proficiency Growth of English Learner Students

Fourteen schools across the state are being recognized for their English learner students’ proficiency growth.

 

“In a school year when our schools faced extraordinary challenges, including remote and hybrid learning, these students still made extraordinary progress. I am so proud of these school communities for how they rallied to support student needs. This recognition is well deserved,” Secretary of Education Susan Bunting said.

 

Seaford School District’s Blades Elementary School is among a host of U.S. schools that have been named a 2021 National ESEA Distinguished School 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.

 

Blades is being recognized as a Recognition School for Excellence in Serving Special Populations for the growth and progress toward English language proficiency that the school’s English learners made during the 2020-2021 school year.  Kirsten Jennette is Blades Elementary School’s principal.

 

The honor comes with a $10,500 award.

 

The 2021 National ESEA Distinguished Schools will be honored February 16-19, 2022, at the 2022 National ESEA Hybrid Conference both online and in person in New Orleans, Louisiana.

 

Bunting also is pleased to commend and recognize 13 other schools from across the state for their growth and progress towards English language proficiency.  The English learners showed exceptional growth toward meeting proficiency on ACCESS tests.

 

Each of the 12 schools named a 2021 Recognition School will receive an $8,000 award, a certificate and a banner to hang at the building.  One school is also recognized as a School of Continued Excellence and will receive a certificate and a banner. This school, which continued to show impressive growth, was honored last year as a Recognition School; the award cannot be won in consecutive years.

 

2021 Recognition School Award Winners:

  • Academia Antonia Alonso Charter School (Charter)
    • School Leader – Mercedes Alonso
  • Eisenberg Elementary School (Colonial School District)
    • Principal – David Distler
  • Forest Oak Elementary School (Red Clay Consolidated School District)
    • Principal – Ann Marie Swift
  • Las Americas Aspira Academy (Charter)
    • School Leader – Margie Lopez-Waite
  • Long Neck Elementary School (Indian River School District)
    • Principal – Kathleen Wilson
  • Mispillion Elementary School (Milford School District)
    • Principal – Teresa Wallace
  • Anna P. Mote Elementary School (Red Clay Consolidated School District)
    • Principal – Lauren Young
  • North Georgetown Elementary School (Indian River School District)
    • Principal – Samantha Lougheed
  • Phillis Wheatley Elementary School (Woodbridge School District)
    • Principal – Brandon Snyder
  • Lulu Ross Elementary School (Milford School District)
    • Principal – Cynthia McKenzie
  • West Seaford Elementary School (Seaford School District)
    • Principal – Laura Schneider
  • Woodbridge Early Childhood Education Center (Woodbridge School District)
    • Principal – Kim Benton

 

2021 School of Continued Excellence:

  • Frederick Douglass Elementary School (Seaford School District)
    • Principal – Carol Leveillee

 

More information about all National ESEA Distinguished Schools is available on the NAESPA website: www.ESEAnetwork.org

 

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


Free school meals to continue in upcoming academic year

Delaware K-12 schools will have the option to continue offering free nutritious school meals during the 2021-2022 school year, the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) announced today.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food & Nutrition Services (FNS) released a group of waivers and eligibility guidelines allowing schools to offer meals without determining eligibility based on the student’s household income.

 

Participating schools can operate under the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) and will receive a higher federal reimbursement rate per meal.

 

Schools that elect not to serve free meals through the SSO will determine eligibility for free and reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) using federal income guidelines. The annually updated income eligibility guidelines for the 2021-22 school year have been released by the USDA.

 

The new eligibility guidelines went into effect July 1, 2021 and allow schools and other institutions and facilities to determine eligibility for the NSLP, the School Breakfast Program, the Special Milk Program for Children, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, the Summer Food Service Program, and the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer.

 

To apply, households already receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) need only include the SNAP or TANF case number on their application if not notified of their automatic eligibility by the school. Households enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) may qualify for free or reduced-price school meals and should complete a Household Meal Benefit Application. Households should contact the school nutrition program of the district or school where their child(ren) attends school for further information.

 

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA.

 

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

 

To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:

 

(1)     mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture

                  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights

                  1400 Independence Avenue, SW

                  Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;

(2)     fax: (202) 690-7442; or

(3)     email: program.intake@usda.gov.

 

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

 

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


Students honored in webapp mapping competition

UPDATE:

Secretary of Education Susan Bunting congratulated Delaware’s winners of the Esri’s 2021 ArcGIS US School Competition this afternoon, three siblings who each won $100 in prize money from ESRI.

The winners:

Natalie Lewis, a ninth grader at Caesar Rodney High School (1st place for high school competition)
Brendan Lewis, 12th grader at Caesar Rodney High School (2nd Place for high school competition)
Eric Lewis, home school student (1st place for middle school Competition)

Eric’s URL’s: (Horseshoe crabs in the Delaware Bay)
StoryMap: https://bit.ly/3eepSWn
Item Details page: https://bit.ly/2SjlQmV

Natalie’s URL’s (Delaware Bike Trails)
StoryMap: https://bit.ly/3ee5RiF
Item Details:https://bit.ly/3xFuIDE

Brendan’s URL’s: (Historic Walks of Dover)
StoryMap: https://bit.ly/3w1U8Kd
Item Details Page: https://bit.ly/3eARR2B

Pictured left to right: Brooke Santiago of Delaware Center for Geographic Education, Brendan Lewis, Natalie Lewis, Mary Schorse of Delaware Center for Geographic Education, Eric Lewis, Corey Downer of Delaware Department of Education, Secretary of Education Susan Bunting

*****

The Delaware Department of Education, in conjunction with the state’s geospatial education community, encourages Delaware middle and high school students to join in Esri’s 2021 ArcGIS online competition. Students are challenged to create and share interactive mapping projects using ESRI ArcGIS software. Delaware entrants to this national competition must create a digital map or Storymap that highlights facts and features unique to Delaware.

Esri’s 2021 ArcGIS US School Competition is open to high school (grades 9-12) and middle school (grades 6-8) students in the United States. Assistance is available to teachers and students who have limited knowledge of how to create an ArcGIS Storymap or web app. Delaware’s top 5 middle and top 5 high school students each will be awarded a $100 cash prize. The state also will select one middle school and one high school entrant to compete nationally. Winners at the national level each will earn a trip to the 2021 Esri Education Summit in San Diego, CA.

“We’re excited to be part of a competition that gives our students a chance to practice real-world skills in both an enjoyable and a meaningful way,” Secretary of Education Susan Bunting said.

The competition closes May 10. Find more information online here. Email maps@doe.k12.de.us with questions.


Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) Updates Face Mask Guidance for Children

Children entering kindergarten and older must wear face masks in public settings

WILMINGTON, Del. — As Delaware families consider a safe return to school, Governor Carney and the Division of Public Health on Monday announced an update to Delaware’s face coverings guidance for children.

All children who are in kindergarten or older must wear face coverings in public settings, including school buildings, according to the updated DPH guidance.

All children 2 years of age and older are strongly encouraged to wear face coverings in public. Children younger than 2 must not wear face coverings due to suffocation risk. A child with a medical condition that makes it hard to breathe or a disability that prevents the child from wearing a face covering is not required to wear one.

The updated guidance will be included this week in a modification to Governor Carney’s State of Emergency order.

“The evidence could not be more clear that wearing face coverings is the best thing we can all do to keep our communities healthy,” said Governor Carney. “I know masks can be uncomfortable at times for children and adults. But if we stay vigilant and work together, we’ll continue to make real progress against this virus.”

The State of Delaware will not enforce mask use among children, but encourages parents to refer to materials from DPH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for information on wearing face coverings properly, and the benefits of wearing a face covering during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Click here for more information about face coverings.

“Organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics are emphasizing now more than before that face coverings can be safely and easily worn by the vast majority of children,” said Dr. Karyl Rattay, Director of the Delaware Division of Public Health. “Newer studies convey that all age groups are susceptible to infection. The good news is the most infections in the younger age group of 5 – 10 appear to be mild. And although spread from this age group to others appears low, it still may occur. Therefore, use of face coverings in this age group is an important measure that can help prevent that spread.”

Anyone with a question about COVID-19, whether related to medical or social service needs, should call Delaware 2-1-1. Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing can text their ZIP code to 898-211. Hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. 

Questions can also be submitted by email at DPHCall@delaware.gov

DPH will continue to update the public as more information becomes available. For the latest on Delaware’s response, go to de.gov/coronavirus

###