DOVER, Del. – Today, Lieutenant Governor Matt Denn announced the two schools honored with the 5th annual “Lt. Governor’s Excellence in Parental Involvement Award” during a press conference in Kent County.

The 2014 winners of the award are Postlethwait Middle and Dover High School. The two winners were picked by a committee of parents, teachers, administrators, and representatives from the business community.

“I created the award in 2010 with the State Chamber of Commerce as a way to enhance parental engagement in our schools,” said Lt. Governor Denn. “Each year, I am encouraged by the ideas that schools continue to create to help get parents more involved. As a parent, it is hard to always know everything that is happening at school, but it is our responsibility to take more active roles in supporting our children and their schools. When we do, everyone succeeds, and I applaud Postlethwait and Dover HS for creating these programs to get more parents in the doors.”

Postlethwait Middle School is doing a variety of things to get parents more involved. Throughout the year, Postlethwait hosts a variety of themed parent nights during which parents and students participate in various content-based activities. Postlethwait hosted a Fifer Fall Fest for the 2013-14 school year had over 800 participants representing 205 Postlethwait families (25% of their total student population).

“Postlethwait Middle School is very honored and proud to have been selected for this prestigious award,” said Principal Derek Prillaman. “This recognition is a true reflection of our entire learning community – many committed groups and individuals worked together to provide special programs and opportunities for our students and families throughout the school year and during the summer months. We’re committed to continuing these efforts and expanding upon our positive relationships with our parents, students and the Postlethwait community.”

Dover High School began the Parent Academy in 2012, which hosts workshops and events offered based on parent feedback. Now district-wide, more than 50 parent workshops and events have been offered district wide since August 2012. Dover High also has PACEParent and Community Engagement Center, the mission of which is to mobilize parents, schools and communities in the Capital School District towards positive change relating to parent involvement, school improvement and community engagement. From January 2013 through today, the parent center has provided services to more than 700 families.

Dover High School Principal Evelyn Edny said, “There is nothing more powerful than families being involved in the education of a student! In high school, parental involvement takes on many forms: It’s a single mom being able to provide a quiet place to study while also providing food and shelter; it’s the grandparent who can make it to a game or awards ceremony; it’s the parent who knows the first and last names of their teen’s friends; it’s the parent who works hand-and- hand communicating and partnering with the school to produce good citizens.”

Outlines key priorities to keep education system moving forward

Wilmington, DE – Marking the recent four year anniversary of Delaware placing first in the federal Race to the Top education funding competition, Governor Markell today detailed the impact of the state’s efforts to give students the best possible opportunity to succeed in college and career in the 21^st century economy.

Additional excerpts from Markell’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, are pasted below. Video will be available on the Governor’s YouTube page.

“Four years later, because of [our Race to the Top] plan, we’re making progress,” said Markell, who spoke before the state’s P-20 Council, an organization designed to align Delaware’s education efforts across all grade levels, from early childhood through higher education. “Delaware’s teachers and students are getting support to address our challenges now, and we have a built a foundation that allows our schools to continue to improve for the next generation.”

Among the trends showing recent improvements in Delaware’s schools, Markell noted that:

• The state’s dropout rate hit a 30-year low at 2.9 percent.
• More top teachers are staying in Delaware and remaining in schools with a high proportion of high-need students.
• More struggling schools are showing improvement, with about one in five making double-digit gains in the percentage of students reaching their growth targets.
• More students are taking AP courses and passing AP tests.
• And more students are applying to college, including many who would not have considered the possibility of college in the past, despite their qualifications.

Delaware has received more than $100 million in federal grant funding as a result of the high quality plan the state submitted to U.S. Department of Education detailing ways to address key challenges. The initiatives directly supported by Race to the Top have been complemented by additional state and federal grant funding to increase access to quality early childhood programs and create world language immersion programs, while the Administration has worked with the General Assembly to pass legislation to improve teacher preparation programs.

Markell outlined ways in which teachers and students are receiving more support now than four years ago and described foundation changes to the education system that will make a difference for decades to come.

Highlights of Investments in Teachers

• Better insight into the performance of their students through the development of a world-class data system
• Training for educators and administrators to help them use data most effectively
• Summer institutes programs focused on supporting teachers with Advanced Placement curriculums.
• Support for state’s transition to Common Core Standards
• Increased feedback through upgrades teacher evaluation system

Highlights of Investments in Students

• Overhauled statewide assessment to better measure progress toward college and career readiness
• Academic “interventionists” and “deans” used by Districts to provide targeted counseling to students struggling with academic and life issues that are interfering with their success in school.
• Increased opportunities in STEM education, like in the Brandywine School District, which has renovated lab spaces
• Special programs for freshman to help them adjust to the academic and cultural rigors of high school before integrating with older students.
• Improved access to college through free statewide schoolday SAT and help with application process

Moving forward, Markell said effective implementation of the Common Core State Standards would be the most significant immediate work to improve opportunities for students. He said he also hoped to provide schools more flexibility to use state funding for innovative ideas and reiterated his proposal to make changes to the teacher compensation system to raise starting salaries, while rewarding educators for showing leadership, particularly in high need schools.

“Many have asked what will happen when states no longer can count on an infusion of millions of federal dollars to carry out a grand plan,” said Markell. “But that view misses the point of what this work has been all about. We have created lasting change because now that we’ve strengthened the foundation of our system, we can maintain our progress at a fraction of the cost.

“It is almost impossible to imagine how we would have given our schools the resources and opportunities to meet the increasing challenges of our world without the foundational changes that resulted from the efforts of the past four years – all driven in some way by the plan that won the Race to the Top competition. Without this work, we’d still be a generation behind.”

Additional Excerpts from Governor Markell Remarks to P-20 Council

April 7, 2014

As Prepared for Delivery

Teachers in Delaware’s schools today have resources that were not available before to help them make the biggest possible difference in the classroom. We’ve given them better insight into the performance of their students through the development of our world-class data system, and offered training to our educators and administrators to help them use it productively…

We’ve invested heavily in our teachers because we know that when they are at the top of their games, students succeed. But we’ve also supported our kids directly…

From the time they enter our public schools, our students are held to higher expectations. We overhauled our statewide assessment to better measure their progress toward college and career readiness, and we’ll take the next step in this upgrade next year, when we align our assessments to the Common Core. To reach their potential, every student can benefit from some extra help somewhere along the way. Academic and attendance “interventionists” in Capital School District, and “academic deans” in Red Clay, have provided targeted counseling to students struggling with academic and life issues that are interfering with their success in school. And we have improved afterschool and summer programs, and expanded childhood opportunities like Indian River Project V.I.L.L.A.G.E. that provides resources for E-L-L students and their families…

Districts like Caesar Rodney has established ninth Grade Success Academies where freshman attend a special “school-within-a-school” so they can adjust to the academic and cultural rigors of high school before integrating with older students. And our students have access to more advanced placement courses to challenge themselves…

Even with all of these efforts, we only fulfill our responsibility to our young people if we ensure they have the resources to transition to their next steps and to be ready for a world in which so many of the jobs they want require more than a high school education…

In partnership with the College Board, we sent packets of information to all college-ready students in Delaware.  All low-income students received application fee waivers, and high-achieving low-income students received a letter from all of the Ivy League institutions, MIT and Stanford, inviting them to apply. We followed up on those mailings with extensive outreach efforts – including opportunities for students to write essays and fill out college applications during the school day…

I have no illusions about the hard work that remains, but we should be proud of the progress we have seen so far and we have concrete signs that the policies funded by Race to the Top are working. More of our students are staying on track. This year, the state’s dropout rate hit a 30-year low at 2.9 percent. And fewer of our ninth graders are falling behind, which means they are more likely to graduate high school and persist into higher education. More of our top teachers are staying in Delaware and remaining in schools where our students need them the most. More of our struggling schools are showing improvement, with about one in five making double-digit gains in the percentage of students reaching their growth targets. More of our students are taking AP courses and passing AP tests. And more are applying to college. Many students who would not have considered the possibility of college in the past, despite their qualifications, have applied this year.

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Pilot Program Dramatically Reduced Late Hiring of Teachers and Improved Schools’ Ability to Compete With Surrounding States for Quality New Teachers

DOVER, DE– This afternoon, Governor Jack A. Markell signed H.B. 259 into law, which passed both the House and the Senate unanimously this week.

House Bill 259 makes permanent the pilot program originally created in 2011, which required the state’s Department of Education to estimate each school district’s enrollment for the following school year in May, and guarantee state funds to each district sufficient to cover 98% of the state’s share of hiring the teachers justified by that enrollment estimate.

The pilot program, created through legislation implementing the recommendations of a task force chaired by Lieutenant Governor Matt Denn and State Senator David Sokola, demonstrated extraordinary success in allowing Delaware school districts to better compete with surrounding states for new teachers and adequately train those new teachers before the start of the school year. Before this legislation, school districts were losing teaching candidates to other states that were making firm offers earlier in the year because districts couldn’t risk getting less state money than they expected and the state didn’t guarantee any funds until September 30th, when final student counts were done.

Under the pilot program, the state started estimating districts’ student population in May and guaranteeing the districts 98% of the state funds for the upcoming school year that would be generated by that estimated number of students. The change was dramatic – a 44% increase in the proportion of teachers hired before August.

“This bill improves our public schools,” said Lt. Governor Denn. “We are always trying to hire the best and brightest to teach our children and now we will hopefully be able to do more of that in a timely fashion. This is a win for students and teachers alike.”

Governor Markell said, “I’d like to thank Lt. Governor Denn, Senator Sokola, and Representative Scott for their work on getting this important piece of legislation passed. This will allow us to offer attractive jobs to new teachers on par with our surrounding states and supports our ongoing effort to recruit and retain talented educators.”

The University of Delaware’s Institute for Public Administration, in its ninth annual Delaware Teacher and Administrator Supply and Demand Survey Analysis Report, quantified the change in early teacher hiring caused by the pilot program: the percentage of school district teachers who were hired after July 31st dropped from 64.3% in the 2010-2011 school year, to 48.6% in 2011-2012 and 46.5% in 2012-2013 (Delaware Teacher and Administrator Supply and Demand Survey Analysis Report, June 2013, at p. 12). The report can be found online at http://www.ipa.udel.edu/publications/teacher_supply13.pdf

This significant drop in the percentage of late-hired teachers was directly attributed by the University of Delaware to the pilot early teacher hiring program:

What has led to the reduction in later teacher hiring in Delaware? The most obvious answer is Senate Bill 164 with House Amendment 1, the extension of SB 16. SB 16 requires that projections of enrollment be made by April 15 and that the State will guarantee that school districts receive funds equivalent to 98 percent of these projections. This bill was aimed at decreasing late teacher hiring, and it appears to have had the desired effect. (Delaware Teacher and Administrator Supply and Demand Survey Analysis Report at p. 50).

State Representative Darryl Scott, prime sponsor of House Bill 259 and one of the original sponsors of the 2011 pilot program, said, “We want to hire the very best teachers and make sure they’re ready to start strong on the first day of school. We’ve seen conclusive evidence that tells us early unit counts are helping our districts achieve that goal, and I am glad we have now made that policy permanent.”

Senator Sokola, the Senate sponsor of House Bill 259 and the original sponsor Senate Bill 16, added, “In my work, I understand the importance of testing and validating data. I’m pleased that the data have validated this experiment in giving our schools more flexibility in hiring top-quality teachers and that it is permanent.”

Other original sponsors of Senate Bill 16 who co-sponsored the legislation making it permanent are Representative Debra Heffernan and Representative Earl Jaques.

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR AND STATE LEGISLATORS PROPOSE TO MAKE EARLY TEACHER HIRING PROGRAM PERMANENT

The original sponsors of Delaware’s pilot program to allow school districts to make earlier hiring offers to new teachers have introduced legislation to make the pilot program a permanent one. The pilot program has demonstrated extraordinary success in allowing Delaware school districts to better compete with surrounding states for new teachers and adequately train those new teachers before the start of the school year.

House Bill 259 will make permanent the pilot program originally created in 2011, which required the state’s Department of Education to estimate each school district’s enrollment for the following school year in May, and guarantee state funds to each district sufficient to cover 98% of the state’s share of hiring the teachers justified by that enrollment estimate. The pilot program was created through legislation implementing the recommendations of a task force chaired by Lieutenant Governor Matt Denn and State Senator David Sokola.

“Our task force findings were very straightforward,” said Lieutenant Governor Denn. “The school districts told us that they were holding back on early hiring because they couldn’t risk getting less state money than they expected. And the consequence was that they were losing teaching candidates to other states that were making firm offers earlier in the year. Our solution was to guarantee the districts the vast majority of their money in May, and the results have been striking.”

The University of Delaware’s Institute for Public Administration, in its ninth annual Delaware Teacher and Administrator Supply and Demand Survey Analysis Report[1], quantified the change in early teacher hiring caused by the pilot program: the percentage of school district teachers who were hired after July 31st dropped from 64.3% in the 2010-2011 school year, to 48.6% in 2011-2012 and 46.5% in 2012-2013. Delaware Teacher and Administrator Supply and Demand Survey Analysis Report, June 2013, at p. 12. This significant drop in the percentage of late-hired teachers was directly attributed by the University of Delaware to the pilot early teacher hiring program:

What has led to the reduction in later teacher hiring in Delaware? The most obvious answer is Senate Bill 164 with House Amendment 1, the extension of SB 16. SB 16 requires that projections of enrollment be made by April 15 and that the State will guarantee that school districts receive funds equivalent to 98 percent of these projections. This bill was aimed at decreasing late teacher hiring, and it appears to have had the desired effect.

(Delaware Teacher and Administrator Supply and Demand Survey Analysis Report at p. 50).

State Representative Darryl Scott, prime sponsor of House Bill 259 and one of the original sponsors of the 2011 pilot program, said, “Our goal is to hire the very best teachers and have them prepared to start the first day of school. Early unit counts have proven to be an effective tool for our school districts in accomplishing this goal and removing the sunset provision keeps this tool available to our school districts.”

Senator Sokola, the Senate sponsor of House Bill 259 and the original sponsor Senate Bill 16, added, “In my work, I understand the importance of testing and validating data. I’m pleased that the data have validated this experiment in giving our schools more flexibility in hiring top-quality teachers and that we’re making it permanent.”

Other original sponsors of Senate Bill 16 who are co-sponsoring the legislation making it permanent are Representative Debra Heffernan and Representative Earl Jaques.

[1] The report can be found on-line at http://www.ipa.udel.edu/publications/teacher_supply13.pdf.

Every Delaware child deserves the best possible education and that’s why we’re increasing access to quality early education for children in every community, raising academic standards to match college and career ready benchmarks, and investing in beneficial after-school programs. But investments like these can only help young people succeed if they have outstanding teachers in their classrooms.

This past week, I was proud to kick off the second year of what we call the “Delaware Talent Cooperative.” It’s a group of high performing educators who have committed to work in schools with a high percentage of disadvantaged students. We help make it possible for them to take on this challenge by offering financial incentives that are proven to attract and retain top teachers at high-needs schools.   And we’ve just announced a new effort to help keep these teachers in Delaware by lowering mortgage rates for those who qualify for assistance.

We’ve got many excellent teachers throughout this state, but we need more.

Having recently visited our next generation of teachers at Delaware State University and the University of Delaware, I’m optimistic that we can put more great instructors in all of our schools. You sense their passion as they talk about helping hard-to-reach students and their desire to understand the challenges facing our education system. Most of all, they want to make a difference in kids’ lives; and, with support from a new law strengthening teacher preparation programs at our colleges and universities, we can ensure they are ready to make that difference.

By working to ensure all of our students can benefit from great teachers, we’ll keep Delaware moving forward.