Last fall, here at Mount Pleasant High School, I joined the President of the College Board to announce a first-in-the-nation effort to address a national problem. Many students who have shown they can succeed in college don’t even apply. We sent students helpful resources, including fee waivers if they qualified. And we followed up by helping them fill out applications in school and navigate the financial aid process. This past week, I returned to Mount Pleasant to celebrate that, this year, every college-ready student in Delaware applied.

Our success was made possible by Race to the Top. Winning that federal funding competition helped us pay for every Delaware junior to take the SAT during the school day, and it helped us identify every student who is ready for college. It’s an example of how, four years after launching our Race to the Top plan, we have worked with our teachers and administrators to build a foundation for improving student opportunities. We’ve invested in better data to track students’ progress. Teachers receive more support and feedback. We’ve renovated science labs. And we’re providing targeted counseling and programs for freshman to adjust to high school. The list goes on and we’re seeing improvement: Our dropout rate hit a 30-year low. More students are reaching their growth targets in schools that were struggling. More top teachers are staying in Delaware. And more students are passing AP tests.

Our progress is why, this past week, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited to celebrate our efforts. Our work isn’t finished, but Race to the Top has laid the groundwork for our schools to keep improving. And that will keep Delaware moving forward.

Water is a fundamental part of everything we do. It’s the foundation of our tourism industry. It’s critical to the success of agriculture and manufacturing. And, of course, it’s essential to our health.

Yet a century of pollution has impaired nearly every river, lake and pond in our state. We can’t eat our fish or swim in our bays, and toxic pollutants contaminate our rivers. It’s embarrassing and unacceptable. Fortunately, this problem is solvable. We know the science – how to upgrade wastewater and drinking water plants, and improve stormwater infrastructure so we limit flooding and prevent pollutants from running into our streams. We’re making progress, but at this rate, it will take many decades to make substantial progress.

I propose the Clean Water for Delaware’s Future initiative to clean up our waterways within a generation. Some much faster than that. It calls on all of us to take responsibility for the quality of our water. It will cost the average household less than a dollar a week, with owners of commercial sites and other large properties paying more based on how much they own. That will double our clean water funds. But the deal is better than that. Every dollar of this investment brings in two more dollars through federal grants and private funding. And the projects we pay for — removing toxic substances from our streams, improving industrial sites or protecting our drinking water – will support thousands of jobs.That work will revitalize communities across the state and make Delaware a healthier and safer place to live for years to come. I hope you’ll join me in supporting this vital effort to keep Delaware moving forward.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving and the start of the holiday season, we have so much to be grateful for. No matter what challenges we face, the generosity, hard work, and talent of Delawareans serves as a constant reminder of why we can be thankful in the present and hopeful about the future of our great state.

We are reminded by people like Judy Travis, Founder of the Stockings for Soldiers community project in its tenth year sending personalized stockings to service members overseas. Last year, almost one thousand people helped ship more than ten thousand homemade stockings, stuffed with 40,000 pounds of holiday gifts. It’s inspiring to see their Wilmington headquarters packed with enthusiastic volunteers again this year.

You can find that same spirit of giving at 20 of our high schools this month as volunteers from our state’s universities and colleges, along with members of the business and non-profit communities, help students with college application and financial aid forms. And that same selfless attitude is apparent when 150 employees from Capital One visit Brandywine Creek State Park to clear trails, build benches and clean up the park.

Many more Delawareans take opportunities to help the less fortunate among us, participating in efforts like the Food Bank of Delaware’s annual Stuff the Bus food drive. I’m thankful every day for the incredible honor to serve in our state of neighbors, where we come together to help each other and improve the quality of life for everyone in our communities.

I wish you and your families a wonderful Thanksgiving and holiday season. Thank you for everything you do to keep Delaware moving forward.

To grow Delaware’s economy, we must build on our strengths. And no economic engine has been more reliable throughout our history than farming. It’s now a multibillion dollar industry in our state.

We’re looking forward to a strong future for farming in Delaware. Just as we’re committed to preserving our physical farming resources by properly maintaining our land, we must also support our human resources – the 2,500 farmers we have now as well as thousands more to come.

Young Delawareans just starting out in agribusiness are now participating in our innovative Young Farmers Program. This initiative helps to ensure the next generation of farmers has the tools and opportunities to continue Delaware’s great farming tradition.The high cost of land is one of the obstacles for young people getting into farming, and our program helps solve that problem by providing no-interest loans to help purchase land.

We’re supporting Delawareans like Phillip and Cara Sylvester, a young husband and wife team who used a state loan program last year to help expand their Felton-area farming operation, where they grow corn, soybeans, wheat and lima beans. Ten new farmers who just joined our initiative will be raising poultry, and growing corn, soybeans, wheat and watermelon.

Our farming heritage is strong and proud, as we saw recently when we honored members of our Century Farm Program – a group of Delawareans who have been farming the same land for more than 100 years. The strength of Delaware’s agriculture will continue because of our farmers’ hard work and the investments we make in their needs. By supporting them, we’ll keep Delaware moving forward.

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.