As Delaware Secretary of Education, I am entrusted with overseeing and improving educational systems throughout the state. A crucial part of this responsibility is making sure schools have the resources they need to provide a quality education to all students. In Delaware, one of the key mechanisms for securing these resources is through school referenda.
Sponsors and Meal Sites Sought for 2024 Summer Food Service Program
A program that targets children in low-income areas to ensure they have meals during the summer is seeking sponsors and meal sites for meal locations. The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is a federally funded program operated nationally by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administered in Delaware by the Department of Education (DDOE). Sponsors are reimbursed for all …
Cape Henlopen 6th district to hold tax hike vote; March 26
Cape Henlopen School District is the sixth district in Delaware to have a referendum this year in which residents will vote whether or not to raise local taxes. In total, the district is seeking a total of $83,647,000 of additional local revenue. This year’s referendum will take place Tuesday, March 26, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. …
MSD to hold Special Education Parent Clinic Workshop
In a series of workshops designed to help students with special needs, Milford School District will hold a session on Thursday, February 8 at 6 PM designed to help parents manage common issues that face those children. “This clinic, entitled “Finicky Feeders and Stubborn Snackers: Understanding Restricted Preferences,” is designed to help parents whose children may have strict food restrictions …
JFC praises DSU aviation, says it should upgrade facilities
Jokes were cracked, programs were praised and millions state funding was requested from Delaware State University Thursday’s Joint Finance Committee hearing. That committee is responsible for setting the state budget and allocating funding to different programs and organizations throughout Delaware. DSU, the state’s only Historically Black College and University, is asking for about $47,000,000. It started its hearing on a …
DelTech questioned about extra salary funding, pay discrepancy
It was higher education day in the Joint Finance Committee Thursday, in which the big three state institutions – University of Delaware, Delaware State University and Delaware Technical Community College – made their cases for millions in state funding. DelTech, which has $100,460,200 penciled in through the Governor’s Recommended Budget, is asking for additional $525,000 for salary competitiveness, which the …
Milford school leaders encouraged by district literacy plan
Officials in the Milford School District answered questions and gave updates Monday night about the progress of the district’s literacy plan. Kelly Carvajal Hageman, Milford’s chief academic officer, pointed out in the district’s monthly board meeting that Gov. John Carney and Education Secretary Mark Holodick have urged the state in the past two years to focus on literacy. A 2022 …
State releases online tool to help schools evaluate facilities
The Delaware Department of Education released a new tool to establish an evaluation and assessment system to determine whether a school facility is in good repair. The facility assessment tool will help school districts review and assess conditions in a standardized way. Structured like a rubric, the assessments will help identify areas in need of attention, so school facilities are …
5 school districts to hold tax hike referenda in 2024
Five of Delaware’s 19 school districts are asking their residents to head to the polls in 2024 and vote for a local tax increase. In the First State, districts must hold referendums if they want to increase their local school tax in order to increase local revenue. They include the Brandywine, Red Clay Consolidated, Colonial, Smyrna and Appoquinimink. Schools get …
DSU President issues statement condemning Elon Musk tweet
Just days before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the president of a top-ranked Historically Black College and University condemned remarks from one of the richest men in the world, Elon Musk. Delaware State University President Tony Allen Thursday stated that the tweets from Musk – the owner of X, formerly known as Twitter – were “unoriginal in their amplification of …