With an 8.6% increase in state education funding for fiscal year 2025, which began July 1, the Delaware General Assembly continued its trend of passing legislation specific to the state’s schools. There were dozens of educational bills passed this legislative year, which concluded June 30. From college scholarships to improving school climate to establishing a commission to evaluate how schools …
Only 16 candidates will compete for a school board seat this year when the polls open Tuesday at 7 a.m. In a year that already had fewer races than normal, candidates have been dropping out since qualifying, narrowing the field. Seven of Delaware’s 19 school districts have school board elections, with polls open until 8 p.m. Preliminary results are expected …
A few dozen parents of students, educators and concerned community members shared their frustrations with education in Delaware and hopes for the future during a town hall Wednesday night. The few students in the crowd received applause and praise from the crowd for caring enough to be involved in changing the status quo of a system still funded by an …
Delaware pours billions of dollars into education each year, only to receive stressful news like some of the lowest standardized test scores in the country. A number of Delaware nonprofits devoted to improving education in the state want to see more impact for the state in jobs, test scores and another areas. Some have specific focuses such as encouraging more …
Two dozen leaders from state and national educational organizations on Monday got a sneak peek of potential recommendations on how Delaware should fund schools. A report by the American Institutes for Research, being paid for by the Delaware Department of Education and designed to help guide state recommendations on changing the way schools are funded is expected to be released …
There was little cheering news Tuesday when Delaware released its 2023 state assessment results. The numbers are still grim, with the majority of students across the board failing to reach proficiency in math and reading. “I can’t imagine anyone looking at these test results and saying they are good enough,” said Julia Keleher, the new executive director of First State …
With the 2023 General Assembly session ending in June, educational advocates are cheering the legislature’s action on early education, mental health support and transparency relating to school boards. One leader, though, would like to see bills that focus on letting parents know clearly and precisely what’s happening in the classroom, starting with easy to find proficiency ratings. About 60 bills …
A new report from Rodel shows that First State families do not have adequate access to affordable child care. A coalition of advocacy groups – including Rodel, the Delaware Association for the Education of Young Children, Delaware Readiness Teams and the First State Pre-K – conducted a survey with hundreds of Delaware families to gauge their feelings about child care …
The Delaware Department of Education announced last week it has hired a Virginia consultant to study the state’s public education funding system. As today’s wisecracker would say: Good luck with that. How the money trickles down to the classroom is complex, and it follows a funding system established in the 1940s. The state’s population then was 286,000, compared to today’s …
Rodel, a local nonprofit espousing better education in Delaware, calls the 151st General Assembly, which just ended, the “Education General Assembly,” in regard to the number of education bills that passed. “There’s more than 50 education bills this session and a 7% increase in the budget,” said Madeleine Bayard, senior vice president of Rodel. “They got a lot done and …
