November 27, 2024

2025 Educational Support Professional of the Year to be named

The Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) is honoring 20 educational support professionals for their outstanding work supporting their students and school communities.

“Educational support professionals play many important roles in our school system. From providing individual instruction and behavior support to registering children for school and transporting them there, their work is what keeps our schools running and our students thriving. They make sure our children have clean and safe hallways, working technology and healthy meals,” Secretary of Education Mark Holodick said. “While vital, their work often is behind the scenes. I’m honored to be able to put a spotlight on these educational support professionals and the many colleagues they represent for their outstanding work and important roles in our schools.”

Now in its fifth year, the Delaware State Educational Support Professional of the Year (ESPOY) program recognizes outstanding service by school employees who provide direct or indirect services to students and their families. The Delaware Charter School Network also is invited to participate. Employees considered for the award include:

From those nominated at a building level, one educational support professional of the year moves forward to represent each district or the charter school community in the state program. Each district/charter network winner receives a $2,000 personal award from the winner’s district or charter school. The state program then chooses one person annually to serve as Delaware’s Educational Support Professional of the Year. The state honoree receives an additional $3,000 personal award from DDOE as well as $5,000 to be used for the educational benefit of his or her students.

The 2025 state winner will take over the title from 2024 Delaware Educational Support Professional of the Year Sinead Ronan, a paraprofessional/library specialist at Magnolia Middle School in the Caesar Rodney School District.

A selection committee made up of DDOE and non-DDOE judges is reviewing the local winners’ state applications, and the state honoree will be announced at Delaware’s statewide ESPOY celebration the evening of Monday, Dec. 2 in Dover. The event will be live-streamed to DDOE’s YouTube and facebook accounts following the dinner portion of the evening; likely this will begin shortly after 7 p.m.

DDOE is excited to recognize these outstanding professionals whose work is vital to students’ success.

Delaware schools receive national, state honors

Seventeen schools across the state are being recognized either nationally or by the state for the academic progress of their students last year.

“I congratulate all of these school communities – the educators, families, district leadership, community supporters and, most of all, the students for their hard work,” Secretary of Education Mark Holodick said. “Progress like this takes the commitment of everyone, and all should celebrate this success.”

Delaware schools nationally recognized as ESEA Distinguished Schools

Rehoboth Elementary School and Lake Forest South Elementary School are among a host of U.S. schools that have been named as 2024 National ESEA Distinguished Schools 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.

Lake Forest South Elementary School, in the Lake Forest School District, is being recognized as a National ESEA Distinguished School for Closing the Achievement Gap between student groups and for the academic progress that the students made during the 2023-2024 school year on standardized achievement tests. Kevin Truitt is the school’s principal.

Rehoboth Elementary School, in the Cape Henlopen School District, is being recognized as a National ESEA Distinguished School for Excellence in Serving Special Populations and for the growth and progress towards English language proficiency that the multilanguage learners made during the 2023-2024 school year. Doris Person is the school’s principal.

The 2024 National ESEA Distinguished Schools will be honored February 18-21, 2025, at the 2024 National ESEA Conference in Austin, Texas.  More information about all National ESEA Distinguished Schools is available on the NAESPA website.

15 additional schools named Delaware Recognition or Continued Excellence Schools

Delaware Secretary of Education Mark Holodick is pleased to commend and recognize 15 additional schools from across the state for their students’ growth and progress in three categories. Awards are given for Exceptional Student Performance and Growth on the state’s English language arts and mathematics assessment for grades 3-8, Academic Growth and Closing the Achievement GAP between student groups on the 3-8 assessment as well as the SAT taken in 11th grade, or Excellence in Serving Special Populations where multiple language learners showed exceptional growth toward meeting proficiency on the state’s English proficiency test.

Twelve schools that are named 2024 Recognition Schools will receive an $8,000 award, a certificate, and a banner to hang in their building. Three schools are also being recognized as Schools of Continued Excellence and will also receive a certificate and a banner. Schools of Continued Excellence are schools that have qualified as a Recognition School for the second consecutive year so are ineligible for the Recognition award this year.

Delaware FFA students take home national awards

Delaware FFA members from across the state competed last month in career and leadership development events against teams from across the country at the 97th National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis, IN.

Delaware FFA is a leading Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) for students pursuing careers in agriculture, food, natural resources, and other related career fields. A full list of the Delaware FFA results is available here: Delaware National Convention Results 2024.

During the convention, Delaware FFA members competed in 26 Career and Leadership Development Events as well as the Agriscience Fair. Another major part of the experience is the Expo, featuring agricultural colleges and universities from across the country, as well as many technical colleges.

Delaware FFA members also participated in the National Band, National Chorus, and the National Talent Competition:

Several Delaware FFA supporters were awarded the coveted Honorary American Degree as appreciation for all they do for the Delaware FFA Association:

Additionally, this year Noah Dixon, Delaware FFA’s 2023-2024 state president, represented Delaware as the state’s national officer candidate. During the week leading up to the national convention, Dixon, along with 37 other individuals from across the country, went through the selection process. Dixon made it through to the second round and represented Delaware well.

Find more photos online here.

A Sussex Correctional Institution teacher admires a student's artwork as part of a community initiative spearheaded by prison educators (more pics). 

This past Veterans Day, 200 downstate veterans received individual hand-created messages of gratitude and recognition from Sussex Correctional Institution (SCI) inmates thanks to a community service initiative spearheaded by prison educators.

As part of SCI’s Life Skills Adult Basic Education course, students complete 20 hours of community service as part of the evidence-based curriculum that focuses, in part, on developing communication and interpersonal skills to prepare students for academic and life success. This past month, 47 Life Skills students fulfilled that community service by handcrafting nearly 200 cards for local veterans in honor of Veterans Day. Most of these cards were delivered to the Delaware Veterans Home in Milford, bringing joy and thanks to those who have served our country.

Since this Life Skills Veterans Day project began five years ago, approximately 750 cards have been created and distributed to the Delaware Veterans Home, area Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts, the Laurel American Legion, and area nursing homes with Veteran residents.

This program is a partnership between DDOE and the Delaware Department of Corrections. Thank you to Kristi King, SCI teacher supervisor, and Billie Fox, SCI life skills teacher, for their work promoting this program.

Students, families encouraged to search for scholarships

With January scholarship deadlines fast approaching, Delaware students and their families are encouraged to search now for programs that will help offset the cost of their post-high school education plans.

Available online, the 2024-25 Delaware Scholarship Compendium provides a free, mobile way for students to find scholarships by category and deadline. The database includes more than 250 local and national scholarships – not just for four-year degrees, but for vocational/trade, two-year, graduate, and certificate programs as well.

DDOE believes all students need some sort of post-high school education to help launch a successful future. Any student seeking additional education is encouraged to visit the Compendium. Students and families can search scholarships by eligibility requirements such as county of residency, ethnicity or race, and profession – about 15 categories in all – as well as alphabetically or by due date. Users then can drill down for more details, including application information.

As in previous years, school counselors are encouraging students to visit the Compendium as well. The online resource is also highlighted during student and family sessions focused on post-secondary college and career planning.

The 2024-2025 Delaware Scholarship Compendium is available online at https://scholarships.delawarestudentsuccess.org/. To better meet the needs of all families, the Compendium is also available in Spanish and Haitian Creole.

Delaware Department of Education I education.delaware.gov