May 31, 2023

Video: A special thank you to school staff

May celebrates both Teacher Appreciation Week (#IloveDEteachers) and Public Service Recognition Week. As a special thank you, Delaware Secretary of Education Dr. Mark Holodick took a moment to show his appreciation to teachers and all school staff for their commitment to Delaware students, families and school communities. Thank you for everything you do every day to support Delaware education. 

School Behavioral Health Professionals to be Honored

School employees who support the mental health of Delaware students are being recognized for their work.

The state will name its 2023 Delaware Behavioral Health Professional of the Year at a statewide celebration on Thursday, June 8. Delaware’s 19 districts and the Delaware Charter School Network named local Behavioral Health Professionals of the Year for 2023. Following an application and interview process, one will be named the state honoree.

“Behavioral health professionals are critical to the success of our schools and communities,” Secretary of Education Mark Holodick said. “They often are working with our children and families when they are the most vulnerable. They help them navigate struggles and find the resources and supports they need to be healthy and successful in school and life.”

The Delaware State Behavioral Health Professional of the Year (BHPY) program is administered by the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE). The program recognizes outstanding service by school employees who are health care practitioners or human service providers who offer services for the purpose of improving an individual’s mental health. The Delaware Charter School Network also is invited to participate. Employees considered for the award include:

From those nominated at a local level, one behavioral health professional of the year moves forward to represent each district or the charter school community in the state program. Each district/charter network honoree receives a $2,000 personal award from the professional’s district or charter school. The state program then chooses one person annually to serve as Delaware’s Behavioral Health Professional of the Year. State honorees receive an additional $3,000 personal award from the department as well as $5,000 to be used for the educational benefit of the state honoree’s students.

DDOE celebrates White House STEM finalists, awardees

DDOE honors Appoquinimink School District's Brandi Luloff (left), Brandywine School District's Leona Williams (right) and Delaware's PAEMST finalists at an event earlier this month (more pics).

DDOE celebrated 19 Delaware teachers this month as state finalists and national awardees for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), the highest recognition K-12 STEM teachers can receive for outstanding teaching in the United States.

An awards event was held at the St. Jones Reserve in Dover, connecting math and science education to a Delaware site where STEM work is happening each and every day. Secretary of Education Mark Holodick joined the event to celebrate the honored teachers.

Appoquinimink School District's Brandi Luloff and Brandywine School District's Leona Williams were recognized for being chosen the 2020 national PAEMST awardees from among Delaware finalists. Delaware also celebrated the state finalists for the 2021, 2022 and 2023 PAEMST awards, which the national program has not yet decided. All finalists’ applications move forward to the national level for final selection.

Congratulations to the following Delaware educators:

The PAEMST program is administered by the National Science Foundation on behalf of The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

From the Secretary: The importance of House Bill 198

The following guest column was written by Delaware Secretary of Education Mark Holodick.

Recently, the UCLA School of Law released its database showing that Delaware is the lone state to have zero measures enacted or even introduced that would ban instruction on how race and law have been used to produce systemic discrimination, more commonly known as critical race theory (CRT). Delaware does not teach CRT. Never has.

But the information got me thinking – and reflecting – about my time as an educator in our state three decades ago, and how much we’ve grown in the space.

During the 1990s, I taught sixth grade social studies, eighth grade U.S. History, and 6-12th grade world history and sociology in New Castle County public schools. I loved my job. I was a young, excited, and – I believed – thorough educator, relying on so much more to instruct my students than the history books and curriculum I had been provided. I focused on teaching the complete history of our country, including slavery. I wanted my students to understand slavery’s impact on our nation’s economic growth and current U.S. economy, and also the hardships those who were enslaved endured as they helped build this country. I even used the internet to access websites that many of my colleagues did not yet know existed in this emerging space. In that moment in time, during that period of my life, I believed I was creating an excellent educational environment for each and every one of my students.

I was wrong. In retrospect, I fell far short of teaching about the complexities of our country’s past, and I missed even more opportunities to connect historic events to current situations. Black history is about more than slavery; it includes an understanding of racial injustices that continue to happen today while also celebrating and honoring the accomplishments of so many in the face of these injustices. For my students, it meant that I never fully opened the door for the type of thought-provoking and reflective conversations that were needed in the classroom. More importantly, I failed to allow so many of my students an opportunity to see themselves in our country’s history, to learn from our nation’s prior mistakes, and to be inspired by the amazing, diverse figures that could have made them dream bigger in their own lives.

Brandywine H.S. wins national Samsung competition

Video: Learn about Brandywine High School's winning solution for low-cost assistive technology.

Congratulations to Brandywine School District's Brandywine High School for being named a national winner in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition, a nationwide contest for public school students demonstrating how they use science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills to create positive change and address pressing issues in their local communities.

Brandywine High School proposed a solution for low-cost assistive technology. Their submission was also selected by Samsung employees as the Employee Choice winner.

The Brandywine High School team consists of five graduating seniors: Arun Krishnamurthy, Anand John, Thomas Baer, Noah Fake and Gabe Pust. Well done, team!

Delaware Department of Education I education.delaware.gov