Governor Jack Markell's Weekly Message
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In his weekly message, Gov. Jack Markell praised the success of the state’s Getting to Zero initiative.
Getting to Zero was started last fall to curb the trend of low income college ready students failing to apply to colleges. The initiative sought to identify and encourage those students to apply through fee waivers and guidance in navigating the process.
Markell says the program achieved its goal of having every college ready student in Delaware to apply to at least one school in its first year.
Markell credits that success in part to the Race to the Top funds that the state won four years ago.
“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," said Markell. "It’s an example of how after four years of launching our Race to the Top plan, we have worked with our teachers and administrators to build a foundation for improving student opportunities.”
Markell adds he sees the impact of Race to the Top funded programs in other places as well, including a 30 year low in Delaware’s dropout rate.
He expects to see those benefits continue even as the Race to the Top funding cycle comes to a close this year.
Full text of Governor Jack Markell’s weekly message
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.