The Delaware Vision Coalition releases its third 10-year plan for public education, hoping to boost testing scores and bring high literacy rates back to the First State.
The Vision Coalition is a public-private partnership with a leadership team composed of education, business, government, nonprofit and community stakeholders working to improve Delaware public education.
The coalition released 10-year plans in 2006 and 2015 and report 70% of those policy recommendations advanced, including progress around early child care and pre-k funding, social emotional learning, educator workforce growth and retention and mental health support.
The 2035 Student Equity and Excellence Plan places career and life readiness at the center of its policy recommendations with priorities in universal pre-K, literacy development, early career exploration and exposure, a flexible funding system that meets students' needs and a well-compensated, well-supported diverse education workforce.
"I recognize that when you look in recent years — and it's not throwing shade at anyone, it's all of us — we have as a state invested hundreds of millions of dollars of additional resources into our school system, and we have to be honest with ourselves that many Delawareans are looking and saying, 'Where is the return? Where is that value for that additional investment?'" Gov. Matt Meyer said at the plan's launch event. "And I think the value ultimately will be in executing this vision."
Delaware's Secretary of Education Cindy Marten relayed the bulk of the plan, emphasizing that while academic skills need to remain at the foundation of career and life readiness, other skills such as critical thinking and self-determination — which the coalition has deemed "North Stars" — need to be uplifted as well.
"We teach our students to become highly literate, engaged participating members of our community, and whatever standardized test we give to them — the state test, the local test, the national test — they're going to do well on those because we've educated the student to think critically," Sec. Marten said. "And the North Stars that are existing in critical thinking, wellbeing, communication, self-determination and community commitment, those are not measured on a standardized test, and yet the Vision Coalition has named them proudly to say, 'This is what we want for our students in Delaware.'"
Sec. Marten is particularly interested in putting an emphasis on universal, high-quality pre-K.
“So if we do not in Delaware have expanded access to early education, which you see the commitments very clearly in the Vision Coalition — you can see how important it is that we expand access to high quality early care.”
As a former kindergarten teacher herself, Marten says literacy starts before students enter the classroom for the first time, and providing better support from birth to five can increase those skills.
The 10-year roadmap was developed over the course of more than a year and informed by input from over 1,000 Delawareans through surveys, town hall events, and webinars.
You can read the full 2035 Student Equity and Excellence Plan here.
The coalition is also encouraging legislators to support House Bill 51, which would expand the Delaware Educator Apprenticeship Program to include paraprofessional apprenticeships.
The Public Education Funding Commission continues to work on recommendations to develop a new education funding formula for the First State. The commission's next meeting will be held on April 14, where various formula alternatives are expected to be presented on.
