Inspiring a Generation of Little Colonials: Q&A with Dusty Blakey
Dusty Blakey, Ed.D. was named the superintendent of the Colonial School District in June of 2014. Since then—and throughout his 13-year tenure with the district—Blakey has made early childhood education a major priority.
We talked to Blakey, who also serves on the Delaware Early Childhood Council, about the importance of early...
Solving for Delaware’s Kindergarten Readiness Equation
Whether you’ve seen us or not—chances are there’s a Delaware Readiness Team in your neck of the woods, making sure your community’s youngest citizens are as prepared as they can be for the big world that awaits them.
Delaware Readiness Teams are making a major impact up and down the state. We’re a statewide initiative...
Continuing to Appeal for Early Learning Investments
As this recent News Journal article summarized, due in part to a budget shortfall, Delaware will not fund tiered reimbursements for new early learning programs entering the Stars quality rating program this fiscal year. The same is true of existing programs that are attempting to move up in Stars rating.
Already, we in the early...
Delaware Still Lagging Behind in State-Supported Pre-K
According to the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), Delaware ranks 35th among states for pre-K enrollment, with only seven percent (845) of four-year olds enrolled in state-sponsored pre-K.
(To see more on pre-K enrollment across the country, check out NIEER’s State of Preschool Yearbook.)
Despite Delaware’s laudable...