National Shout-outs to Delaware & Rodel

Rodel’s focus is always on the long-term success of our students and we are far from being able to declare victory on that front. It’s nice to take a moment every now and then, though, and reflect on how far the state has come. To that end, here are some kudos we’ve received recently:

• We’ve mentioned before that Delaware received the Education Commission for the States’ annual 2013 Frank Newman Award for State Innovation. This is a very prestigious honor that is representative of the perception many public and private leaders across the country have of our state. In recent years we’ve raised our standards, made professional development stronger, raised expectations for teachers and leaders, invested significantly in early childhood education—and we’ve started to see the fruits of this progress in last year’s test scores.
• The Rodel Foundation has been commended as one of two organizations nationally that have successfully devised and implemented successful, long-term reform that has had a positive effect on student achievement. The praise comes from Dr. Marc Porter Magee, president and founder of 50CAN. Certainly, we are just a small part of a much greater effort that includes teachers, parents, students, and leaders at all level, but it’s nice to be acknowledged!
• U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan visited Wilmington on Monday to discuss early education and hear Governor Markell’s plan to revamp Delaware’s preschool education.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the work of the incredible education leaders doing work in the classrooms and in our communities, and we look forward to those stories being highlighted at this year’s upcoming Superstars in Education awards, as well as our very own iEducate Delaware, which launches for 2013 in May. There’s still a lot of work to be done, and we’re glad we have all of these dedicated and talented individuals working every day for our students.