The First State Educate Spelling Bee will be held on Feb. 1, 2025 in Dover. (Photo by Elyse Lewin/Getty Images)

First State Educate, Scripps agree to new Spelling Bee

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

D-E-L-A-W-A-R-E, Delaware.  A state education group has partnered with the world-renowned and televised Scripps National Spelling Bee to host the state bee and encourage students who wouldn’t normally participate to do so. First State Educate is set to become a regional partner for the competition and the statewide sponsor for Delaware.  The group’s 2025 Regional Spelling Bee will prioritize opportunities …

September's webinar, held Thursday night, was to help the public understand student achievement data. (Photo from Shutterstock)

FSE details student achievement, understanding data

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

A state education group wants the public to know how to look through student data and decipher what it means, just a couple weeks after the state released its test scores, which are once again very low. RELATED: State test scores show 33% proficiency in math, 40% ELA Thursday’s meeting was the latest in a series of monthly webinars intended …

The new grant program will distribute $10,000 in funds. (Photo from Shutterstock)

FSE launches $10K grant program for board members

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

First State Educate, a state educational advocacy organization, has launched a mini grant program that will distribute a total of $10,000 to Delaware school board members.  “School boards play a pivotal role in decision making that can directly impact student outcomes,” said Julia Keleher, chief strategy and operations officer at First State Educate. The grants will help enhance the effectiveness …

School Board First State educate

First State Educate starts Center for School Board Excellence

Betsy PriceEducation, Headlines

A Delaware nonprofit dedicated to encouraging more public involvement in education is launching an online Center for School Board Excellence in Governance. First State Educate’s center will build on its monthly community action meetings that examine topics of interest to school boards and the people who interact with them, including how agendas are set or what to expect when you’re …

First State Educate's new free school board training has once-a-month sessions scheduled through December.

FSE launches another free training for school board members

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

The president of the tumultuous Christina School District Board of Education said a new – and free – training program from a state education group is much needed and very beneficial.  “I’ve had this conversation with other legislators about bringing in organizations like School Board Partners to train our board members, and I think if you look at what’s going …

Another year, another slew of education bills were discussed and passed the Delaware legislature in 2024. (Photo by Maksym Yemelyanov/Adobe Stock)

Education experts offer takeaways from 2024 school bills

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

With an 8.6% increase in state education funding for fiscal year 2025, which began July 1, the Delaware General Assembly continued its trend of passing legislation specific to the state’s schools.  There were dozens of educational bills passed this legislative year, which concluded June 30.  From college scholarships to improving school climate to establishing a commission to evaluate how schools …

The state's graduation rate is more than double the proficiency rates.

How is state grad. rate 88% with 31% math proficiency, 41% ELA?

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

Although just 31% of students in Delaware are proficient in math and 41% are proficient in English language arts, the graduation rate in First State high schools is 88%.  “While Delaware’s graduation rate is encouraging, understanding achievement requires a deeper look at student growth throughout their K-12 experience,” said Julia Keleher, chief strategy and operating officer for First State Educate, …

Wednesday's webinar was meant to engage community members into learning and giving feedback about public education in Delaware.

First State Educate details problems, solutions to education

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

An organization aiming to reform education in Delaware hosted an informative webinar Wednesday that painted a picture of a poor return on investment, the importance of a successful education system, the need to engage with legislators and more. First State Educate’s chief strategy and operating officer Julia Keleher hosted the virtual meeting, which also tried to get the sense of …

Delaware has six district referendums this school year, the most since the 2009-2010 school year.

Why Delaware is having the most school referendums in 14 years

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

The largest number of Delaware school districts in 14 years are holding elections in 2024 to ask their residents to agree to raise taxes for education. State and education leaders cite inflation, population growth, state-mandate raises for education, changes in funding and the COVID-19 pandemic as among reasons why six of the state’s 19 districts are making the case for …

Delaware has several groups directly focused on educational advocacy and reform.

Get to know the state’s education advocacy groups

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

Delaware pours billions of dollars into education each year, only to receive stressful news like some of the lowest standardized test scores in the country. A number of Delaware nonprofits devoted to improving education in the state want to see more impact for the state in jobs, test scores and another areas. Some have specific focuses such as encouraging more …