Delaware
Education roundup: 2 Delaware schools nationally honored; UD offers new online certificate
Saint Mark’s student adds voice to SL24 awareness event
Maddi Way didn’t just suggest that her school host a SL24: Unlocke the Light Foundation tournament event, she spoke about mental health awareness before taking part on the court.
Delaware is looking ahead.
Two elementary schools are being honored nationally for student success, from progress toward cutting achievement gaps between groups, to sharpening English language acquisition. All the while, NASA is hoping to attract K-12 learners to STEM and maybe even thinking about rocket science.
In higher education, University of Delaware is marking its first year offering an online graduate certificate in epidemiology. The goal? Build a stronger workforce, better prepared for a future public health crisis like COVID-19.
In this weekly roundup, we’ll catch you up on these and other education updates you may have missed.
(Did we miss another good education story? Let me know: kepowers@gannett.com)
2 Delaware schools land national honors
Rehoboth Elementary and Lake Forest South Elementary landed among a host of schools named 2024 National ESEA Distinguished Schools.
The honor comes “for the extraordinary success of their students,” Delaware’s Department of Education shared in a press release. The national association has been highlighting schools since 1996.
Lake Forest School District’s honoree was recognized for closing achievement gaps between student groups and for the academic progress that the students made last school year on standardized tests. Principal Kevin Truitt will welcome the honor.
Cape Henlopen’s Rehoboth Elementary, led by Principal Doris Person, was recognized for serving special populations, while progress toward English language proficiency in particular caught attention last school year.
Next up, these nationally distinguished schools will be honored in a national conference in Texas come February.
Back home in Delaware, DDOE recognized 15 additional schools with “Continued Excellence” awards. Such schools have qualified as a “Recognition School” for the second consecutive year so are ineligible for the recognition award this year.
Check out the full list online.
UD offers online certificate in epidemiology, aiming for a better-prepared workforce
Palma Bauman described epidemiology like zooming out.
“It’s a part of public health, looking at things from a bigger, broader viewpoint,” the University of Delaware graduate student explained. “So you can really look at specific populations and try to work on disease prevention and promotion based on ‘social determinants of health’ – which are things like socioeconomic status, environmental health, access to healthcare – and these are all things that I think are not talked about enough.”
Structural barriers can prevent equitable access to health care, especially during crisis. Currently working on a master’s degree in public health and epidemiology, Bauman knew she wanted to work in health but couldn’t imagine a doctor’s office. Then COVID-19 offered one more push toward public health.
In the heat of pandemic, epidemiologists played a “critical role” in trying to protect public health, while providing governments and health organizations with necessary data that informed policy and strategy, according to UD.
It also laid bare Delaware’s need for more.
For the first time this year, UD’s College of Health Sciences launched a new “Epidemiology Graduate Certificate,” a fully online program aimed at post-pandemic workforce needs. Across the U.S. right now, less than 15% of this workforce has academic training in public health, according to professor Jennifer Horney.
“Certificate programs give those in the workforce the flexibility to receive a graduate level certification, while remaining in the workforce,” the founding director of UD’s Epidemiology Program said in an email. Given burnout and short hands, Horney said the state must “replenish that workforce with a pipeline of students and professionals, especially with training in outbreak response and disease investigation.”
The one-year certificate program aims at professionals already at work in health fields, as well as students in related fields looking for more expertise in epidemiology. The first cohort has six students.
“During the pandemic, public health workers in many areas like environmental health, substance abuse and maternal and child health were moved into responsibilities related to the pandemic response, due to a shortage of trained epidemiologists,” Horney said, also noting she hopes to gain discounts for staff at partner agencies.
“To be better prepared for future public health emergencies, we need a much more robust workforce with training in epidemiology and biostatistics.”
Autism Delaware to host ‘Snowflake Soirée’ to boost funds, inclusion
Autism Delaware says mark your calendars for a night in Rehoboth Beach.
“Autism Delaware is thrilled to present The Snowflake Soirée, an unforgettable night set to become a staple on Sussex County’s social calendar,” the nonprofit wrote in a press release. At 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15, the festivities will fill Rehoboth Beach Convention Center for “an elegant evening” dedicated to boosting funds and awareness for Autism Delaware’s programs.
Attendees can expect a curated menu, dancing, live music from Jellyroll Band – a powerhouse 12-piece group, according to organizers – as well as a silent auction. You must be 21 or older to go and expect cocktail attire.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit Autism Delaware’s website or contact the nonprofit directly at (302) 220-6020. One ticket is $125, with additional sponsoring options.
Houston: We have a NASA Moon Exploration Challenge for K-12 students
NASA just launched its fourth “Power to Explore Student Challenge.”
The STEM writing challenge invites K-12 students to, first, learn about radioisotope power systems, “a type of nuclear battery that has, for over 60 years, allowed NASA to explore the harshest, darkest and dustiest parts of our solar system and enabled spacecraft to study its many moons,” NASA said in a release. Then, students are challenged to explain, in a short essay, how they’d use RPS to explore one of our solar system’s hundreds of moons.
Submissions, limited to 275 words, are due by Jan. 31, 2025. One grand-prize winner from each grade category – K-4, 5-8, 9-12 – will receive a trip to NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. More information on how to get involved can be found on the competition website.
ICYMI: Saint Mark’s volleyball player raised $30K for mental health
Maddi Way set up a charity volleyball tournament at her Saint Mark’s High School and raised some $30,324 for mental health awareness in the process, as previously reported by Delaware Online/The News Journal.
The junior linked up SL24: UnLocke the Light Foundation, a vocal organization sharing mental health awareness and resource in Delaware, to organize the “Serving Up Support” tournament. It marked the first of its kind for the school.
Serving Up Support follows a summer of similar events that have supported UnLocke the Light, in memory of former Saint Mark’s student Sean Locke. For this October tournament, Saint Mark’s auditorium filled with students and families, while the lobby packed with SL24 volunteers. Tickets sold at $7 to support the foundation.
Way was inspired by her own experience.
“Most people know me as a fun-loving, energetic volleyball player that is committed to my teammates, coaches and classmates. What they don’t know is that deep down, I struggle,” Way said. “The reason I agreed to speak on this topic tonight is to encourage any of you that are in pain or who are suffering to speak up.”
Her team then topped Newark Charter 3-1, clinching the tournament back in October.
Got a story? Kelly Powers covers race, culture and equity for Delaware Online/The News Journal and USA TODAY Network Northeast, with a focus on education. Contact her at kepowers@gannett.com or (231) 622-2191, and follow her on X @kpowers01.
He speaks for silent Gettysburg witnesses
Greg Gober is fascinated by the living link to Gettysburg’s history – and he wants to protect the trees that stood by during the battle 161 years ago.
“Pages of history” features excerpts from The News Journal archives including The Morning News and The Evening Journal. See the archives at delawareonline.com.
March 1, 2006, The News Journal
Under plan, 59% electric rate hike to be phased in
Delmarva Power has proposed phasing in electricity rate increases to reduce the shock of a 59% price hike for residents scheduled to begin May 1.
If the proposal is approved by the state, the typical residential bill would go up slightly less than $18 a month on May 1. Then on Jan. 1, the typical bill would go up again by the same amount. On May 1, 2007, a last increase of $34 would be added, assuming no other change in the market price for electricity. …
Delmarva Power officials unveiled the proposal Tuesday as part of a response to an executive order issued last month by Gov. Ruth Ann Minner. She asked state agencies to study possible responses to the rate hike, including the option of reregulating the industry.
In 1999, state lawmakers removed controls on the price of wholesale electricity, reshaping the power market in the state. As part of the change, electricity rates were lowered by 7.5% until 2003.
Delmarva Power says the coming 59% increase is mainly caused by price hikes in the cost of the fuels that generate electricity, such as natural gas and coal.
Under deregulation, Delmarva must buy about one-third of its total power needs on the wholesale market every year. If the wholesale market is lower next year, customers could save some money. If the wholesale market is up, then rates could go even higher than they are currently expected to go….
Deregulation was expected to reduce electricity prices by bringing competition to the electric market, but only the largest power customers in the state are able to shop for power. Residents do not have a choice about who supplies their electricity.
Some lawmakers are calling for the state to reregulate the industry….
Reregulating part or all of the electricity market is unlikely to have any impact on the 59% rises in bills, experts say, but could prevent dramatic price spikes in the future….
March 3, 1976, The Morning News page
Sussex prison dilemma prompts judicial warning
If the General Assembly doesn’t do something soon about the crumbling Sussex Correctional Institution, he will, a federal judge strongly hinted yesterday.
Judge Murray M. Schwartz said he frankly hopes lawmakers will come up with the extra $1.6 million needed for a thorough overhaul of the Georgetown prison this month.
If they do, he said, it probably will “wash out” the inmates’ suit to close the prison. Schwartz is hearing the suit now, but isn’t expected to make a ruling for several months.
Should he find that the “legislature has abdicated its responsibilities [to the prison],” Schwartz warned, “then that has opened up a hole the federal court will have to fill.”
The state earmarked $2 million from a bond issue for Sussex prison renovation, but the base construction bid opened in January was $2.8 million. With alternate improvements officials want, the cost would rise to $3.4 million.
Acting Correction Commissioner Paul Keve, a defendant in the inmates’ suit, said it “looks very hopeful” that $1.6 million originally appropriated for another prison project will be reallocated to the Sussex work….
Several times yesterday, Schwartz expressed puzzlement over the state’s defense to the suit which seemed to be, “Yes, Sussex is bad, but we’re going to improve it,” the judge remarked.
The improvements are part of the defense, replied Deputy Atty. Gen. John Willard. But he said he would also contend the prison’s deficiencies aren’t an unconstitutional denial of due process or cruel and unusual punishment, as the inmates claim.
The prison’s 45-year-old main building “defeats efforts to improve it in a superficial way,” Keve said, and demands instead a “drastic, complete, comprehensive” renovation.
He said a new kitchen is most urgently needed, but the plans also call for complete replacement of the plumbing, electrical and heating systems, construction of a gymnasium, medical-dental suite and space for classrooms and group discussions.
Prisoners have complained of a lack of rehabilitation programs….
March 6, 1926, The Evening Journal
Woman, baby, dog rescued from burning home
Mary Anderson … and a year-old baby were carried from the burning house at 4 W. 12th St. in Wilmington this morning. …
The fire, which originated in the chimney of the house, caused a spectacular blaze that destroyed the roof and damaged the interior of the dwelling, and drew a large crowd.
Trolley traffic on Market Street was tied up for 20 minutes or more. Long lines of cars from the Boulevard, Washington, Shellpot and Darby lines blocked both tracks for two squares or more, owing to the lines of fire hose that were stretched across Market Street.
The fire was first discovered by Mrs. Anderson who was in the house with the year-old baby of Margaret Thomas who was at work. Smelling smoke, Mrs. Anderson went to the second floor and seeing a flame around the stove pipe hole in the chimney, threw water on it. Thinking she had extinguished the fire, she started downstairs.
In the meantime, the blaze broke out around the edge of the roof and the smoke was seen by John Wright and Stanley Pletuszka, who were in the office of the Pittsburg Independent Oil Company at 12th and Market streets.
Wright ran to the fire alarm box at 13th and King streets and turned in an alarm to which Engine Companies 1,7 and 10 and Truck Company 1 responded.
Pletuszka ran to the house where he was joined by Lloyd Smith of West 13th Street. Finding the door fastened and knowing that Mrs. Anderson and the baby were in the house, they broke down the door.
They met Mrs. Anderson coming downstairs and when an attempt was made to get her to leave, she refused, insisting that the fire was out. The rescuers had to carry the woman from the burning building, then returning they found the baby in the lower part of the house and carried it to the home of a neighbor where the baby and the woman were cared for.
Herbert Johnson, son of Mrs. Anderson of Orange Street, hearing that his mother’s home was on fire, hurried there and with other men saved practically all of the furniture in the house. A small dog, owned by Mrs. Anderson, was rescued by Johnson, but a larger dog defied the efforts of other men to take it from the house. …
The firemen prevented the spread of the fire by deluging the building with water, the chemical streams first used being found insufficient to check the fire. …
The loss is estimated at $800.
Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com.
RADNOR, Pa. – Authorities say a Delaware County school employee is accused of traveling to Texas to sexually assault a minor he met online.
What we know:
Michael Robinson, 43, was taken into custody near Radnor Middle School where investigators say he worked as a paraprofessional.
Investigators believe Robinson traveled to Tyler, Texas in the summer of 2024 to meet a minor he had connected with online.
Robinson, according to U.S. Marshals, allegedly sexually assaulted the teen over the course of a weekend.
Delaware County school employee accused of sex assault of minor in Texas
Prosecutors in Smith County, Texas charged Robinson in December with Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child Under 15-years-old.
Robinson is being held at a Delaware County jail where he is awaiting extradition to Texas.
What they’re saying:
U.S. Marshals in Pennsylvania said Robinson’s arrest shows that “sexual predators will always be pursued relentlessly.”
The Radnor Township School District said Robinson has been placed on leave and will not have contact with students.
“Parents of the limited number of children to whom the employee was assigned were contacted by the administration immediately.”
The district said it is cooperating with law enforcement and has “no information indicating misconduct involving district students.”
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