Delaware
Milford School Counselor Delaware 2024 Behavioral Health Professional of the Year – State of Delaware News
Shannon Gronau, a school counselor from the Milford School District, is the state’s 2024 Delaware Behavioral Health Professional of the Year.
Secretary of Education Mark Holodick and House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst made the announcement at a statewide banquet honoring the district and charter network behavioral health professionals of the year.
The Mispillion Elementary School counselor said by building strong relationships with students, she’s able to understand how to best support them.
Gronau told the story of a student who “hated school.
“This feeling manifested in many negative ways like attendance issues and aggression. Their parent considered pulling them from school,” she said. “To help I had to understand the student’s needs by building a strong, positive relationship.”
Through check-ins and weekly counseling, she helped the child build coping and anger management skills. She realized the student didn’t feel connected at school and didn’t have healthy morning and night routines at home. She also learned the student’s mother had died, and her family was grieving. Gronau helped connect the student to therapy, worked with the child’s teacher on classroom behavioral techniques and met with the child’s parent to help develop good morning/nighttime routines. She also worked with the school’s family interventionist to connect the family with needed community resources.
As their work together progressed, she offered the student the opportunity to help her run a small group to help other girls in the school also feeling a lack of connection. Today the student is flourishing at school and home.
“From this experience, I saw true growth because the student believed in their ability to do well and had someone that believed in them,” Gronau said.
Teaching leadership development is one of Gronau’s passions. She created a peer leadership group project that trains fourth and fifth grade students to mentor first graders who need a positive connection at school.
“Students thrive when they believe in their unique abilities and are given the opportunity to be a role model for younger students,” she said.
Her assistant principal, Ashley Ganley, said Gronau is beloved by her students.
“Walking the halls, you can see the hugs and waves she receives. The students trust her and confide in her,” Ganley said. “During her workday, Shannon can be found providing individual and group counseling. Her students learn valuable self-regulation skills in small groups or whole classes, which is so needed in today’s classroom and society.”
The Delaware State Behavioral Health Professional of the Year (BHPY) program is administered by the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE). The program recognizes outstanding service by school employees who are health care practitioners or human service providers who offer services for the purpose of improving an individual’s mental health. The Delaware Charter School Network also is invited to participate. Employees considered for the award include:
- School counselors
- School social workers
- Licensed clinical social workers
- School psychologists
- School nurses
From those nominated at a local level, one behavioral health professional of the year moves forward to represent each district or the charter school community in the state program. Each district/charter network winner receives a $2,000 personal award from the winner’s district or charter school. The state program then chooses one person annually to serve as Delaware’s Behavioral Health Professional of the Year. State winners receive an additional $3,000 personal award from DDOE as well as $5,000 to be used for the educational benefit of his or her students.
Learn more about all the 2024 District/Charter Behavioral Health Professionals of the Year here.
Media contact: Alison May, alison.may@doe.k12.de.us, 302-735-4006
Related Topics: award, Delaware, education, professional, support, year
Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.
Here you can subscribe to future news updates.
Shannon Gronau, a school counselor from the Milford School District, is the state’s 2024 Delaware Behavioral Health Professional of the Year.
Secretary of Education Mark Holodick and House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst made the announcement at a statewide banquet honoring the district and charter network behavioral health professionals of the year.
The Mispillion Elementary School counselor said by building strong relationships with students, she’s able to understand how to best support them.
Gronau told the story of a student who “hated school.
“This feeling manifested in many negative ways like attendance issues and aggression. Their parent considered pulling them from school,” she said. “To help I had to understand the student’s needs by building a strong, positive relationship.”
Through check-ins and weekly counseling, she helped the child build coping and anger management skills. She realized the student didn’t feel connected at school and didn’t have healthy morning and night routines at home. She also learned the student’s mother had died, and her family was grieving. Gronau helped connect the student to therapy, worked with the child’s teacher on classroom behavioral techniques and met with the child’s parent to help develop good morning/nighttime routines. She also worked with the school’s family interventionist to connect the family with needed community resources.
As their work together progressed, she offered the student the opportunity to help her run a small group to help other girls in the school also feeling a lack of connection. Today the student is flourishing at school and home.
“From this experience, I saw true growth because the student believed in their ability to do well and had someone that believed in them,” Gronau said.
Teaching leadership development is one of Gronau’s passions. She created a peer leadership group project that trains fourth and fifth grade students to mentor first graders who need a positive connection at school.
“Students thrive when they believe in their unique abilities and are given the opportunity to be a role model for younger students,” she said.
Her assistant principal, Ashley Ganley, said Gronau is beloved by her students.
“Walking the halls, you can see the hugs and waves she receives. The students trust her and confide in her,” Ganley said. “During her workday, Shannon can be found providing individual and group counseling. Her students learn valuable self-regulation skills in small groups or whole classes, which is so needed in today’s classroom and society.”
The Delaware State Behavioral Health Professional of the Year (BHPY) program is administered by the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE). The program recognizes outstanding service by school employees who are health care practitioners or human service providers who offer services for the purpose of improving an individual’s mental health. The Delaware Charter School Network also is invited to participate. Employees considered for the award include:
- School counselors
- School social workers
- Licensed clinical social workers
- School psychologists
- School nurses
From those nominated at a local level, one behavioral health professional of the year moves forward to represent each district or the charter school community in the state program. Each district/charter network winner receives a $2,000 personal award from the winner’s district or charter school. The state program then chooses one person annually to serve as Delaware’s Behavioral Health Professional of the Year. State winners receive an additional $3,000 personal award from DDOE as well as $5,000 to be used for the educational benefit of his or her students.
Learn more about all the 2024 District/Charter Behavioral Health Professionals of the Year here.
Media contact: Alison May, alison.may@doe.k12.de.us, 302-735-4006
Related Topics: award, Delaware, education, professional, support, year
Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.
Here you can subscribe to future news updates.
Foreclosure filings climbed in April, with Delaware, South Carolina, and Florida emerging as the nation’s primary hot spots for distressed property activity.
Across the U.S., foreclosure rates are up 18% from a year ago, according to the latest data from ATTOM. And in the last month, there were a total of 42,430 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings. The total includes default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions. While that might seem high, it’s down 8% from March.
Meanwhile, foreclosure starts were up 12% from a year ago, while completed foreclosures increased 42%.
“Foreclosure activity continued its gradual trend higher in April, with both foreclosure starts and completed foreclosures posting annual gains,” said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM.
“While overall filings declined from the previous month, the year-over-year increases suggest lenders may be working through distressed inventory as higher borrowing costs and affordability challenges impact some homeowners.”
Nationwide, 1 in every 3,388 housing units had a foreclosure filing in April, according to the firm’s latest report.
“Even so, foreclosure activity remains significantly below pre-pandemic levels,” said Barber.
ATTOM’s report incorporates documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: default and notice of default; notice of foreclosure; and real estate-owned or REO properties, defined as properties that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank.
Worst foreclosure states
The state with the worst foreclosure rate in April 2026 was Delaware, with 1 in every 1,739 housing units there showing a foreclosure filing.
In Delaware, the median listing price is $500,000 and homes stay on the market a median of 48 days, according to Realtor.com® data.
“Delaware’s high foreclosure rate is partly a math problem,” said Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com. “With a relatively small number of total housing units, it doesn’t take many filings to produce an alarming per-unit figure, so the rate overstates how dire conditions are for the average Delaware homeowner compared to a larger state with far more absolute filings.”
Even so, Jones says there is real underlying stress.
“Delaware recently completed its first comprehensive property tax reassessment in roughly 40 years, and many homeowners saw their tax bills jump, which pushed some over the financial edge,” she says.
Delaware real estate agent Jennifer Allan tells Realtor.com that overall housing costs and the rising cost of living also contribute to escalating foreclosure rates.
“In addition to taxes, Delaware has seen a sharp increase in overall housing costs over the last several years—not just mortgage payments, but also insurance, HOA costs, and general cost-of-living pressures,” she says. “Those rising ownership costs are becoming difficult for some households to absorb.”
Behind Delaware on the list of states with the highest foreclosure rates is South Carolina (1 in every 1,745). It has a median listing price of $365,000, with homes staying on the market a median of 54 days.
“South Carolina’s foreclosure pressure is largely a consequence of its own growth,” says Jones. “Rapid in-migration drove home prices well beyond what local income levels could support, and many buyers who purchased near the peak of that appreciation, with elevated mortgage rates on top, are now left with high monthly payments and little equity cushion. When financial stress hits, those homeowners have limited ability to refinance or sell their way out.”
In third place is Florida, with 1 in every 2,092 housing units there showing a foreclosure filing. Florida has a median listing price of $426,000, with homes staying on the market a median of 74 days.
“Florida homeowners are being squeezed from multiple directions simultaneously,” says Jones. “Homeowners insurance premiums have surged dramatically in recent years due to climate and storm risk, and property taxes have climbed alongside rapidly appreciated home values.”
Jones adds that Florida also has an unusually high concentration of condo owners, who face not only mortgage payments but rising HOA fees—expenses that get passed directly to unit owners.
“Together, these stacking costs have made monthly homeownership burdens unsustainable for a growing number of residents,” she says.
Rounding out the top five states for foreclosure rates are Indiana (1 in every 2,129) and Illinois (1 in every 2,262).
The median listing price in Indiana is $299,900, with a median time on the market of 44 days. In Illinois, the median listing price is $312,423, with 38 days on the market.
Indiana real estate agent Fred Krawczyk of Fred Krawczyk & Associates—who specializes in short sales—tells Realtor.com, “After COVID, we had artificial appreciation here in Indiana, and people were pulling out money and refinancing. As a result, I’m getting one to two foreclosures a week right now.”
Metros with the most foreclosures
Among metro areas with populations above 500,000, Lakeland, FL, recorded the highest foreclosure rate in April, with one filing for every 1,221 housing units.
In Lakeland, the median listing price is $335,000 and homes stay on the market a median of 75 days.
Following Lakeland is Columbia, SC (1 in every 1,287) and Charleston, SC (1 in every 1,483).
Columbia has a median listing price of $300,000 and a median time on the market of 43 days. In Charleston, the median listing price is $499,945, with 44 days on the market.
Rounding out the top five are Bakersfield, CA (1 in every 1,566), and Cape Coral, FL (1 in every 1,628).
The median listing price is $403,995 in Bakersfield and $399,600 in Cape Coral.
The median time on the market is 48 days in Bakersfield and 82 days in Cape Coral.
“There is definitely an element of people in certain parts of Florida who bought too high during the pandemic real estate boom and now need to sell and find themselves essentially upside down,” says Florida real estate agent Cara Ameer with Coldwell Banker.
Salesianum’s James Dempsey breaks down win in NCCo boys 1,600
Dempsey won in 4:11.24, which moved him to third on the state all-time performance list.
The Padua and Tatnall girls and the Middletown and Saint Mark’s boys will defend their state titles at the 2026 DIAA Track and Field Championships on May 15 and 16 at Dover High.
Here is a look at the history of the meet with the most recent champions.
Which school has won the most Delaware outdoor track and field state championships?
With 21 Division I titles, Salesianum has won the most boys outdoor track and field state championships. Padua has won 25 state championships, including 23 Division I titles.
Who are the winningest Delaware high school outdoor track and field coaches?
Tatnall’s Patrick Castagno has led the most state championship teams with 12 girls titles and four boys titles. Padua’s Marnie Giunta has won 13 girls state titles.
Brandon Holveck reports on high school sports for The News Journal. Contact him at bholveck@delawareonline.com.
Delaware
Buffalo woman pleads guilty to charges in connection with vandalism at The Terrace at Delaware Park
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Buffalo woman has pleaded guilty to charges in connection with vandalism at The Terrace at Delaware Park in October 2025.
The Erie County District Attorney’s Office announced that 40-year-old Stacy M. Matthews pleaded guilty before Buffalo City Court Judge Rebecca Town to one count of fourth-degree criminal mischief and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.
Erie County District Attorney’s Office
According to the DA, on October 16, 2025, Matthews drove six juveniles under her care to a business on Lincoln Parkway, and the juveniles, between the ages of 10 and 16, intentionally vandalized outdoor furniture and windows, causing approximately $2,000 in damage to the property.
The DA said that as a condition of the plea, Matthews signed a Confession of Judgment to pay $2,000 in restitution to the victim. Matthews faces a maximum of 364 days in jail when she is sentenced on June 9, 2026 and a temporary order of protection, issued on behalf of the property owner, remains in effect.
7 News spoke with Mike Shatzel, co-owner of The Terrace at Delaware Park, where the vandalism occurred, last October.
“It’s just disturbing that people have nothing better to do than come and just destroy things,” Shatzel said in October.
You can watch our previous story below.
WATCH: The Terrace at Delaware Park vandalized multiple times over the last two weeks
The Terrace at Delaware Park vandalized multiple times over the last two weeks
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