Governor Markell creates group to support new federal education law

Governor Jack Markell is apparently calling a new federal education law an opportunity for teachers, school leaders, parents, and others to build on record graduation rates and other progress happening in Delaware schools.

On Tuesday, Governor Markell signed Executive Order 62, which reportedly brings together a diverse group of stakeholders to provide input for the state plan required by the federal Every Students Succeeds Act, or ESSA.

Government officials say that the plan, which the U.S. Department of Education is expected to require by sometime next year, will detail efforts to:

• Implement academic standards aligned with what students need to know stay on track for success in college and the workplace
• Ensure students from all backgrounds have access to high-quality educational opportunities from pre-school through high school
• Support training, retention, and professional advancement of great educators
• Track progress of schools across a variety of measures, not limited to test scores, and identify ways to offer additional support where students are struggling

The Governor apparently noted that improvements from the last major federal education law, No Child Left Behind, mean that states have more flexibility in ways to support students, including how to measure schools’ progress and new opportunities to focus on early childhood education, which has been a top priority of the Markell Administration.

“We should all be proud of the progress we have made over the last few years, when we have seen thousands more low-income families enroll children in high-quality early childhood programs, recorded the fastest-growing graduation rate in the country, offered thousands more students the chance to earn workplace experience and college credit while in high school, and given more students access to college,” said Markell.

“ESSA provides an exciting chance for us to build on that momentum – to better support and attract great teachers and ensure all of our students have access to the education they deserve, no matter their backgrounds. More flexibility in how states approach these issues means more responsibility for us to make sound decisions and as we develop our state’s plan under ESSA. The executive order I sign today will help engage our teachers, school leaders, parents, and other advocates to ensure a successful process.”

The Executive Order reportedly outlines the variety of education leaders and advocates who must be represented on the committee and provides the group with the opportunity to review drafts of the state plan and submit recommendations to the Secretary of Education.

Government officials say that a chair will be announced in advance of the first meeting and the group will include representatives of:

• Parents in every county
• Educators from urban and rural communities
• The State Board of Education
• The Delaware State Education Association
• The Delaware Association of School Administrators
• The Delaware School Board’s Association
• The Delaware Charter School Network
• The Wilmington Education Improvement Commission
• The Early Childhood Council
• Delaware English Language Teachers and Advocates
• An organization advocating for students with disabilities
• Delaware’s business community
• Workforce development programs
• The General Assembly

“After engaging in initial discussions with a wide variety of education stakeholders on development of our ESSA plan, this advisory committee represents an important next step in supporting our communication with teachers, administrators, and parents who are working hard to support our students,” said Delaware Education Secretary Steve Godowsky. “This group will help ensure we fully consider a wide range of perspectives and set our state on a path of continued improvement.”

The department also will apparently engage representatives of stakeholder groups in two discussion groups.

• The first group will focus discussions on technical topics related to Measures of School Success and Reporting.  
• The second group will focus discussions on provisions for Student and School Supports.

Participants for these topical discussion groups can be nominated on the department’s ESSA web site through September 9, 2016, and the discussion groups will provide information to the Advisory group created by this Executive Order.