Colonial School District March 2026 board of education meeting

001...by some Williamson students and I'm going to have them now share with you what you're about to experience and also encourage you to join them later this month. So, let's now. Absolutely! So we have Mamma Mia that we've been working on for the past couple of months with the kids. They have given it their all. So we would love to see as many of you guys show out as possible to support this program. To kind of encourage that, we're giving you guys a little sneak peek. a couple songs to see from our students that have been working so hard. So thank you guys so much. The dates are going to be March 20th and 21st. We got a bunch of information coming out to you guys after the quick report. So with that being said,

002I'll let the stars shine. 7pm or 6pm. Love to see you guys there. Thank you so much for letting us meet you. Thank you so much! We haven't started a meeting yet, so you've got time to still chill and relax. I think we have three minutes. To continue with the revitalization of our theater programs, this coming summer, for the second summer in a row, we're sending two teachers from Wayside High School and two teachers from Willer Elementary to New York City Theater Broadway Professional Development. It's a four-day event, and they came back last summer and said, best thing they've ever done. and they beg, beg, beg to do a follow-up this summer. But I can tell you personally, seeing the production just in one year, I can already see the organizational impact of everything. It's

003one thing to just put it on stage and play, but there's so much behind the scenes to make a play a great play or a musical a great musical, and this, Professor DeBell, we're totally proud to support. So just sharing, they're going to do it. One more summer in New York City. Thank you, everyone. Appreciate it. Still have a minute. March 10th, 2026, Colonial School Board meeting to order. Please rise and join me. I'm enjoying Christiana and Basita as they leave the Pledge of Allegiance. To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. one nation under God, indivisible, with justice for all. Are there any additions or corrections to the agenda? I have none. That being said, do I hear a motion? Do I hear a second?

004Second. Are there any questions or comments? As moved by Mr. Law, seconded by Mrs. Smith. Are there any questions or comments from the board? All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed, nay. Motion carries. All right. Now moving over to the board meeting for our celebration of the E and the Power of We. This evening, our only E and the Power of We agenda item is our student board member's report. We're going to pass it on over to Van as soon as she gets the mic work. Game two. Good evening Colonials. Today I'll start off with sports updates. The biggest news I've been hearing is the boys basketball is going to the bottom. William Penn Boys Basketball plays Howard High School tomorrow, Wednesday the 11th at 8 p.m. for the

005basketball semifinals at the Bob Carpenter Center at University of Delaware. Keeping the basketball topic going, Unified Basketball was able to get to their playoff games, with their last games being a win against Seaford High School and a game against McKean High School. Lots of other spring sports have their first scrimmages and games of the season this and next week. There's a lot of recognitions I have up next. For girls basketball, second team all-conference winners was Sabaya Owens and Brianna Stallworth, and an honorable mention for Ja'Kayla Frazier. For boys basketball, first team, Kendall Riley-Garlic, second team, Erin Whitaker, and honorable mention for Chase Simmons. In boys swimming, Luke Stamball was a state qualifier for state swim meet. In indoor track, the 4x200 team qualified for nationals and they will be going to Virginia for an internationals

006competition. And lastly for boys wrestling, in seventh place at 215 pounds was Matthew Bishop, sixth place at 190 pounds was Jaden Tyler, and fourth place at 150 was Jameer Ross. In third place at 132 pounds was Kawan Holland. And also in third place at 106 pounds was Julian Phillips. And our state champ at 165 pounds is Kamar Miller. For girls wrestling, Angelica Lascano won state champ, her second win back-to-back. She won last year as a freshman and again this year as a sophomore, which is awesome. And overall, Penn finished fifth. as a team at State. State Champions. For social updates, this Thursday the 12th, which spots are filled, and Friday the 13th, which spots still are open and waiting to be filled, is our annual blood drive. Students 17 and older can sign up to

007donate blood, and students who are 16 years old can donate with a signed permission form that they can get from any of the Allied Health teachers. March 20th. At 6.30pm and the 21st at 1pm and 7pm, the William Penn Musical Department's Penn players will be performing the musical Malmonea. Science Olympia just had their competition this past weekend where William Penn placed 17th out of 50 teams in the state, where Marshall Arnith medaled in three of his events. And lastly, academic updates. This Thursday the 12th is the last day for AP students to cancel any AP exams that they have signed up for. They must have their parents or guardians email Ms. Handy Hayes requesting she cancel the exam. If they don't show up to an exam they still signed up for, they must pay a

008$40 cancellation fee per exam. It is now also the time for any students interested in distance learning and dual enrollment classes to get sign up information from Dr. Wigton in the Innovation Center. And lastly, the last day of our third marking period is March 19th. Thank you. And next up is time for board members and executive secretary to discuss items of information and topics from our precipitation. in various professional organizations and committees we'll start with the dollar school board association's legislative committee which is dr dorsey our next uh legislative committee meeting is april 27th uh executive from mr haney yes uh only thing that we changed was uh originally the legislation voted to oppose bill number 243 after reading it in some discussions we were able to override their vote to say that we're in

009support of the bill which allows the CFO for the school district to adjust the tax rate. So I'm the board representative for the strategic planning committee. The committee has completed their work and will be hearing a presentation from the full team later this evening. Dr. Renzo was very clear he was next. Student Chiefs School Officers Association. I take offense to that. So the Chief Schools Authorization Association, we had our two-day conference last week where we spent a large amount of time reviewing current education-related legislation and then developing a communication framework with legislators so that we can more effectively respond and give feedback and or support or not support for various pieces of legislation. as when legislative session starts, it tends to go fast and furious. feel that we are in the right spot to do

010that better this year than we've done before. We've spent a lot of time kind of looking at our systems and our communication network. Seems easy, but when you have 19 chiefs in a room, it's not as easy as you think to kind of streamline that. So it went very well, though. Another part of the first day, actually the second half of the first day, we were provided professional development from Dr. James Bridgford from the University of Delaware. sponsored by the UD's and DOE's Delaware Academy for School Leaders. He provided a pretty thoughtful and provoking presentation related to politics and educational leadership with specific emphasis on the role of the superintendent and the toll that it is taking on superintendents in the current political climate. I mean, I will say that after the first hour, I

011did pause and ask him if he was going to share any good news during the presentation, like what was the positive coming. He promised me that the second half would be more enlightening and empowering. It was enlightening and empowering, but it was a sobering presentation around the state of education in many places across the country. Unfortunately, like the one, the most... powerful slide was there, you know, superintendents are now getting death threats in this current environment and that was something that, you know, it was just kind of like a moment. So, but it was helpful. There was a framework provided in a way to approach the current climate as a leader for superintendents and support their district staff. So I do say it was actually very good. Talking about how... kind of saddening it was,

012but it was powerful. And then we spent the whole second day talking about DOE's newly released strategic plan that had come out earlier that week. And we were doing a crosswalk between it and the chief's focus areas and the alignments that we have with it and alignments we don't have with it. So it was just really a first look at it. And we spent a fair part of the morning, actually the whole second day talking about that. So it was a healthy use of our time. This one's me for right now. We had a meeting on March 3rd, which was the second meeting since the last December's vote for the redistricting plan. At this meeting on March 3rd, the consortium voted on the plan development and structure process that was going to be utilized to

013carry on the conversations around redistricting. For the board's attention, I'll share the framework with the board. It will be posted to the meeting, posted to the... the meeting minutes, but also it's been shared publicly by Reading ever since it was passed and even before it was passed it was discussed. The best way to describe it is there's going to be another process by which the Reading team analyzes and brings forward recommendations to the State Board of Ed regarding the redistricting in New Castle County. Two big things of note one there's going to be an outside vendor that they're going to be bringing in to support the work actually something to do the work and provide us the guidance we need the second is there is an executive committee formed of Stakeholders who are on the

014writing consortium and some I believe might not be but we do Whether she thinks it's a bonus or not. This Emily Falcon our CFO is on that executive committee. So I'll be sending the Redding Consortium and the Legislature the bill for her time that she spends on that on top of all the other things that she does across the state. But we're fortunate to have Emily on that, representing New Castle County, representing Colonial. So that's really the most of note information around the Redding Consortium at this time. Finally, the Major Capital Construction Review Committee, myself and Ted Rose is on that one. I attended the last meeting on Zoom. I'm telling you use the mic people on YouTube are telling you use the mic Never mind take the mic away We are looking at Leach

015schools in progress along with all the plans here for William Penn and some others to be determined as far as dates for that when it is coming up. So it's very nice, exciting things to see. And I'll leave the rest for Drew to present in two months. We did not have a, we had equipment on ground at Leach, big machines. They dig holes and create foundations and stuff. And then just today, they actually, we haven't built a school for a long time in Pullingham, so just bear with us here. They put in a temporary driveway, and so we have a picture of the temporary driveway opening up and now the equipment's going in. So it's a huge celebration for Leach, and we are looking to do a formal groundbreaking for Leach with the Leach students.

016when the site is appropriate for them to be on it because they'll be in specialized equipment, we'll need transportation, the whole variety of things. So we are excited about that. We hope, fingers crossed, early May for that one. And then William Penn, we hope to get out our RFPs. Shortly after hopefully next board meeting and then those quick turnaround time we'd like to see some late summer early fall activity on the William Penn Sports Complex. So yes, you are allowed to talk about that. That's all public information at some point. So we are excited about that. I think my favorite part to hear about was how excited the grounds crew is now that they're going to have multiple days to be able to work in. A lot of different things for the staff that we're

017thinking about that make things a lot easier. It's just so nice to hear the excitement. Alright, moving on with the public comment. So, real quick, just to let you know that at this time we're, no, we do public comment. As indicated on the public comment sheet, they can have it. When your name is called, you will have three minutes to speak. You're expected to remain in the designated area for speaking with the board, and failure to do so will result in your forfeiting your allotted time. Please note that board members are not obligated to respond to the opinion of the three-minute time slot. Administrative staff may be identified and asked to provide follow-up on specific questions and personnel issues regarding your child or children after the meeting. I have a follow-up comment from Ms. Rashida

018Campbell. Good evening to the board and guests. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. My name is Rashida Campbell, and I am a grandparent in the district of a middle schooler at Emmy Bethel. So like many other parents, and I'm sure each of you as well, we are deeply concerned about the consistently low proficiency towards math and reading for many of our students. I know many of our teachers are working really hard, but our results are still showing. or still telling us that we have gaps. I heard at the beginning of the meeting that you're planning to lay out a new strategic plan. So what I'll do is I'll just reserve my questions for that until after you kind of lay out the plan and let us know what specific measurable targets and goals

019that you're gonna lay out. But my real question is going back to Gunning-Betford. Gunning-Betford specifically has struggled with behavior and discipline. My grandson constantly tells me that he does not want to come back to the schools next year. because there's just too many bikes. And so for schools like Gunnebecker and any other schools that are in the district, my question is what concrete improvement plans are in place and maybe it's been covered in the strategic plan or maybe based on the results from the last school climate that the board is approving to be put in place and can you make those plans public for all of us to see and track? Thank you for your time and for your service to our students. Thank you, Ms. Scamble. Someone from Dr. Munger's office is going to

020reach out to you. And we have contact information. I have the number right here. Thank you so much. I was just going to say, Rashida, I think you left out something very important. Didn't you graduate from Williamson? I did. Class of 93. Class of 93. And my son was class of 2000. There you go. All right. I have Ms. Dawn Green. My name is Dawn Green. I'm very excited to learn more about the wonderful school who graduated from our school. And during that time, I was actively involved in our PTA at Southern Elementary and Governor's School. I also have had an opportunity to participate in our Parent Advisory Council. I supported three referendums with the school district, and I've also participated in... Thank you. And this partnership led to the opportunity for our Bless to

021Be a Blessing Outreach Program, where we have an opportunity to give Christmas to our children for their success. And I believe our children deserve discipline. They deserve to have a partnership. And I believe our community also deserves that leadership that's correct. I would like to bring you ideas and be part of a better work community. And I believe that we can. So I thank you for that. With that being said, all you guys are actually here to see us. That's great. First for everything. They all stayed when that was said. That film was going to be on film. I really couldn't handle it. I didn't know what was going on. I know. Really? Yes. What other secrets are you going to share? All right, so moving on to the next agenda item is the consent

022agenda. The items listed under the consent agenda have gone through board review, including documentation concerning these items that have been provided to all the board members and the public in advance. Items in the consent agenda generally include routine personnel and business office actions and updates, as well as approval of previous meeting minutes and education-related items such as choice and student placements. With that being said, do I hear a motion? I move that we approve all consent agenda items as presented. Do I hear a second? Second. All right. As moved by Dr. Dorsey, second by Mr. Handy. Are there any questions or concerns from the board? All right. All those in favor, please signify with saying aye. Aye. All those opposed, nay. Motion carries. All right. On to updates and action items. And we pass it

023over to Dr. Menzel. Thank you, Mr. Piqu. I think tonight we're in for a treat. We have our second. annual second presentation of the year from Miss Katie Katowski our director our supervisor of English language arts what I wanted to do is pass out before I call her up to the stand to the podium is we presented at the combined boards meeting recently where the history of what... This is a good intro song. I like it. I know. We aim to... We're trying to compete with Mamma Mia downstairs. So what I'm going to do also is just pass out... We did share with the board the journey that the board has been on learning about early literacy over the last three years. And so twice a year... Here's from Katie and her presentation is always

024exciting, so no pressure. We've got a special guest speaker too, which I'm not going to reveal. I'll let her share that part of it. Good evening. I'm Dr. DiPietro, Dr. Menver, our amazing board. It is my privilege and honor to stand up here again, as Dr. Menver mentioned, to be able to share our story and present on early years in colonial, what that looks like, sounds like, but you're not just going to hear from me tonight. You're going to invite my friends. Rich Bryson up here, the principal of Southern Elementary School and Stephanie Jones, the literacy coach from Southern Elementary School helped me share the story and how we are living the early literacy playbook here in Philadelphia. In addition to having Rich and Steph support us in our storytelling today, we are honored to

025have Secretary Martin join us, Kathy Kelly from the state as well, and our friend and colleague Tara Warnstein from School Kids. She's been supportive of this work all throughout our past four years. We are excited to hear her journey. Secretary Martin comes to us. She has been visiting Southern. This school year, really digging in and taking a look at what's happening in our K-1-2 classrooms. What does it look like? What does it sound like? She wants to talk to teachers, get into, speak to students. So we're excited to welcome her today and honor that she took the time not to spend with us. And I forgot I was a cougar. I'm like, yes, I'm a cougar. No, no, no. Oh, where's our bingo? We have an amazing big room today. Unfortunately, I don't have enough

026video boards for everyone. But the members of the board have a big award. And what we're going to do tonight is, as we share our story, You are going to listen for certain elements on those video boards. I'm going to ask a few of our friends at the board maybe to share out a square so that our participants in the audience might be able to hear what are some of those elements they're looking for. So Dr. Jones, could you just name one square on your board? PLC. PLCs. You guys use greedy? Could you read one square? Decoding an LC. Decoding an LC. stands for language comprehension. Mr. Manning? Minds are in progress. Ms. Smith? Multilingual support. President Piquette? Scarborough and Grote. Dr. Menzer? I don't see my favorite dibbles on here, but I'll go with

027MTSS alignment. MTSS alignment. Mr. Loughnau? We read. We read. Dr. Dorsey? Monitoring progress. We'll take it again. Is that Miss Ocampa? Foundational skills? Perfect. Miss Ocampa? Coaching cycles. All right. Miss Sage? Data conversations. What was that? Data conversations. So those are just some key words you're going to be listening to throughout this presentation. Alright, we read our vision and mission with all things in colonial we always ground ourselves in our vision and mission. What are we working for? What are we strategically planning for? Colonial school district envisions that all students will read at grade level by the end of third grade, layering the foundation with the rise of empowered readers, writers, thinkers, and speakers who will change the world. Our mission to do so is through... by creating competent, capable reading through evidence-aligned instruction, purposeful

028practice, and a culture that values every voice. We are grounded in the science of reading. We equipped our educators with the tools and knowledge needed to build strong literacy foundations, foster a love of reading, and empower lifelong learning. These tools enable students to build background knowledge and copy in complex text, think critically, and communicate effectively through writing, preparing them for success in upper grades. secondary education and beyond. And I just want to name and call out for Ms. Campbell, who thankfully you spoke up, we appreciate you speaking and sharing your voice. I hope that when you hear about the work that we're doing in our early literacy classrooms, we'll lead you to, okay, this is what's going to transpire up, this is how this is going to support our middle school and high school students.

029Alright, our favorite, Scarborough's Road. I know you all have that on the bingo board. I can't ever present without sharing this visual slide, right? So just a really nice reminder of how intricate and complicated learning to be is. You need to have the foundational skills that word recognition, phonological awareness to coping and set recognition to become fluent readers. But then also you need to have that language comprehension, the background knowledge, the vocabulary, the syntax. with sentence-level comprehension. All of that works together in our early childhood settings, but also in our secondary settings. Those two things combined are language comprehension and articulating is what creates skill reading. I'm going to turn to my group of friends and colleagues that I invited up here with me today. Thankfully they said yes. But their story is much more

030powerful coming from them. They live it every day. They're entrenched in the systems every day. And they're going to share a little bit about what that has looked like and felt like for the past two years. Go ahead. So good evening, President Lee. I intend to close the award. My name is Rich Bryson. I'm a professor at Southern Colorado National School. I appreciate the opportunity to share a literacy story for both myself and our school and how we worked to build a system that strengthens early literacy instruction. I was afforded the opportunity to join Early Literacy Leadership Academy, otherwise known as ELLA, during the 2012-2013 school year. The purpose of this award was to advance early literacy practices across the 50 schools. During this experience, I worked side by side with my instructional literacy coach

031to deepen our understanding of what the highest levered, actionable instructional steps look like in early literacy classrooms. For this work, he began to focus not just on what literacy instruction should look like, but how we as leaders can better support teachers in delivering strong research-based instructional grounded, sorry, research-based, instructional grounded in the science of reading. We continued our learning through the LFO work during the 2014-2015 school year. We had the opportunity to talk with Ms. Terri King from the principal at Castleville Elementary. During this experience, we observed how she could implement a walk-through system using the IPG tool. Which was essential which was a central component of the elder We were able to shadow her and follow her team as they conducted classroom walk-throughs observing how they gathered instructional evidence and provided meaningful feedback to

032teachers. Experience was instrumental in helping us think about how we could implement this similar system at Southern Elementary. So during the 25-26 school year, this school year The Southern Elementary School leadership team works to develop and implement our own walkthrough system in collaboration with our new literacy coach, Ms. Stephanie Jones, who is going to speak in a minute. Our system centers around three key steps. First is internalizing the lesson. Prior to entering any classroom, the literacy coach and I review and internalize the lesson to understand the intended instructional focus. Conducting weekly walkthroughs, we visit classrooms weekly using the admin tutorial to observe instructional practices and then we provide feedback. After the walkthroughs, we provide both grade level team feedback and individual teacher feedback focused specifically on instructional practices. This process has allowed us to create

033a consistent system of instructional support that is focused directly on improving early literacy instruction in our classrooms. In addition, we provide feedback We have also used the walk-through process to collect data on instructional trends and needs. This has been especially valuable in our kindergarten through second grade classrooms, where our strong literacy foundations are targeted, are critical by identifying patterns across classrooms and grade levels. we are able to provide targeted support and professional learning where it is needed most. On a personal level, this work has also helped me grow as a building administrator. Through this process of internalizing lessons learned in construction with the IEPs and tools, and analyzing classroom trends, I have developed a deeper understanding of the curriculum being implemented and the specific instructional practices we should be looking for. Ultimately, this process has

034helped me become a more content driven instructional observer, allowing me to better support teachers and ensure that high quality literacy instruction is consistently taking place across Southern Illinois. We are proud of the system we have built and excited about the continued impact this work will have on literacy success for our students. Also this year, we had an opportunity to share this process with the Secretary of Education, who joined us for instructional work. We are proud to highlight several bright spots that were recognized by the Secretary's team. This is a highlight of new, one-day, for this school-wide culture. Instructional, instruction across K-3 classrooms was strong, consistent, and aligned with CKL-L. Second grade, specifically the second grade team, in particular demonstrated impressive coherence. Leadership is deeply invested in improvement and models alarming alongside teachers. Our literacy coach

035to discuss the next steps. So it's stuff that's already occurring at Southern. We're just trying to enhance it this year and continue in this process. So one of the things that we're really focusing on is working on lesson and unit materialization, as well as rehearsal, which we actually did some feedback today where we did some rehearsal with a very veteran university teacher, and she did a great job. Also, we're kind of refining and kind of looking at... how students are doing in our foundational pieces and just really looking at CKLA pacing. We're also looking at coherence between CKLA and their intervention programs. So it's something that we're really working on through ELF, which is the next part of ELA that we're in with the fellowship. Something at Southern specifically that we're actually currently doing is

036we are piloting a kindergarten coherence plan. So our kindergarten students are showing great growth utilizing CKLA material. So we're not doing something outside of it, including our interventionists as well. And our actual, one of our reading specialists is actually creating all of those lesson plans for our kindergarten team. We also are monitoring our SAR data, which we've done a great job at this point. We actually have hit some of our current CSI targets. And we're just trying to find ways to increase parent engagement. Something I've been working on personally is creating a one-stop shop for parents that include specific CK lines with your reward that parents can use at home. Or you can just kind of click on it. sounds to handwriting lines to how you actually correctly write the letters. So just something that

037we're kind of working on. The next slide just has some pictures of what's kind of going on at Southern. In the top left corner, what we can see, it's kind of hard to see, but it was something that we worked on that is a first grade classroom and it was something through our walkthroughs, our IPG walkthroughs with Tara and Schoolkit and just something we continue to talk about is what we can see. It's kind of hard to see, but those are first graders with readers in their hands. while the teacher is asking comprehension questions and she the students are literally going back in their text touching the evidence and talking about it which is something that we've been really working on You can also see some pictures of me in a PLC where we're doing

038group feedback. If you noticed some of the crazy, it was kind of a crazy color day that day. So they were all like trying to hide. But that's just me kind of going over the feedback. We have a tool that we utilize during our walkthroughs. And during that walkthrough, we just talk about the core action that they might be looking at. And one of that, the one that we actually talked about recently in the second grade. was all around Core Action 4, which is around assessment and differentiation. And so we just talked about how are they utilizing the activity pages, the exemplars, and giving students in the moment feedback instead of waiting until after. And then you can see some of our walkthroughs. You can actually see Tara right there. Those are our walkthroughs today.

039And those are in a kindergarten classroom. And we saw two different parts of large protein in that foundational skills block. And then also we saw them working within a reader. And then the bottom corner is just our work in ELF. So ELF is the Early Literacy Leadership Fellowship. And so Southern is lucky enough that we have a cohort of... team of sorts and so that is Rich, myself, we have a reading specialist, we have one of our SECs as well as our MLL teacher on that. What we're doing right now is we're looking at the systems at Southern and then how we can plan to make changes so that we are better prepared for next year when it comes to literacy. And so those are just kind of our plans. Something that you can see

040is this is our improvement over the past three years. It's very evident that our red is decreasing and our students that are at or above, which are our green and blue students, are increasing. We obviously don't have that during your data for this year. But we already are monitoring our Dibble scores and one of the things that we noticed was that our K-1 students were not making as much progress. So we already are targeting those two grade levels and have specific subtests that we're administering to students that are in need. And just recently we did that, one of the ones that we've been looking at is lettering fluency and our baseline to our current progress monitoring. We had an increase in 14 letters in our NWF, our correct letter sound. We had an increase of

041four sounds in kindergarten. In first grade, we had an increase of five sounds. And then the big one was in our oral reading fluency. Students increased by 15 words from that benchmark to the progress monitoring. which is really exciting. So that the hope is that those subtests will support our DIBELS awards and our composite so we're making progress for our goals. And so as you were listening to Seth and Rich share, right, we hope that you were seeing the alignment. We saw those chapters of the early literacy playbook at the top of the slides. After our first walkthrough visit with Secretary Martin and her team, they did really, you know, we nervously walked out of the room and we were like, oh, is everything all right? Is everything in place? You know, the team was

042rocked in. We felt super confident. We walked in and Secretary Martin told us, you guys are living this. Like, this is our first visit and this is what's actually happening. Again, we released this to the state. And so we took a side belief. We were confident in what we were doing, but it just validated all the really hard work that you heard our team present tonight. So we invite Secretary Martin to come up, and we have just three questions for Secretary Martin, specific to Southern colonial. She doesn't want to answer. It is an honor to be here to talk about your work, because the work is truly important. Work doesn't happen because it's a playbook or a strategic plan. It happens when people actually do the work. Thank you. I always say that because it

043brings the experience. I never thought I would say, I miss board meetings. I miss being in a board meeting today. I miss being in a board meeting. But to be in the board, I just think it's a wonderful experience. Incredible leadership, starting with board leadership. Thank you, esteemed board members. It was not easy to have an elected seat and to be representing the fine work and having a great superintendent. happening inside of the first question and what makes Southern and Chloe's approach at Boyd's spot and Delroy's early literacy work, they're actually doing more work every single day. And teachers' voices are central to them. We're going to them, or for them, to be in touch with them. And it was, I think, a key word for me is partnership. that when you try to bring

044a solution from the outside, you just tell people to do it, and you don't actually measure it, you just hope they do it, rather than actual real partnership. From the very beginning, the work that you're seeing happening across Delaware is actually shaped by colonial. I don't know if you know that, but colonial helped shape the state's... to how we address what Governor Meyer has addressed as the literacy emergency. Members of the team from Colonial served on the interview panel for the early literacy coaching. We make progress when we have great coaching, and Colonial helped us select the coaches. You were one of the first districts to complete all three years of the early literacy leadership academy with every elementary person. It's the income. It goes to the income. It's the ability. Building leaders like Mr.

045Bryson are really the bridge between strategy and classroom practice. These answers don't get decided down in Dover. I can write as many pledges as I want in Dover. And just because I know how to solve the literacy emergency personally doesn't matter until you get a principal at Mr. Price. Until you get an entire district with strong leadership from your superintendent. That's how it moves. When we visited Southern, we saw strong Tier 1 instruction. Tier 1 is good first teaching in the classroom. You don't need high-density tutoring, after-school, before-school, summer learning, tutors, all these other things, if you get teaching right the first time. Good first teaching in the classroom. Strong Tier 1 instruction matters. Otherwise, you're solving problems later. You're solving the teachers of the foot with materials, science of reading, and knowledge about how

046to teach students. I see also that some of the students are engaged in their grade level learning. My teachers are using data in short cycles. They're using improvement science. They're using seven weeks in short cycles to refine their instruction. This idea that if you teach it, it's not enough. Did they learn it? And do I know if they learned it? And if they didn't learn it, I know what to do about it. Because I've been getting a team of teachers to help me figure out what to do. So I'm just doing all of that. And you heard the principal say, when leadership understands, he understands, he understands. He understands what we're talking about. He can be a director. He can be a trust. He can talk about instruction. Mr. Price is able to. I know

047that when leadership, instruction, and coaching all work together like that, which is happening every day at Southern, that's when you start to see real progress for students. And that's what we're seeing here. We all should be really proud of it. The second question is what advice would I offer as you continue to strengthen the alignment to the playbook? Alignment totally matters. I know it sounds just like a jargon kind of word, but just think about your product. If your product alignment is a crush, you need alignment. So my biggest advice would be that she shows some of the feedback slides. I kept saying continue. You're on the right track. Continue this work. Keep going. Keep using the playbook as a guide as you plan for the summer and for the next school year. I think

048it can really help anchor your school success plans, your professional learning and instructional practices. You can enhance your alignment up and down and across the system in your central university. At the same time, the distance at sea is the strongest progress. are the districts that are focused on one or two key areas. If you try to do everything at once, it's very difficult. This kind of focus allows your teams to go deeper and to strengthen the practice that you're going to get to see in terms of students' development. shameless plug, keep partnering with us. We want to be here to support. We do not want to do something to you or for you and act like we have the answers on high. We want to be right there and work with you. Keep partnering with

049us because that's where we get feedback. We help fight for the government's revenue budget and we want the supports that lead to good schools. When we can be grounded in the good needs of schools because we're partnering with you, we can help make the right decisions. Keep partnering with us on professional learning. to bridge the practice plans we put on over $6 million of districts to help with actual implementation. We know that that's going to help support the work. Strategy, support, classroom practice all get in line. That's going to play a big role. And then the third question is after seeing your classrooms and leadership structures and systems, what gives me the confidence about the direction of early nursing, colonial? I think I said it to Mr. Bison. If this school doesn't move, I don't

050know how to move the school. Because everything that I've seen that's been put in place are the kinds of indicators that allow schools, outcomes and performance to change. If they don't, I'm not sure what else to tell you. I do know that we're always in continuous improvement. You put every single thing in place that you think will work. If it doesn't, we're going to figure out why. But I have so much confidence because what I see is consistency across the system. No matter where I go, who I talk to, we all are not just speaking the same language, but your words are matching your actions, your supporting, your education. I see support for teachers like I see here. And those things happen. In the classrooms, what stood out to me was how engaged your students

051were. I told you it's my third year of teaching. You can't just pretend other days. I know when I walk in. I can see it. I can feel it. I told them that culture equals high test scores. You guys have the highest test scores in the country. I know culture doesn't always do that. But it is important. And what they have at school is a really deep culture. Students are engaged. I hear student voice. And I'm going to think about who's doing the work. Is the teacher carrying the problem anymore? Are the students carrying the problem anymore? You've got to shift the lift. The heavy lifting goes to the kids. The kids are doing that here. I saw how teachers were working together. And they care about including instruction. We all get judged or shamed

052or blamed. If it's supported. At the leadership level, what I saw with teams using data thoughtfully in the short cycles, that were guiding decisions about what students need next, next to every number of students. And the instructional position of that needs to change. And at the district level, we continue to see the structure of the system. There needs to be metrics. There needs to be ways to monitor. There needs to be three of us. That's what our state plan is about. That's what you guys are about. We have strong instructional leadership. Thank you. I want to come and tell your board what is happening here. I could not be more excited about what's possible. That's next. Long journey. I'm happy overnight. Nikki's trying to win bingo. Is that not just 100% accurate? Right? We all

053know who. So, structural literacy is... Can you let her win, please? Give her something. She doesn't win something. Yeah, wait, I have a ticket to Marmomea here. Katie, thank you so much. I do want to take a moment. Many of you might be aware, I recognize once a month an employee going above and beyond or changing the odds last year and the year before. This year, we believe. So I wanted to take a moment because this isn't happening in a vacuum and it's not happening without leadership, but it is Katie's leadership in this space since I've been the superintendent, has been the driver. And so I want to take a moment to honor her with March. We believe in your recognition is an effort to acknowledge staff members who consistently demonstrate the power of believing

054in our students, in our mission, and in the collective strength of our community. Katie, can you come up here? Accept this book on my behalf. We are not stopping until all students. Before we jump in with questions real quick, I just want to add that because I was planning on... Just to compliment Katie, I attended the combined school board training. Who was it? I was only one in that room rooting for SNAP. I was very proud of your presentation and how you heard a lot of the same thing and almost became monotonous in what you were doing. And I was like, yeah, I get it. We're all different. The schools are all working towards better proficiency rates and stuff like that. And the way you presented it. and deciding to show how you're doing community

055engagement with the board and everything else, it just, it was a breath of fresh air in there, and it was just wonderfully presented to all the rest of the districts, and it really just made me proud to be a Columbia, so I thank you for that presentation, and it was just tremendous. Thank you, I appreciate that. Let's start with questions. Ms. Brady, do you have any questions? Ms. Brady? No. I'm really glad you asked that because connecting to President Piquet, it is scaling. This is happening all throughout the state. I actually spoke to this at the board meeting presentation. We heard the same thing from every district. And I said, these are all our students. At any point in any day, my child could be going to Red Clay, a Red Clay child could be

056going to Colonial, and it's the same expectation. a similar conversation around structured literacy, science of reading. So we work very collaboratively throughout the state. I'm very fortunate to have amazing colleagues and advisors throughout the state. Again, we partner all the time with the state. Kathy Kelly is sitting here, always like, hey Kathy, what about this opportunity? Go reach out to us for opportunities to collaborate with others. And we heard Southerners great today, and I want to give a shout out to the other schools here. We've got Michelle Upperman in the crowd, we've got Soraya Ross, we've got Katrina Daniels. I'm probably missing another elementary principal, but they're all doing this work too. The story of it is just others, but if you had to write, come up here and share, very similar. If you had

057Michelle come up and share, very similar. So again, eight elementary buildings, instructional leaders, all doing the same work, all collaborating on the same goal and vision, which is all students reading 5.3. Yeah, I mean systems overall development it takes a while. I'm sure you've all heard about Mississippi Miracle, right? The literacy scores in Mississippi, Tennessee. They get very upset about your miracle. It's not a miracle. It didn't just happen overnight. It was a systems improvement. It took 14 years. 15 years a lot of those structures we've adopted here at the state level so like it's just going to take a little bit more time but as you saw from the data shared incremental growth right baby steps but we're getting there so that's that celebration if you go back to the church So what are

058we measuring in this chart? So remember this is a Dibbles assessment. Remember the one time where I was like, all right, give me all the sounds in the word. Oral reading fluency, those subscales. So the early literacy subscales. We've got learning fluency, correct letter sounds, whole words read, oral reading fluency. And this is a key to combining the composite. Again, we're measuring to third grade. And this is in grade level specific. So it's probably an unfair question to ask you according to 8.9. How does Dibble's proficiency translate to grade three smart and balanced assessment? That's a great question. So what I can tell you is that research shows that if they are proficient in their early literacy skills, they have a greater opportunity for proficiency in state assessment. There are things we still need to

059work on that DIBLS doesn't measure, such as vocabulary, comprehension questions. They have certain subs that we could administer, but the weight is really in those early university leaders. But we have a greater motivation for starting if our students want to have permission. Thank you, again. Good work. We want to also, as we give thanks and tremendous Love from the leadership too, but then also I just want to make sure Mr. Price if you can pass this along to the teaching staff as well. Because I'm aware the instructors are actually doing as well. The board appreciates that because I was reading on here where you put on, on one of the boards it literally mentions, alright, what are the things that are working on this? And then what are the things that are barriers? And then

060I saw one there and it's like, that is overwhelming. and then getting some teachers that maybe were old school for that and looking at the data or trying to figure it out and they had different priorities and things like that. And CKLA has been around for a couple years now and I've seen the acceptance of it with teachers and the joy that they're getting because they're seeing improved grades there and we're seeing data and I know data can sound like an idea that they would never have. Seeing it and then what Scott Jones was talking about with that going back and doing some tests and stuff like that, that's trying to explain to them that that's why we need this type of data and it's always good to have those kind of benchmark so that

061we can know where to go back and fix. But the teachers are the ones who are doing that and I just, please pass that on to us that we appreciate the teachers for being willing to do those type of things and pivot from that. But we know it's them who are actually doing it. So they're not just numbers, it's them in the classroom. And in the moment feedback, as Steph was mentioning too, like they're on the carpet giving sound production back and the teacher automatically corrects that error possibly, which then will contribute to the next step. And then the Secretary just let you know. I'm very proud. I don't work for the district, but I'm proud of the leadership because they have a tendency of leading the charge with a lot of things. And then

062you watch the walls get written about two or three years later after we've implemented some of the things. So I'm very proud for the underdog spirit that's in the union. Thank you very much. First of all, I want to thank you for the work that you're doing. Data shows that when students have a strong foundation of education, academically they exceed tremendously. Throughout their whole, not just academic career, but just education and their life. they do a lot better when they have that strong foundation of education. And as a young child, they absorb that early, right? That's the most impressionable time they have is when they're very young. But, I mean, looking at your time, I look like everything started in 2022 moving on. The first thing I really think about also is the students that

063missed this opportunity in this initiative. There's thousands of students throughout the state who missed this opportunity. And I'm just hoping, like, one day as a state, we can actually get to the point where... um so we can package something like what we're doing into like some type of remediation program for those students yeah so in secondary we are doing a similar parallel approach it's called tele so it's secondary literacy leadership academy and so again all of our middle school secondary principals have a feedback our instructional approaches so we are working on No questions, but I do want to say thank you for any all improvements and any goals that you have. I have a lot of family in especially elementary and middle schools and colonial, so I love hearing how much they've improved throughout the

064years. Thank you so much, baby. Next up, we have the... 26-27 school year calendar and the holiday schedule for a presentation for review and approval by the board. I move to be approved 2026-2027 school year calendar as presented. I'm going to hear a second. Second. All right. As moved by Ms. Smith and seconded by Ms. Breed. Are there any questions or comments from the board? All right. Comments? All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed, nay. All right. Calendar passes. Oh, excuse me. And do we hear a motion on the 26 to 20, uh, 2026-2027 holiday schedule? Move that we approve the 2026-2027 holiday schedule as presented. Go ahead and second. Second. Seconded by Ms. Smith, seconded by Ms. Freedy. Any questions or comments? All those in favor please signify

065by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed nay. The Grinch over here is just playing difficult. All the majority voting aye. Aye. Motion carries. Next up we have another presentation for our Colonial School District strategic plan. We're going to present. and for the board to review and seek their approval. And then we also have a special presentation by Secretary Martin that's going to demonstrate how a district's strategic plan aligns with the DOE strategic plan that was unveiled. So we're going to kick off our presentation. It looks like Steph Calloway drew the short straw to start this. Is it that straw? Now you control the mic. Is that what it is? All right. we are excited and honored to share with you this is an example of improvement that is done with people and not. In the

066next five years we will be working towards meeting goals set by a cross-section of our district. This timeline illustrates how change over time is an expectation. In the world of improvement work sometimes impact happens immediately and we are overjoyed. Other times it requires us to have patience and wait for the impact's permission to save. Along the way, each year, there will be milestones to ensure that we are on track towards achieving our goals that we have set for school year 2030-2031. Wellness is the second priority that you see. It notes our commitments of physical, emotional, and social safety and success across all layers of our organization. The final priority up there that you see is operational excellence. This talks about our need to improve and invent systems for both tracking and monitoring the everyday functionality

067of our organization. Now, within each of those three priority areas, there will also be multiple ways that my colleagues will be overviewing for you to see. No digital plan can be set up to assess the length and foundation of a collective's vision and mission. These statements align our team, they drive our decision-making, and they define our purpose as an organization. They act as a North Star to guide all of the humans in our system. They boost motivation and unite us around a common focal point. Dr. Jones, can you read the vision please? To discover their passion and their talents to shape their future and enrich their community. At our mission, in Colonial, we provide safe and nurturing learning environments. We act with courage and pride to take calculated risks in order to achieve ambitious goals.

068We create and champion the dignity and the belonging of every individual, and we lead with integrity to serve students, staff, families, and our community. These are the three core values of the Colonial School District. They guide our behavior and our decision making. They're going to build trust. They're going to increase our self-awareness. And they will unite us and continue to improve our organizational. Hi, I'm Lilith, and I'm principal of McCullough Middle School. And I have with me McCullough Middle School teacher, Ms. Lea Ann Redgrove, and Colonial parent, Ms. Hannah Wawrowski. And we're going to talk about the strategic plan process, which was broken down into five phases beginning last summer. of 2025 early fall of 2025 as well, ongoing to today. So Ms. Rector, the Colonial School District is committed to fostering academic excellence, equitable

069opportunities, and a supportive learning environment for every student. To ensure a clear and unified direction for the future, the district is the gateway to community in developing a comprehensive roadmap designed to reflect shared values, priorities, and aspirations. The creation of the colonial school district strategic plan was a flaccid year-long effort involving more than 75 stakeholders including students, staff members, parents, and board members. The process incorporated surveys, focus groups, and data analysis to ensure broad input and informed decision making. Progress from strategic plan team was regularly communicated during monthly public session school board meetings. State board feedback and data guided the team's work throughout the journey. Following multiple revisions and recommendations from the community, the Colonial School District globally adopted the 2026-2031 Strategic Plan, which will guide the district towards academic success for all students. Good

070evening, everybody. My name is Nick Baker. I'm Supervisor of Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction. And we are going to talk to you about our first, which is Literacy and Learning. Our priority is clear. We will ensure that every student can read, write, think critically, and communicate effectively. As you heard tonight, literacy is the foundation for success in every subject and in every future pathway. It is also one of our strongest equity commitments. When students have strong literacy skills, they have access to rigorous coursework, to post-secondary opportunities, and to meaningful participation in their communities. That is why we are integrating literacy across all content areas through our district literacy vision within a multi-tiered system of supports where we will ensure that strong instruction for every student and additional support when needed. So this is more than an

071academic goal. It is a promise that every student will leave this district with the skills, confidence, and voice to succeed. This slide represents how we turn this literacy vision into measurable action. By 2031, every school will implement a shared, district-wide approach to reading, writing, speaking, and listening across all subjects. Literacy is not isolated to the English classrooms. It will be embedded in the science labs, in math problem solving, in social studies discussions, and in our career and technical programs. We are also setting clear outcome goals, a 20% improvement in literacy outcomes across all content areas, as measured by state and our local assessments. And to support this, 100% of our content areas will implement district-adopted, high-quality instructional materials with integrity. fully aligned to grade level standards. And we are investing in ongoing professional learning and

072coaching so that at least 85% of educators report increased confidence in delivering grade level instruction. Finally, we are strengthening family and community partnerships by increasing structured opportunities for families to understand our curriculum expectations and literacy standards to be true partners in the educational process. From a student perspective, this really matters. In every class, she has shared her own state of the teaching, learning to feel is more meaningful. We're not just memorizing information, we're learning how to think, analyze, and communicate in a different way that they don't understand. Being challenged with complex facts and academic language helps us grow. As a parent, it's the cost of all the work, work-based communication, and real-world problem solving. It also builds confidence. When we can clearly explain our thinking, participate in discussions, and write effectively, we feel more prepared

073for what's next. High quality materials make lessons more engaging and meaningful. It will teach you to learn the language properly. The classroom feels like a place of error. It also helps for a family to understand what a great learning environment looks like. When expectations are clear, expose and exploit. So at its core, this plan is about coherence, growth, and shared responsibility, ensuring that every student graduates not just prepared, but empowered. That's why our district is committed to building a culture where both students and adults feel healthy, valued, and supported. Well, this is not a single program or initiative. It is a system of proactive and responsive support that exists within our schools and throughout our community. Our work focuses on three key areas. Empowering students with strong social-emotional behavioral skills, supporting the well-being and professional

074growth of our staff, and partnering with families to strengthen students' well-being both inside and outside of our schools. When these elements work together, they create the conditions where students can truly engage in learning and reach their full potential. how we translate our commitment to wellness into measurable actions by 2031 every school in the district will implement a comprehensive social emotional learning framework so that students develop the skills needed to understand themselves manage their emotions build relationships and make responsible decisions As a result, we expect 80% of our students to demonstrate proficiency in poor social-emotional competencies and to see a 10% reduction in behavior referrals compared to our current data. We are also committed to supporting the well-being of our educators. Through investment in employee wellness and support systems, we aim to increase positive responses related

075to virtual managability and reduce reported staturo. Finally, we strengthen family partnerships by inviting low-wage support in the family-focused school events and increasing opportunities for families to access information and resources that support student success. These goals help make school business better than ever. When students learn skills that manage stress, working through challenges, and making sure that my teachers are supporting me so I can learn, I can do it. Since youth goals are about building on the designations of our systems, and also the camps that we have, facilities, schools, nutrition, all the systems that often work behind the scenes, our priorities are to be action-oriented, to be efficient with our resources, and when our operations are truly excellent, our schools are going to be excellent. Our next slide is a little bit of a snapshot of some

076of our focus areas. Our first focus area is about safety for schools. We'll be launching our emergency readiness. We'll be launching a district safety task force to proactively address the physical and individual risks based on proactively. Our second focus area is response and use of resources. We'll update our comprehensive master facility plan, improve efficiency and spending, ensure everyone access to high quality resources and respond to facilities needs. And our third focus area is about modernizing our data. We'll be launching a unified information hub to support our client range of decision making. We'll be training our staff to use it. using data to intentionally address issues which have attended student behavior in the course. Ultimately, operational excellence allows teachers to focus on teaching and students to focus on learning. As Drew Mockett often says, when these

077systems are working at their best, they often feel invisible. I was so busy listening to the play that I forgot to come up. I also did not get the bread dough. I'm sorry. Okay, so the development of the strategic plan was not an easy task. After analyzing multiple data points, it became clear that there were varied perspectives regarding the direction that we should take. A loaded strategic plan that's 100 pages long does nothing for brain. So narrowing the priorities is very, very important. This plan is the result of relentless collaboration and the team's unwavering dedication to doing what is best for the students concerned. As an active participant of the strategic plan team and a member of the board, I learned that we employ really smart people, really smart people who work well together, who

078listen to each other, who are willing to listen to different points of view, even somebody like me. I'm very open-minded. I want to thank the teachers, particularly who are on this committee. There were a lot of heavy hitters in that room every month. And I feel like the district folks made an effort to include. So lots of smart people and an awful lot of hard work. So I want to thank you on behalf of the board. Following board approval, the team will begin developing scorecards and a comprehensive marketing plan. Scorecards will allow us to monitor progress over time. and ensure that regular updates are provided to all C2 workers and our goal is to launch that marketing campaign. You made the statement that with different point of views, which I'm still not alone, I don't

079know if you realize how important that is because what happens is somebody can see your blind spot and somebody can challenge you to make you really, how you really feel about something. But it's good that everybody came together and it worked to have a plan that's going to work. All in all, I can be in the team. So as somebody who worked for a large organization who has failed a lot of... I don't have a question anymore, I have a comment. Praise to you guys for acknowledging that originally, decade to decade ago that social and emotional learning was not identified as something that was the response. Come to learn that it's our place to step in and to care for these children and to give them the best education possible and find every way of

080looking at the data and looking at them as a whole to see what we can do to meet their needs so that we can give them equity and learn. And I just want to thank you guys for acknowledging that in this strategic planning and Putting that as a priority because it's needed and I know it can be very tough on the staff, on the teachers, the paras, everyone. But these children love you for it. It's just so important. They might not say it, but they do and they appreciate it and their future will thank you for it. So just thank you guys so much for that and putting that as a priority with it as we're putting that first. Thank you and it's a beautiful presentation. I guess I would just kind of add on

081to what's already been said in regards to the adaptation of the strategic plan. Being the one with the longer tooth here on this board, I've seen this updated now, I think this is the fourth time, probably, that it's been updated. Just different steps that's been better, more concise. But it makes it quicker, easier to read, and it's more to the point. And then the adjustments as well, the way that our culture is changing today. Yes, it's a five-year plan. That culture is going to change in the next 24 hours. And we've always said that we need to update it even before the five years is up. Then we need to revisit that. So I applaud everybody who worked on the committee as well. Yeah, I think the one who was probably pushing that was sitting

082down with Rose. Just awesome goals, awesome action steps toward the goals, and most of all, excellent and awesome collaboration amongst all stakeholders. Good job. Being able to see everything that our district is working towards for the students really makes me proud of being able to say that I'm a colonial citizen as well. I do want to just briefly shout out to our fearless leader, Dr. James, who was spearheaded this book. That said and presented, we would ask the board to, we're seeking your approval for the strategic plan so we can move forward with the square part construction and the marketing plan. Do I hear a motion? Motion that we approve the colonial strategic plan as presented. Do I hear a second? Second. All right, as moved by Mr. Laws and as seconded by Dr. Dorsey,

083are there any questions or comments from the board? No questions or comments. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed? Nay. All right. Motion carried. We're going to have an opportunity just to show how all that hard work continues to generate energy and stay focused and with alignment to what DOE released last week. So I asked Secretary Martin to come to the podium and we can bring her slide deck up so she can kind of show the connection and share some of her thoughts. She has read our strategic plan and she obviously was a big part of writing DOE's strategic plan. Dr. Jones, you did it. You did it. The baby's born. It's like out in the world. I love that her leadership, she just sat in her chair while

084the entire committee came and presented and to see student voice and all the voices that were part of it, that's real leadership in action, the way you work behind the scenes, but I'm sure you led a huge effort. I'm going to start with, Mr. Handy, what you said earlier. You asked the question, can we scale this across the state? I'm here to say yes. You were asking about the literacy work. What you have here in your strategic plan, just the timing. I was coming because your superintendent asked if I could come and talk about the literacy work that was happening at Southern and how it's being scaled across the district. And I said, this is great that I could come and do that in the same week after we announced the Department of Education's strategic

085plan. This is the first strategic plan that the Department of Education has had in anybody's memory. In at least a decade, there has not been a strategic plan at the Delaware Department of Education. I said earlier, strategic plans don't teach, people do. You've been through a lot. You also said, was reading about, you've seen a lot of plans come out that's a lot of talk on paper. It sits on the shelf. It doesn't do anything. It's really about action. And so when I heard that your strategic plan was coming out today, I said I would love to be able to talk about it and how it aligns to the state's strategic plan because we need the whole state. We need every child to have these kinds of opportunities. So I see this as alignment in

086action. The colonial plan is completely aligned to the state strategic plan. And for me, it's an honor to be here as you're rolling out your strategic plan at the same time that I'm rolling it out for the state. And whenever I have the opportunity to spend time in schools or districts, I always start in the very same place. I start with students. That is who we work for. Technically, I know I work for the governor, technically you work for the school board, but at the end of the day, we work for the students in our state. Behind every policy, behind every strategy, behind every decision that we make at the state and local level is a child sitting in a classroom somewhere in Delaware that deserves an education worthy of their hopes and dreams. And

087our job is to make sure that the child has every single opportunity to succeed, not by accident. but through design, through investment, and through real action. So what I think makes tonight special is real alignment that we're seeing when a district plan and a state plan can be centered on students moving forward in the same direction. That's when real progress becomes possible across the state, which is what you called out a few minutes ago. I think it's with that kind of alignment where strategy stops being a document and it starts becoming a daily practice in every classroom. So here's a lot of plans. Plans and plans and top-up plans. But this slide really shows what alignment looks like in practice across Delaware. We have the Department of Education strategic plan, first time in over a

088decade having one. We have our early literacy plan, and we have our early literacy playbook that you all have breathed life into. You've already seen how the early literacy plan and playbook are coming to life right here in Colonial. And then we see that strategy come to life in classrooms like we saw at Southern. When those layers, when these layers here connect, state strategy, to district leadership, to school implementation, to classroom instruction. I want to know that what we're doing actually gets to the classroom. That's when we can see movement. The system begins to move in the same direction and strategy is turned into real action and measurable, reportable outcomes for students. Next slide. I see ourselves as a state in a defining moment. When we know we have to think about our students, imagine

089a third grader sitting somewhere in a classroom in Delaware, a student who's curious, a student who's capable, who has hopes and dreams for themselves and their family has hopes and dreams for them and they're full of potential. If that student cannot read confidently, we know what happens. Their path ahead is very difficult. This is why the numbers matter. Today in Delaware, 38% of our third graders are reading on grade level. I don't like to just sit and admire the problem. We talk about it a lot. That's the problem. I'm here for the solutions. You got to name the problem and know what you're trying to solve. We also can see what's happening with chronic absenteeism. We have 15% of our students are chronically absent. This is across the state. These numbers to me are not

090abstract. They represent real children, real classrooms, and real futures. But I spend a short amount of time on this, and a lot of people spend all their time admiring the problem, just talking about how bad the schools are, how bad the data is. Get to action. When we see numbers like that, It is our responsibility to react and to take action. We react emotionally and viscerally because we know it means children aren't getting what they deserve, but we have to not just go from emotion. being angry about the numbers we have to respond strategically with intention we have to focus our efforts we have to align our work we have to make sure every single decision that we make who's this closer to stronger outcomes that our kids deserve so you have the five building

091blocks this is what strategic plan for Delaware looks like this is how we move our strategic plan across the state organizes our work into five simple building blocks You have to be clear and you have to be focused. These are not separate initiatives. They are all foundational to how we organize the work and the investments across the state. The building blocks are simple. Bright beginnings, great teaching and learning, safe and supportive schools. I think you're going to start to hear how this fits with your plan that you just passed. Fair opportunities for every learner and families and communities as partners as we do the work. One way I often explain the strategic plan is by comparing it to something that we as teachers do very well. It's like a lesson plan. I told you I

092was a teacher for 17 years. I like writing a lesson plan. I like having my plan for the year and then executing it. Teachers start the school year with a plan. They have goals, they have standards, they have objectives, and they have outcomes they want students to reach by the end of the year. A strategic plan, in my mind, not a corporate-style strategic plan, but a strategic plan in my mind. is like a lesson plan. It works the same way. It helps us organize the work across a system, state and districts, down to schools and classrooms, so that we can move the outcomes for students. What's encouraging to me tonight is how closely colonial strategic priorities are aligning with these very same building blocks. Because I know when that alignment happens, that's where we get

093coherence across the system. We have five, we have key metrics now, slide five, because strategy only matters, as we heard from a parent who gave public comment earlier, I'm not sure if she's still here. Yes, I am. Yes, you said it. Strategy only matters if it leads to measurable progress and outcomes that we can report on. So these metrics help us stay focused on what matters most for our students from early childhood all the way through graduation and beyond. We have to begin where opportunity starts, that's in early learning. So we've committed to our goal is to increase the percentage of young children enrolled in funded early learning programs from 25% to 40% by 2028. We're focused on strengthening the educator workforce. We plan to increase the retention rate of early career teachers. We want

094to keep attracting retained teachers and keep them in the profession. We also are focused on strengthening the educator workforce. And then student well-being is a critical area. We know chronic absenteeism was as high as 22%. We've got it down to 15% now. Our goal is to reduce that to 13% by 2028. At the secondary level, we're focused on readiness, increase the number of ninth graders that are on track to graduate, strengthen our graduation rates, and expand college and career readiness opportunities. You'll see also the Delaware School Success Framework. That's in the middle section there. If that's not something you know about, I highly recommend looking into it because it helps us track not just proficiency, but growth. The target from going from 264 in the Delaware School Success Framework to 300, many factors go into

095the DSSF. That is the federal accountability system that goes beyond just proficiency on a state test. It goes into showing how growth looks. But at the end of the day, I think literacy does sit at the center of all of this. By 2028, our goal is to increase third grade reading proficiency from currently 38% to 53%. When we get by 2028, third grade reading proficiency to 53%, that takes us to above the pre-pandemic levels. When we were in Delaware, we were at 52%. Because when students read confidently by third grade, we know everything else happens in terms of opportunity. Then I made some connections you'll see on the next slide after hearing and going through your strategic plan the connections between your work and the state work It's so clear to me your early education

096programs support the strong foundation that we emphasize in bright beginnings your implementation of high quality instructional materials and professional learning aligns with building block number three great teaching and learning at the state level your focus on student well-being is directly aligned to building block number two which is safe and supportive schools and your engagement with families and communities aligns to state building block number five, families and communities as partners. There's tight alignment here. So I see the other thing you all did was your work to strengthen the data systems. I love when there's strong data systems and then your operational responsiveness is supporting the fair opportunities for every learner. This is what alignment looks like in practice when the districts and the state are working toward the same outcomes. then the system becomes stronger for

097students. The early literacy plan and playbook, you can see those are right here. Literacy sits at the center, preparing every learner. You can see the early literacy plan provides statewide strategy. So this goes across the state. It doesn't just live in one district or one classroom. And the playbook allows us to translate into daily instructional practice. And then we have living the early literacy playbook happening right here. This is how it is a plan in action, not just a plan on the shelf. To me, I know when people hear the Department of Education is coming, you think here comes compliance. It's not just about compliance for me. I cannot mandate our way into better outcomes. If I could mandate it into over and just tell you all just do it, I would do it. You

098can't mandate your way into better outcomes. We can legislate. I don't legislate. That's the General Assembly. You can allocate. You can have great appropriations, but you can't just legislate and appropriate your way into better outcomes. You need the right laws on the books. You need the right funding on the books, but you need implementation. This is how it lives in implementation. schools all the time just like in Southern I spend my time in schools and in classrooms alongside leaders and look at data that's tied directly to the instructional decision-making I work with the literacy supervisors and we invest in the ongoing professional learning all of that matters and then you saw at Southern Elementary with the literacy and action at the next slide I just spent some time talking about that seeing the strong tier

099one instruction there we are Did that principal go home? You should go home. It's late. I'm trying to go faster. But we're in the schools. He's showing he can talk instruction. It's fabulous. Colonial, look at the next slide, the Colonial Early Literacy Brightspots. I want to highlight the partnership that Colonial has shown us in this work. Colonial staff is amazing. You already said it. But the staff has served on the interview teams that help select the Delaware early literacy coaches. So you're not just making a difference for this district, you're making a difference for the whole state. This district was also among the very first to complete the early literacy leadership academy. Like I said earlier, with all elementary building leaders participating, the building leaders are the bridge between strategy and classroom practice. Again, programs

100don't teach children. educators do. Here's my favorite slide, professional excellence. Ultimately the success of any plan comes down to the people who bring it to life for students every day and here she is, the famous Ms. Marvel. I was introduced to her when I went, the first time I went to Southern. She represents this commitment after 50, you all know her already, right? 54, she was new to me and I'm in love. 54 years in the classroom, she just shows what it means. She epitomizes, she continues to refine her craft. I believe she's as excited today in her 54th year of teaching as she probably was her first year of teaching. She's always working on improvement of her craft. She's embracing evidence-based literacy practices. professional excellence embodied in everything she shows me. It's paired with

101the curiosity and the commitment to continue to grow as a learner. I just love the way Colonial's also invested in building the next generation of educators. Your teacher residency program is solid. The residents get to spend a full year learning alongside experienced mentors before leaving their own classroom. That's the kind of preparation that strengthens teacher development and teacher retention and ensures students benefit. I just see this as a continuous promise that we're making. And I'm so glad I have a district to hold up when people ask me, how is Delaware going to get out of the problem that we're in with the performance and education? Watch Colonial. Watch what's happening here. This is how you do it. We are making a promise in Colonial. You all have done it. We start with students. We build

102for impact. We have strategic plans that we breathe life into. And that is strong board governance. and superintendent leadership that makes a difference in the classroom. And I'm so proud of the work that I see here. And I see tight alignment. As I help the state move, I'm glad I have one bright spot to show what it looks like when the district knows how to work together to deliver for kids. So congratulations on your strategic plan. Well done. Secretary Martin, thank you so much for the kind words. And to the staff, the administration, the teachers, all of that was praise towards you guys in everything you guys are doing and everything moving forward. We thank you for that. The board here obviously, we're part of the community that oversees and loves the district and wants

103to make sure it's on the right path. I know we appreciate you coming in and supporting us with that. And the staff that does it, we're just so proud of you. So thank you guys so much for that. And we thank you. You're welcome all the time here. We appreciate it. We love it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

104Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Do I have a second? As moved by Mr. Wall, seconded by Ms. Breeding. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those against, nay.