Citizens for Delaware Schools

05/29/2026

Graduation ceremonies are a time of joy for many. Why the gap between graduation and career and college readiness (CCR) ? Graduation is achieved by completion of diploma requirements, while CCR metrics assess specific proficiency levels in subjects like math and reading necessary for post-secondary success. Think of it this way: graduation is a participation trophy and CCR sets a higher bar for academic knowledge.

05/27/2026

Writing on paper with pencil still the best way for humans to learn. AI can help teachers with administrative tasks, but not used for students until high school. Learn first, then apply AI.

I fear this will be another case where educators jump in and pay alot of money to AI vendors presenting their own 'research' to sell the benefits before we find out its damaging impact on brains not yet developed to handle it.

05/26/2026

From 1990 through 2013, American students made unprecedented gains in both reading and math scores. But removing the accountability and expectations in No Child Left Behind reversed that progress. While it’s taken years to chart the extent of our learning loss, we don’t need to wait a moment longer to recommit to measuring and attaining academic excellence for all students in NJ and the US.

Read more The 74's coverage of our annual Education Scorecard:

https://www.the74million.org/article/anatomy-of-a-learning-recession-academic-losses-began-in-2013-report-finds

05/17/2026

How about follow my example?

05/13/2026

People have lamented the low turnout for yesterday's school board elections. And we should. But here's the crazy part. Yesterday nearly 10,009 turned out. In 2024, when we had the same number of SB elections, the turnout was 5,681. By my calculation that's a 76% better turnout than 2024. We are making progress but imagine if every 2026 voter brought along just one new voter in 2027 brought ! What do you say?

05/13/2026

A special thank you to all the voters who turned out to give voice to the community's wishes.

05/12/2026

05/06/2026

During Teacher Appreciation Week, this is a good reminder that we ask teachers to do way more than their fundamental responsibility to teach in an orderly, respectful classroom.

🚨 SCHOOLS WEREN’T CREATED TO RAISE CHILDREN.

That might sound harsh… but it matters.

Because somewhere along the way, we started expecting schools to do everything.

Teach academics.
Teach behavior.
Teach values.
Handle mental health.
Fill social gaps.
Raise children.

And when all of that lands on one system…
something starts to break.

Teachers aren’t walking away because they don’t care.
They’re overwhelmed because they care too much
in a system that keeps adding more to their role.

Schools can support.
Schools can guide.
Schools can shape.

But they were never meant to replace what starts at home.

And when we blur that line,
we don’t just stretch teachers too thin…
we make it harder for students to get what they actually need.

Because no system can do everything well.

The sooner we accept this, the sooner things can improve.

05/05/2026

School Board elections are Tuesday, May 12. Get out and vote! https://conta.cc/4n7R0be

Email from Citizens For Delaware Schools Learn about the Candidates Before Voting May 2026 School Board Election Edition In One Week, Make Your Voice Heard Citizens for Delaware Schools can draw atten

05/03/2026

A principal's observations about how schools can be a better experience for both students and teachers.

When did we completely remove common sense from education?

I mean honestly.

The amount of hoops, paperwork, unnecessary meetings, overcomplicated systems, and straight-up asinine conversations happening in schools right now would blow your mind.

Hoop after hoop after hoop.

Form after form after form.

Meeting after meeting after meeting.

And somewhere along the way, we forgot to ask the most important question:

Does this actually help kids?

Because some of this nonsense needs to stop.

Primary kids should not be taking a bunch of freaking standardized tests.

End of story.

Kids should get breaks from technology throughout the day.

Kids should move their bodies.

All kids should have recess.

Taking away recess should not be a thing.

Punishing the entire group for the behavior of a few should not be a thing.

And yet… I am still hearing about this nonsense every single day.

We have made education so complicated that we are ignoring the simple things that actually work.

Before SEL became a buzzword, we called it building relationships.

We spent the first few weeks of school getting to know kids.

We taught routines.

We built trust.

We created classroom communities.

We learned who needed extra support.

We figured out what made kids light up.

That was not a curriculum.

That was teaching.

That was leadership.

That was common sense.

Now SEL becomes a buzzword, and suddenly companies are packaging it up, selling it in a binder, and schools are pulling kids out for “SEL time” like relationships are something you schedule in isolation.

No.

Social-emotional learning should be woven into everything we do.

How we greet kids.

How we teach conflict.

How we respond to mistakes.

How we model regulation.

How we build classroom culture.

How we help kids problem-solve.

How we make every child feel like they belong.

Bring back common sense.

Teach kids how to think.

Teach kids how to problem-solve.

Teach kids how to collaborate.

For primary kids, that means PLAY.

Real play.

Messy play.

Creative play.

Learning-how-to-share-and-talk-and-build-and-imagine play.

And our elementary, middle school, and high school students need real-world application too.

Public speaking.

Communication.

Collaboration.

Leadership.

Problem-solving.

Hands-on learning.

Opportunities to create, present, question, fail, reflect, and try again.

That is education.

Not more hoops.

Not more paperwork.

Not another meeting that could have been an email.

Not another program that replaces the actual work of knowing kids.

We need to stop overcomplicating what great educators have always known:

Kids need connection.

Kids need movement.

Kids need structure.

Kids need expectations.

Kids need relationships.

Kids need real-world learning.

Kids need adults who use common freaking sense.

Bring it back.

Bring back the joy.

Bring back the movement.

Bring back the relationships.

Bring back play.

Bring back real conversations.

Bring back learning that actually matters.

Bring back common sense.

Drop a HECK YES if you agree.