If you want a place where the state values and supports education for your children, consider Delaware. With 120,000 students in the public schools, Delaware takes the responsibility for their education seriously.
Recently the governor of Delaware created a budget proposal following a principle of “drawing a line around education.” He insisted that the education of children be protected when all other budget items required cuts. In Delaware, education is recognized as an investment, not just an expense. In another state, which shall not be named here, the chairman of the state senate education committee recently said that college degrees do not prepare people for real jobs, and thus higher education should have less support from the state. The lieutenant governor of Delaware visits school classrooms and observes teachers working with children. He told in his official blog about several outstanding teachers he watched performing the most important task of educating Delaware’s children.
The governor reported in his 2011 state of the state address, where the state stands in its goal of creating the strongest possible public schools. The teacher of the year recognition program is one way Delaware values and appreciates public school teachers. It will be interesting to see how well this state succeeds in elevating the prestige of public school teachers in the future, helping to ensure that the best and brightest of college students become career teachers.
In 2010, at a conference for the federal governments “Race to the Top” program, Delaware took first place for their plan, which was developed through cooperation among a large group of interested parties. One of the main principles is recognition that the quality of teachers is the single most important factor in educational success. The Delaware plan calls for evaluating what the most successful teachers do, and training new teachers to use the same methods.
