Lt. Governor Carney, State Chamber of Commerce Host Sharing Forum for Innovative Education Models

Lt. Governor John Carney joined with President Jim Wolfe and members of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce today to host a Sharing Forum for this year's Models of Excellence in Education and Superstars in Education winners. The annual event recognizes the winning schools for each year and gives them the opportunity to share their ideas and success with members of the state's education and business communities.

"Delaware schools are using some very creative and effective ways of teaching our children," said Lt. Governor Carney. "The best way to continue this improvement is by recognizing our high achieving schools, and giving them a chance to communicate their ideas and methods with those schools that need a little more help."

Each year, Lt. Governor Carney's "Models of Excellence in Education" schools are chosen from a group that have shown continuous improvement on their DSTP scores, as well as progress in closing the minority and low-income achievement gaps. The 2007 winners include East Dover Elementary School, George V. Kirk Middle School, and Milford High School.

"Superstars in Education" winners are selected for their innovative programs that inspire students and raise student achievement. This year's winners were Etta J. Wilson Elementary School, Maple Lane Elementary School, Richard A. Shields Elementary School, POLYTECH High School, Seaford School District, Thomas Edison Charter School, and Campus Community School.

Each of these schools were recognized at the Sharing Forum and given the opportunity to present their award-winning programs. The winners also led panel discussions about their initiatives' content, data collection, and operations management.

The keynote presenters at this year's Sharing Forum were Principal Carolyn Zogby and staff members from Stanton Middle School in the Red Clay School District. For the last two years, Models of Excellence in Education has facilitated a partnership between Stanton and Selbyville Middle School in the Indian River School District. Through the partnership, Stanton has been able to learn from Selbyville's "Meet the Challenge" program, and has dramatically increased its DSTP scores.

"It was great to see the results of this two year process and share them with our guests today," said Lt. Governor Carney. "It's examples like these that we need to show to our state's education and business communities. These groups are essential to preserving Delaware's future and keeping our economy strong. They need to work together to build on the great things happening in our schools."