March 29, 2010... DE receives Race to the Top Funding: It's all about effective collaboration
Since last summer, DSEA has been at the table, working collaboratively with our state DoE and other education stakeholders on Delaware's plan for education, in preparation for the RTTT application. Thanks to that involvement, we were able to make the plan better while at the same time developing a high level of trust.
For example, we were successful in providing that new regulations regarding our statewide evaluation system for teachers will require us to develop together a fair, workable definition of "student growth" that will apply to both tested and non-tested areas and include multiple measures.
In addition, each district will develop its "scope of work" in collaboration with its local teacher's union. And, if the changes being discussed conflict with the local contract, those issues will be bargained.
There are many reasons why DE was chosen, but from our point of view, the level of cooperation, collaboration, and our ability to make the plan better because of being at the table, is what will make these millions of dollars significant. Our members are starting to see that it's a chance to help reshape their schools, making changes they've wanted to make and have advocated for for a long time.
Dover, DE, March 19, 2009... DSEA President says No to Governor's devastating 8% salary cut proposal
Delaware joins "Tough Choices, Tough Times" education partners
March 10, 2009, Washington, D.C. ... DSEA Executive Director Howard Weinberg attends news conference at the National Press Club where the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) announced that Delaware would become one of a handful of states to partner with a multi-state consortium aimed at bettering America’s public education system.
Late last year, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Utah became the initial states to announce their commitment to pursuing recommendations of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce (www.skillscommission.org) in its Tough Choices or Tough Times (TCTT) reform agenda. Today, Delaware, Arizona and New Mexico announced that they too will pilot aspects of this agenda for education reform.
In a letter to NCEE last month, Governor Jack Markell requested Delaware be considered for inclusion into the consortium. The Governor gave credit to the coalition for their “commitment to producing and retaining the highest quality teacher and school leaders, compensating them for their success, and holding them accountable for their outcomes; and, crucially, investing in early childhood education.”
“Education is the most critical investment a society can make in its future. We are ready to work with NCEE over the next year to help ensure that we get the greatest return for that investment,” Markell said.
Secretary of Education Lillian Lowery also corresponded with NCEE asking them to consider Delaware in the consortium. “Tough Choices or Tough Times provides a methodology to test many critical changes to our system of public education in Delaware, changes that we have already committed to and that we must be willing to risk.”
Richard Struthers, chairman of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce also wrote for support of inclusion into the consortium. “We believe that Delaware’s vision for world-class excellence in public education will be greatly enhanced by joining the national network you are constructing.”
Project direction will reside within Delaware’s Department of Education (DOE) and will draw on experts and practitioners in public and private sectors. In addition to DSEA, business and philanthropic leaders, district administrators, and legislators have been involved in discussing how the NCEE affiliation can accelerate the work already underway. Staff support will be provided by DOE with private sector support covering the majority of direct costs, such as meetings of Delaware representatives with their peers from other states.
February 13, 2009...U.S. Senate passes stimulus bill. |
American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009 will help reduce state deficit
Here's how the funding breaks down for Delaware, the funding that will impact education. There is much more, but these are the funding lines associated with education:
State Stabilization: $134.4 million
Federal Pell Grants: $26.7 million, to increase the maximum grant by $500
IDEA Part B grants: $33.5 million
ESEA Title I, Part A: $31.1 million
Head Start: $3.8 million
Child Care and Development Block Grants: $4.4 million
Educational Technology State Grants: $3.2 million
In the Act there is also a new category of tax credit bonds for the "construction, rehabilitation or repair of public school facilities or for the acquisition of land on which a public school facility will be constructed."
The inclusion of these tax credit bonds totalling $22.4 billion (nationwide) is a huge victory for NEA, its coalition partners and its affiliates since it is essentially the whole "America's Better Classrooms Act," which has been a major priority for NEA in recent years.
Feb. 11, 2009... In his second floor speach, Senator Ted Kaufman got it right, urging passage of a federal stimulus bill, with one big caveat: "This recovery package contains money in both spending and tax cuts, and not one earmark. I am disappointed, however, the bill does not include the level of education funding necessary to prevent teacher layoffs while creating hundreds of jobs in Delaware by putting people to work on school construction and modernization. I urge the House and Senate negotiators to back that funding."
Read his full floor statement here.
Of the three members of Delaware's Congressional delegation, Senator Kaufman is the only one who has spoken out about the need to restore school construction and state stabilization money to the final bill.
Feb. 10, 2009... News release: "Investing in education makes economic sense" outling the $151.6 million difference for Delaware, between the House and Senate versions of the Economic Stimulus bill now going to conference committee.
Congressman Castle voted against the House version which would have invested $79 billion in state stabilization funds that would have meant $ for Delaware over the next two years. It also included $38.; and $38.7 million in school modernization/construction bond funds for Delaware.
Senator Carper was a co-sponsor of the amendment to the original Senate bill that cut the State Financial Stabilization Fund for Delaware by just over 50% and cut out all school construction bond funding for Delaware.
Feb. 9, 2009.... Letter from DSEA President Diane Donohue to Delaware's Congressional delegation urging restoration of education funds to final Economic Stimulus package
Open Letter to Congressman Castle on his lack of support for Federal Economic Stimulus Package
Mike Castle voted against the House version of the Economic Stimulus Package during the last week of January 2009. Read our response here.
Who we are
DSEA currently represent all the K-12 public school district teachers and specialists in Delaware's 19 school districts, and approximately 2,000 school secretaries, paraprofessionals, aides, school bus drivers, custodians and food service workers in 18 school districts.We do not represent any charter schools at this time (ie, we are not the bargaining agent for any charter schools, although we do have individual members who work at charter schools and join for other benefits, information and networking opportunities).
The Delaware State Education Association, founded in 1919 and incorporated in Delaware in 1952, is both a professional association – providing information, training, professional development, advocacy, issues forums, networking opportunities, awards, membership discount benefits – as well as a bargaining agent or union.
DSEA is a unified association of local, state and national affiliates. Our national affiliate is the National Education Association, or NEA. Local affiliates are organized by school district, i.e., teachers in Brandywine belong to the Brandywine Education Association, paras in Colonial belong to the Colonial Paraprofessionals Association, etc.
The state affiliate is DSEA. Members belong to all three.
As the union of public school employees, DSEA’s mission is to “…advocate for the rights and interests of its members and outstanding public education for all students."
DSEA’s members
DSEA has just over 11,500 members in all of Delaware’s 19 school districts. As the recognized bargaining agent, we represent all of the teachers. Approximately 86% of them are dues-paying members.
In addition, we represent the teachers who work for the State of Delaware’s Department of Youth, Children and their Families (at Ferris School and other residential and/or detention facilities); and the state’s public health nurses and nurses who work for the Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill in Smyrna.
DSEA also represents approximately 2,000 education support employees in 40 bargaining units in seventeen districts: transportation workers, paraprofessionals, office workers, aides, custodians and food service workers.
In addition, DSEA has a retired chapter of 550 members, and two student NEA chapters at the University of Delaware and Delaware State University.
Our National Affiliate – the National Education Association, www.nea.og
DSEA is an affiliate of the National Education Association, headquartered in Washington, D.C. NEA is the largest professional organization and the largest employee organization/union in the nation, with a membership of 2.7 million.
The only other professional teacher organization that represents U.S. teachers is the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which has no teacher bargaining units in Delaware. On the national level, NEA and AFT are working together on many projects as they explore ways in which a merger might be feasible.
NEA’s current focus is on helping members and their schools close the Achievement Gap in the most challenging schools, as well as working with legislators to fix and fund the so-called No Child Left Behind Act. NEA recently filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education for not funding its mandates.
The current president of NEA, Reg Weaver – a middle school science teacher from Harvey, Illinois – is an outspoken advocate for public education and one of the country's foremost African American labor leaders. As NEA president, Weaver travels across the country as an ambassador for public education. Speaking on behalf of education reform and innovation in the nation's schools, he has addressed national conferences and public policy forums sponsored by the NAACP, Cable Television Association, National Conference of Black Mayors, ASPIRA, Rainbow/Push Coalition, and University of Wisconsin. Weaver has also represented the Association internationally at meetings of the World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession and the Federal Education Association.
DSEA is a democratically-run organization whose policies and positions are debated and voted on by elected representatives from each local association at our annual Representative Assembly held in March or April of each year.
An Executive Board, including officers, is also elected directly by members. This board determines and carries out policy in between Representative Assemblies.
Leadership Team
DSEA’s Leadership Team is made up of its president, vice-president, treasurer and NEA director (DSEA’s representative to the NEA Board of Directors). The officers and NEA director are elected directly by the membership.
Staff
DSEA currently employs twelve professional staff and nine support staff who work out of two offices: a headquarters office in Dover and a branch office in Stanton.
Click here for more information about DSEA.
Click here for contact information and names of DSEA's officers, staff and local association officers up and down the state.
2008 News Releases
March 12, 2008 - The "Center for Union Facts" (CUF) has begun a campaign to demoralize good teachers, block reform and ultimately hurt our public education system.” A national campaign of press releases, TV, radio and newspaper ads, it targets twenty school districts nationwide, none in Delaware.
