updated July 25, 2007

Great Schools Media Campaign 2007
Great Schools Media Campaign 2006
Great Schools Media Campaign 2005
Great Schools Media Campaign 2004
Great Schools Media Campaign 2003
Great School Facts
Related links

Forty-nine billboards to dot highways this summer
Six of this year's media campaign billboards will be the artwork of one of the Kindergarten classes at McIlvaine Kindergarten Center in Caesar Rodney.
Under the direction of Dawn Card, teacher and Patricia McCarty, paraprofessional, theirs was the Grand Prize Winner in this year's Read Across America Contest. The challenge this
year was to develop a message and artwork that encouraged the community to be good stewards of their local environment. Starting with the reading of Dr. Seuss' Sneetches book, they were to submit a written statement describing their research and the development of their messge and artwork.

This board will appear in these five locations from August 6 through August 31, 2007:
Wilmington: Rte. 52/Pennsylvania Ave., west side, 10 feet north of Union St., facing north. LIT.
New Castle: Rte. 13/DuPont Hwy., west side, 0.2 mile south of Rte. 273, facing north. NOT LIT.
Dover: Rte. 13, DuPont Hwy., west side, 0.5 mile south of Rte. 42, Fast Landing Road, facing south. LIT.
Woodside: Rte. 13, east side, 0.7 mile north of Canterbury Road, facing south. NOT LIT.
Lewes: Rte. 1, east side, 0.3 mile north of Rte. 276, facing north. NOT LIT.

And running from August 20 through September 14 at this location:
South Dover: Rte. 13, east side, 100 feet north of Voshell Mill Road, facing north. LIT.

Radio spot to reinforce "A Student is More than a Test Score"
Our new 60-second DSEA radio spot has a back-to-school message for parents and the public.
Click here to listen to the spot (an MP3 file) which will air from August 20-27.
It will air on these Delaware stations:
WJBR 99.5 FM
WDEL 1150 AM
WSTW 93.7 FM
WXCY 103.7 FM
WDSD 92.9 FM
WJKS 101.7 FM
WAFL Eagle 97.7 FM
WICO 97.5 FM

Its message reinforces the rest of our billboard campaign, a student is MORE than a test score:

The No Child Left Behind Act is currently undergoing reauthorization by Congress. Is it higher test scores that we really need from our educational system, or children who can fulfill their possibilities, become thoughtful, productive, engaged citizens? Those are not necessarily one and the same.

These billboards will be placed in 43 locations statewide.
They will run from August 6 through August 31 at these locations:

Townsend:
Rte. 13, Rte. 1, west side, 1.6 mile south of Rte. 299, facing south. LIT.
Wilmington:
MLK Blvd., south side, 20 feet west of So. Market St., facing west. LIT.
North King St., west side, 15 feet south of 4th Street, facing east, LIT.
New Castle Ave, west side, 0.3 mile south of Terminal Ave., facing south, NOT LIT.
Rte. 4, Maryland Ave., south side, 0.1 mile east of Germay Dr., facing east, LIT.
Rte. 48, Lancaster Pike, south side, 0.2 mile west of Rte. 100, Dupont Rd., facing west, LIT.
Rte. 48, Lancaster Ave., north side, 25 feet east of Greenhill Ave., facing east, LIT.
Rte. 13B, Philadelphia, Pike, east side, 0.1 mile south of Rte. 1, Governor Printz Blvd., facing north, NOT LIT.
Rte. 13B, Philadelphia, Pike, west side, 0.2 miles noth of Rte. 3, Marsh Rd., facing south, NOT LIT.
Miller Rd., west side, 50 feet south of Lea Blvd., facing south, LIT.
Governor Printz Blvd., east side, 100 feet south of Lea Blvd, facing north, NOT LIT.
Rte. 202, Concord Pike, east side, 0.2 miles south of Silverside Rd., facing south, NOT LIT.
New Castle Ave., west side, 0.1 mile north of Memorial Drive, facing north, NOT LIT.
Rte. 52, 12th St., north side, 125 feet west of West St., facing east, NOT LIT.
Rte. 92, Naamans Rd., north side, 500 feet west of Rte 13B, Philadelphia Pike, facing west, LIT.
Point Breeze
Rte. 13, Dupont Hwy, west side, 0.1 mile north of Rte 71, facing north, LIT.
Newport
Rte. 4/7, Newport Christina Rd., south side, 100 ft. east of St. James Church Road, facing west, LIT.
New Castle
Rte. 9, Delaware St., south side, 0.1 miles east of Washington St, facing east, NOT LIT.
Rte. 58, Churchmans Rd., east side, 0.1 mile north of Rte. 37, Airport Road, facing south, LIT.
Rte. 141, Basin Rd., west side, 0.2 miles north of Commons Blvd., facing south, NOT LIT.
Newark
Rte. 2, Kirkwood Hwy., south side, 200 feet, west side of Possum Park Rd., facing east, NOT LIT.
Rte. 4, Chestnust Hill Rd., south side, 350 ft. west of Marrows Rd., facing west, LIT.
Old Baltimore Pike, north side, 0.9 miles east of Rte. 72, S. Chapel St., facing east, NOT LIT.
Hockessin
Rte. 41, Lancaster Pike, east side, 0.5 miles north of Brackenville Rd., facing south, LIT.
Claymont
Rte. 92, Naamans Rd., south side, 400 feet east of Carpenter Station Rd., facing west, LIT.
Harvey Rd., north side, 150 feet west of Rte. 13B, Philadelphia Pike, facing west, LIT.
Minquadale
U.S. 13 Dupont Pkwy, west side, 0.1 mile north of I-295, facing south, LIT.
Middletown
Rte. 71, east side, 1.3 miles south of Boyds Corner Rd, facing north, NOT LIT.
Smyrna
Rte. 13, Dupont Pkwy, west side, 800 ft. north of Route 1, south end entrance, facing north, NOT LIT.
Bear
Rte. 40, north side, 50 feet east of Oriole Ave., facing east, LIT.
Ogletown
Red Mill Rd., west side, 150 feet south of Ruthar Dr., facing north, NOT LIT.
Smyrna
Rte. 13, Dupont Hwy., east side, 0.2 miles south of Rd. 149, Hickory Ridge Rd., facing north, LIT.
Cheswold
Rte. 13, Dupont Hwy., east side, 0.1 miles south of Rte. 42, Fast Landing Rd., facing north, NOT LIT.
Dover
Rte. 13A, N. State St., east side, 0.2 miles south of Rte. 13, Dupont Hwy., facing north, NOT LIT.
Rte. 8, north side, 0.5 miles west of Longpointe Rd., facing west, LIT.
Rte. 13, east side, 50 feet north of Hatchery Rd., facing north, LIT.
Delmar
Rte. 13, west side, 1.2 miles south of Rte. 454a, facing south, NOT LIT.
Seaford
Rte. 13, west side, 0.25 miles south of Rte. 485a, facing south, LIT.
Harrington
Rte. 13, east side, 1.1 miles north of Winkler Rd., facing south, NOT LIT.
Selbyville
Rte. 113, east side, 1.15 miles, north of Rte. 54, facing south, LIT.
Georgetown
Rte. 113 east side, 0.4 miles north of Rte. 9, facing north, LIT.
Rte. 404, south side, 0.65 miles east of Rte. 320, facing east, LIT.
Ellendale
Rte. 113, east side, 50 feet south of Sharons St., facing south, NOT LIT.

Forty-nine DSEA billboards dotted highways
summer 2006
Student-designed Reading Billboard new this year

DSEA is proud to promote our great public schools and the critical elements of helping all students achieve.
Starting July 31, four billboard designs ran for 30 days.

We are very proud to add the Reading billboard to the mix. The poster was created by the Art Club, third and fourth graders, of Lake Forest So. Elementary School in Harrington as part of our annual Student Read Across America Contest.
Their art teacher and club advisor is Pamela Whitaker. Their design was chosen as the Grand Prize winner; part of their prize was that DSEA would display it as a billboard. With support from the News Journal's Newspapers in Education Program, which received funding help from DuPont, we were able to promote the contest through the newspaper, as well as run a full-page announcement of all of the winners on Read Across America Day, March 2. (For more on NEA's Read Across America program, go to www.nea.org/readacross.)

The Great Schools media campaign is part of the DSEA mission to advocate for great public schools for every child.

The Reading Billboard design is also the cover of DSEA's 06-07 calendar/datebook distributed to all members in the fall.
To see the other three billboards which also ran last summer, click here.

LOCATIONS Yes or No refer to whether or not the billboard is illuminated at night.

Northern New Castle County
Wilmington:
North King St., west side, 15 feet south of 4th St., facing east - Yes - Reading South Market St., east side, 0.2 mile north of So. Heald St., facing south - Yes - Talents
New Castle Ave., west side, 0.3 mile south of Terminal Ave., facing south - No - Testing
Maryland Ave., north side, 75 ft. east of Banning Parkway, facing west - Yes - Testing
Maryland Ave., south side, 0.1 mile east of Germay Dr., facing east - Yes - Parents Boxwood Rd., north side, 100 ft. east of Maryland Ave., facing south - Yes - Reading
18th St., north side, 500 ft. east of Augustine Cutoff, facing west - Yes - Reading Rte. 202 Concord Ave., west side, 0.1 miles south of I-95, facing north - No - Talents
Rte. 202 Concord Pike, east side, 0.2 mile south of Silverside Road, facing north - No - Reading
Philadelphia Pike Rte. 13, west side, 0.2 mi. north of Marsh Road, facing north - No - Parents
Murphy Road, north side, 150 ft. east of Rte. 202, facing west - Yes - Testing

Rte. 9, New Castle Ave., west side, 0.2 mile north of Memorial Drive, facing north - No - Testing
Rte. 48 Lancaster Pike, north side, 0.5 mile east of Rte. 141, facing east - Yes - Parents
Rte. 48, Lancaster Ave., south side, 150 ft. east of Gray Ave., facing west - Yes - Reading
Rte. 141, Centerville Rd., east side, 0.3 mile south of Kirkwood Hwy., facing north - Yes - Talents
Gov. Printz Blvd., east side, 250 ft. north of 13th St., facing south - Yes - Talents
Gov. Printz Blvd., east side, 100 ft. south of Lea Blvd., facing north - No - Reading
Orange St., east side, 75 ft. north of 6th St., facing south - No - Parents

Claymont:
Naamans Road, south side, 400 ft. east of Carpenter Station Road, facing west - Yes - Testing

Minquadale:
Rte. 13 west side, 0.4 mile north of I-295, facing south - Yes - Parents Minquadale: Rte. 13 west side, 200 ft. south of Hazeldell Dr., facing north - Yes - Testing

Midvale:
Rte. 13, east side, 0.4 mile north of Rte. 40, facing north - Yes -Reading

Pencader Hundred:
Rte. 40, south side, 0.l mile east of Church Road, facing west -Yes - Testing

Ogletown:
Red Mill Rd., west side, 150 ft. south of Ruthar Dr., facing south - No - Talents

Newark:
Rte. 72 east side, .3 mile south of Old Baltimore Pike, facing north - Yes - Parents Rte. 72 So. Chapel, west side, 0.3 mi south of Rte. 4/Chestnut Hill Road, facing south - YES - Reading
Kirkwood Hwy., north side, 0.1 mile east of Harmony Rd., facing east - Yes - Talents
Kirkwood Hwy., south side, 200 ft. west of Possum Park Road, facing west - No - Talents
Rte. 273, south side, 0.2 mile west of Harmony Road, facing east - Yes - Reading Marrows Road, west side, 150 ft. south of Brookside Dr., facing south - No - Talents New Castle: Rte. 273, north side, 0.3 mile east of Churchmans Road, facing west - Yes - Testing

New Castle:
Churchmans Rd., east side, 0.1 mile north of Airport Rd., facing north - Yes - Parents
New Castle: Rte. 141, Basin Road, east side, 600 ft. north of Rte. 13, facing north - Yes - Testing
New Castle: Rte. 141, Basin Road, west side, 400 ft. north of West University Ave., facing south - Yes - Parents

Southern New Castle County
Bear:
Rte. 40, north side, 0.6 mile east of Rte. 1, facing west - Yes - Parents

Middletown:
Rte. 71, east side, 1.3 mi. south of Boyds Corner Rd., facing north - No - Talents Rte. 71, east side, 1.3 mile south of Boyds Corner Rd., facing south - No - Testing

Townsend:
Rte. 13/Rte. 1, west side, 1.6 mi., south of Rte. 299 facing north - Y - Parents
Rte. 13, east side, 0.1 mile south of Rte. 71, facing south - No - Parents

Kent County
Smyrna:
Rte. 13, west side, 800 ft. north of Rte. 1 south end entrance, facing north - No - Reading
Rte. 13, west side, east side, 0.8 mile south of Black Diamond Road, facing south - Yes - Talents

Dover:
Rte. 13, east side, 0.7 mile north of W. Dennys Road, facing south - No - Reading

Sussex County - All will run from August 7 to September 3
Bridgeville:
Rte. 404, south side, 0.2 miles east of Rte. 18, facing east - Yes - Parents

Delmar:
Rte. 13, east side, 0.1 mile north of Rte. 454a, facing north - No - Reading Georgetown: Rte. 113, east side, 1.02 mile north of Rte. 404, facing south - No - Talents
Lincoln: Rte. 113, east side, 0.1 mile north of Morgan Road, facing north - No - Testing
Seaford: Rte. 13, west side, 0.25 mile south of Rte. 485a, facing north - Yes - Parents
Seaford: Rte. 13, east side, 0.6 mile north of Tharp Road, facing south - No - Reading
Selbyville: Rte. 113, east side, 1.15 mile north of Rte. 54, facing south - Yes - Talents

We ran no radio in 2006 with this campaign.

Media Campaign 2005

Click here to hear our Great Schools/Back to School radio spot which ran for two weeks between August 22 and September 4, 2005 on these stations:
WDEL 1150 AM News Talk- “Delaware News; Delaware Views”
WJBR 99.5FM “Today’s hits and yesterday’s favorite”
WILM 1450AM “Newsradio: Delaware’s only news radio”
WSTW 93.7 FM “Delaware's Choice for Hit Music”
WJKS Kiss 101.7 FM R&B and Hip Hop County, according to Arbitron
WDSD 92.9 FM “Delaware Continuous Country”
WGMD 92.7 FM – “News & talk radio in Sussex County"

Its message? that Great Schools are more than high-stakes test results.

Then click here to see our three Great Schools Billboards which ran from August 22, 2005 for a month - 49 of them! They reinforce the message in the radio message. This, of course, is part of the DSEA effort to convince legislators and policy-makers that, thanks to the Accountability movement and No Child Left Behind, testing is being used inappropriately and worse, is harming education. This is a sentiment shared by many parents - who also vote and pay taxes!
Click here for a list of locations.

Great Schools Media Campaign 2004

Click here to hear DSEA's radio spot which aired Sept. 7-19, 2004 on WDEL 1150 AM, WSTW 93.7FM, WJBR 99.5FM and WILM 1450AM.
Click here to hear DSEA's Be Proud, Delaware radio spot which aired May 24 through June 5, 2004 on WDEL 1150AM, WSTW 93.7FM and WJBR 99.5FM, WDSD 92.9 FM Continuous Country, WGMD 92.7 FM News Talk, WWFG 99.9 FM FROGGY Country, WRDX 94.7 FM Soft Rock and WJKS KISS 101.7FM urban contemporary.

Click here to see the seven billboards - 51 of them - which blanketed Delaware highways during the month of August 2004

Great Schools Media Campaign 2003

Click here to hear DSEA's "We're Proud, Delaware" radio spot which airs August 21-31, 2003 on WDEL 1150AM, WSTW 93.7FM and WJBR 99.5FM.
Click here* to hear DSEA's Great Schools radio spot which played on 11 Delaware radio stations between March 24 and April 4, 2003.
*[Download is a 351k mp3 file]

Click here for a public opinion poll comparison of public perceptions of our schools, from November 02 through September 03.

Great School Facts
Here are some great facts about Delaware public schools:

** Delaware's student scores on the National Reading assessment given most recently in 2002 to 4th and 8th graders showed the most gain of any state. The average fourth grade reading scores was 224 while the national average was 217. This is a significant improvement from 1998 when DE fourth graders scored 207 against a national average of 213.
And eighth graders had an average score of 267 compared to the nation's score of 263. Compared to 1998, DE's 8th graders improved 13 points in average score.
(National Assessment of Educational Progress - Delaware scores)

** In the National Writing Test, again, Delaware's results ranked Delaware first in the nation for average score gained for 8th graders. (There was no fourth grade NAEP Writing Assessment in 1998.) And, the 4th and 8th grade scores are among the highest in the nation: only Department of Defense Schools, Connecticut and Vermont surpassed Delaware's scores.
In the fourth grade, DE students on average scored 163 on the NAEP writing test, bettering the national average of 153. The eighth grade students on average scored 159 compared to the nation's score of 152. Compared to 1998 DE's 8th graders improved 14 points on average.
(National Assessment of Educational Progress - Delaware scores)

** SAT scores of Delaware students have risen almost three times faster than the national average.
(College Board, 2002 SAT State Results).

** The numbers of students taking SAT's continues to rise. We have one of the highest participation rates in the country, at 73%, ninth in the nation (College Board, 2004 AP State and National Summary Report)

** Delaware is the seventh highest state in the proportion of high school graduates who go immediately to college.
(Data tabulated from a variety of tables in NCES, Digest of Education Statistics 2000 and 2001)

** Every single high school in Delaware offers Advanced Placement courses- the only state that can make that claim. (College Board 2003 AP State and National Summary Report)

** We are also the number one state in the nation in the proportion of students taking Advanced Placement courses for college credit. (College Board 2002 AP State and National Summary Report)

** We are fifth among the states in the proportion of our teachers who have received certification from the prestigious National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. (NBPTS, state-by-state listing, November 2002; and NEA Rankings and Estimates 2003)

** We are one of the few states in the nation that has created and implemented a new teacher mentoring and induction program. (Delaware State Dept. of Education)

** We're the only state in the state where all eligible four year-olds are funded for participation in Head Start. (Dept. of Education 2003)

** Ninety percent of our fourth graders met or exceeded the science standard last fall. (Delaware Department of Education)

** We have shown continuous growth and improvement in our DSTP scores. (Delaware Dept. of Education)

**Ninety-nine percent of our classrooms have at least one computer online and our student to computer ratio is a low three to one - one of the best rates in the nation. (Delaware Center for Education Technology)

Related links:
More facts about Delaware's schools, faculty and student results
Enrollment and other reports available from the Delaware Dept. of Education
School profiles
National Center for Education Statistics

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