In the State Senate, I’ll work every day to make Delaware public schools the best in the nation, so our students can realize their dreams and achieve success in tomorrow’s workplace and, equally important, as well-educated citizens. From personal experience I know that good schools happen because parents, teachers, school staff, and school leadership work together to do what’s best for students.

A sound education starts early. That’s why I strongly support investing in early child education programs because our best research shows the benefits of these program across a child’s lifetime. In Delaware, we need to increase that investment, particularly for children from low socio-economic backgrounds. The General Assembly must increase funding to meet this challenge along with continued evaluation of our investment.

The City of Wilmington – specifically its children and their families – need us to continue to support the efforts of the Wilmington Learning Collaborative as it works to establish a rigorous and engaging learning experience for city students.

We must also continue the work of the Public Education Compensation Committee to ensure that we are raising salaries to enable our schools to hire and retain the best possible educational professionals and staff.

Delaware institutions of higher education – public and independent alike – are engines of innovation for our state. They provide excellent opportunities for Delaware students to ‘stay home’ and still obtain a diploma. The SEED and Inspire Scholarships provide an outstanding example of affordable pathways for students to pursue higher education.