Thank you all for being engaged in this effort.

Were looking forward to sharing the exciting work underway

across the state of Delaware to imagine the future of education in
our state, and we look forward to learning your ideas on how to
shape this vision.
Since J anuary, hundreds of Delawareans have begun
conceptualizing a new plan to keep our education system moving
forward into the next decade.
We hope youll actively join us in the development and to invite
others to join the conversation as well.
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First well share some context on why were undertaking this
vision.
Then well give you a sense of the work to date.
Then well share the many ways each of you can participate in
the ongoing discussion.
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Vision 2015 a coalition of education, community, business, and
nonprofit leaders has worked together over the last ten years with
a goal of giving every Delaware student a world-class
education.
We have made tremendous progress in the last ten years, since
Vision 2015 first started.
But we arent there yet. We still have work to do. We are getting
better, but we want to be great.
Were taking stock of how far weve come and where we need to
head in the next ten years.
Please join us as we imagine education in Delaware in 2025.
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If any state can do it, Delaware can.
We should be proud of all that we have achieved together in
the last ten years.
In addition to all the progress weve made, we are small, weve
proven we can work together, and we have committed
leadership from all stakeholder groups.
Each of the successes listed here represents years of hard work by
hundreds of individuals including many of you in the room. ED25
is a draft vision that builds on the foundation of Delawares and
Vision 2015s key goals: implementing higher standards, investing
in early learning, supporting high-quality teachers and leaders,
encouraging innovation, and creating an equitable funding system.
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Weve achieved some great things, and weve learned a lot along
the way. But we arent there yet, and still have some significant
challenges ahead of us.
Many students still struggle to reach basic proficiency in reading
and math.
Performance varies widely and the system remains inequitable.
Only 30% of students entering college return for their second
year.
RTTT funding will end. State budgets are tight, and demands
are growing.
And we mustnt be afraid to tackle these challenges head on.
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And, as we know, education does not exist in a vacuum.
The world isnt going to slow down and wait for our kids to catch
up.
We need to collectively address these issues quickly so our
students arent left behind.
We have an exciting opportunity to design the future rather
than watch it happen to us.
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Join us as we imagine the future for our students
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Now, well give you a sense of what has happened so far and
how we will keep building on it.
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To get the process underway, hundreds of people have already
been imagining the future state of education and what we need
to do to achieve that vision.
As you can see, we are currently reaching out to thousands
more Delawareans to get their help developing the plan.
Then in October, well discuss the plan at the conference, and
in January, well release a final plan.
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Who has participated in developing the draft vision?
Hundreds of Delawareans participating in Working Groups and
the Steering Committee
Hundreds more that responded to a public survey
Local, national, and global experts have also provided input
You can see a broad range of stakeholder representatives have
been part of the conversation.
The visioning process was guided by a Steering Committee.
The names of the members of this group, the Working Groups,
and the Vision Coalition Leadership Team are available at
www.vision2015delaware.org.
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Lets look at some highlights of the work thats been done so
far
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In developing the draft, the teams conceptualized this model:
1. Start with the student. What skills and attributes must an
educated Delawarean possess in 2025 in order to be successful?
2. How must we design our education system to deliver against
our bold vision for students?
3. What set of strategies will enable us to create this ideal
system?
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Lets take a moment to look back on our brainstorm around what a
successful Delawarean looks like in 2025, and compare it to this
draft North Star developed by our Steering Committee.
The student-centered vision will serve as a North Star around
which we can align and anchor our plan. What resonates about this
early version?
Core Academic Knowledge defines the foundational knowledge
students must possess
Skills identify what our students need to be able to do to actively
participate in the workforce and society
Attributes succinctly describe what we want our children to be
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Then we considered how to design a system that supports that
student.
The Steering Committee proposes there are three essential system
characteristics that we should strive for: Excellence, Equity, and
Efficiency.
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This is some thinking around what the future system could look like
if we get those 3 Es right.
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Six Working Groups comprised of about 100 people worked
intensively over the last several months to develop a vision
statement and strategies that would help get us to our ideal
system.
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Across all of the working groups recommendations, nine themes
emerged in our initial phase. Here are a few more words about
what each of these means.
1. Empower students to own their learning, and individualize the
learning experience to meet each students individual talents
and needs.
2. Build strong partnerships with parents and families.
3. Provide all families with access to excellent early education
options, and make the transition from pre-K to Kindergarten
clearer for families.
4. Ensure that all students, regardless of the school they attend,
have access to excellent, high-quality early college and career
opportunities.
5. Increase connections among early learning, K-12, higher
education, and the workforce. Increase collaboration within the
K-12 system among traditional, charter, and vocational
schools.
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6. Attract and retain highly effective leaders, and empower them to
lead great schools.
7. Provide educators with meaningful professional learning
opportunities and career paths, ensure all new teachers are well-
prepared to enter the classroom, and celebrate teachers and the
profession.
8. Put in place a rigorous, fair accountability system that supports
all schools and students and allows them to maximize their
strengths and unleash excellence.
9. Incorporate student need into funding decisions, and empower
school and district leaders to make financial decisions that best
meet the needs of their students.
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Now, if we can step back on everything weve discussed so far,
we would appreciate your reactions
What do you like?
What do you think could be improved?
Whats missing?
What needs more emphasis?
Please share your thoughts with us on our online platform,
ED25.MindMixer, and email us at
info@vision2015delaware.org.
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Our goal is to engage 2,025 Delawareans in live and virtual cups
of coffee before September.
Were well on our way, and we hope youll help us reach more
people.
Whether you are a student, parent, educator, taxpayer, employer,
or community member, you have a stake and a role in this work.
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We encourage you to stay involved after today.
These are several of the ways you can do so attending meetings
in person, and participating and interacting online.
We have a number of meetings scheduled to have conversations
list this one: Please let us know if there are other organizations
we should reach out to parent or teacher groups, community
organizations, faith or cultural groups.
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Thank you for your participation and contributions to this important
vision.
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