Delaware education secretary outlines loan relief, literacy coaches and apprenticeship push

Secretary Martin Veil, participating remotely, reported several statewide efforts aimed at recruiting and retaining educators and accelerating literacy supports.

Veil said the state's student loan repayment program for the 2024-25 cycle awarded aid to hundreds of educators in high-need schools and subject areas. "This year, 568 high-need educators each received $1,400," Veil said, and, she added, about 120 speech-language pathologists and mental-health staff "were awarded $4,000 each" to support their service in Delaware public schools. Veil said the loan-relief program is in its seventh year and received more than 1,000 applications before closing Nov. 30, 2024.

Veil described work to expand registered apprenticeships following the governor's Executive Order 1. "At the first meeting to implement the executive order, participants got an overview of what work-based learning looks like in Delaware," she said, and the EO committee plans a final convening on March 25 and a report with recommendations to the governor due March 31.

On literacy, Veil called the situation a statewide priority and described a two-phase expansion of literacy coaching. "We have 11 literacy coaches that are hired through phase 2 of our early literacy program that started this month," she said, noting the new coaches are expected to be in place by June. Veil said phase 1 included four coaches placed in Colonial (and one in Thomas Edison) and that districts can use subgrants to build coaching capacity.

Veil also described a pilot partnership to support students with individualized education programs (IEPs) through work-based learning credits and stipends, and said the Department of Education will host a statewide showcase of that pilot on May 14. She noted the department has partnered with state agencies and national organizations to align practices and said professional learning for secondary literacy instruction will be offered to teachers this spring.

Board members asked for clarifications about the number and timing of phases for the literacy program and whether community-based organizations could participate. Veil said the specific literacy grant that funds the coaches was designed for school-based positions but that other grant opportunities and community partners (for example, United Way's StandBy Me) can support literacy work in complementary ways.

The secretary's report closed with an emphasis on training teacher-preparation programs and broad, field-based supports: "If students are graduating from the universities and they don't know how to teach reading, then we're starting behind the 8 ball," she said.

The board did not take action on the items in the secretary's report; the presentation was informational and followed by member questions.