Delaware State Education Association

DSEA President Stephanie Ingram helped Delaware celebrate National Literacy Month this week at an event that brought together multiple initiatives centered around the joys of reading!

First Spouse Tracey Quillen Carney read her book Books for Blue to students at the Early Learning Center - University of Delaware, which marked its 20th anniversary of providing hands-on discovery learning to young children.

State Librarian Annie Norman also joined in the festivities in celebration of Books for Blue now being available to families at 33 libraries across Delaware. Available in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole, the story encourages readers to visit their local library, step out of their comfort zone, and discover their passions through reading.

House Education Committee Chair Rep. Kim Williams also was on hand, along with YouDee and Baby Blue!

Nearly 135,000 Delawareans are currently paying off student loans. Most are younger than 35. And on average they are carrying $37,000 in debt.

The State of Delaware has created several programs in recent years designed to help local educators cover the cost of their student loans.

DSEA will hold two virtual, information sessions in the coming months to help you navigate your student loan journey and determine if you’re eligible for assistance.

Click here to register now for the first session at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 13: https://bit.ly/3ZxQn0K

Click here to register for the second session at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8: https://bit.ly/4d8lvHz

ATTENTION PARAPROFESSIONALS:

As many of you return to your classrooms and get ready to see your first paycheck of the new year, we wanted to reach out with some helpful information regarding your salary this year.

As a result of your union’s advocacy, the Delaware General Assembly and Governor Carney approved educator raises for the 2024-2025 school year that either met or exceeded the recommendations of the Public Education Compensation Committee (PECC). For paraprofessionals, this means that you will see a 3 % increase in the state share of your salary this year (2% general salary policy increase, plus the 1% increase recommended by the PECC).

This year’s budget also includes funding that will increase the existing stipend for paraprofessionals who hold an Associate’s degree and ParaPro level certification from $662 to $1,000. Additionally, a new stipend of $2,000 was established for paraprofessionals who hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. These annual stipends are paid out over the 26-pay cycle and are in addition to your pay. If an individual is eligible for one of these stipends, they will receive their annual pay and will receive the additional stipend that is appropriate to the degree they hold.

If you have any questions about the salary increases or the stipend, please reach out to your local union leadership and/or your UniServ Director.

Thank you to Capital Support Association President Bianca Lopez for welcoming us to a recent all-member meeting!

Capital is among a small number of school districts across Delaware that started the 2024-2025 school year with an interim superintendent and we commend Bianca and her team for getting their members on the same page early in the school year.

Is your local doing something exciting that you would like to share here?

Email [email protected] and let us know!

No educator should need more than one job to feed their family.

Yet far too many paraprofessionals, custodians, school bus drivers and other education support professionals across Delaware are forced to take a second job just to cover basic household expenses.

That’s why educators are banding together to demand an ESP Bill of Rights and set a baseline for how support staff should be treated in the workplace.

The ESP Bill of Rights Workgroup met last week as they prepared to reach out to fellow DSEA members in person and by phone for feedback and support.

If you get a call from an ESP in the coming weeks, please be kind and offer them any support you can as they work to improve our working conditions and our students’ learning conditions.

Association representatives play a lot of important roles.

They lead local union recruitment efforts. They listen to their local members and advocate on their behalf. They engage with elected leaders, other association representatives and DSEA’s executive board. TheY problem solve. They organize. They communicate. And they do it all while holding down a job and carrying for their own families.

Thank you to the nearly 30 association representatives who attended our bootcamp at DSEA’s Newark office on Saturday to better understand your role and help each other become the best ARs you can be.

If you missed last week’s training, you’re in luck! A second AR Bootcamp will be held at Sussex Central High School (26026 Patriots Way) near Georgetown on Saturday, September 28. Breakfast and lunch will be provided!

Click here to register now: https://cvent.me/Gw0eAQ

While mandatory reporting is an essential responsibility for every Education Support Professional, many ESPs receive little training about this important aspect of the job.

That’s why the NEA ESP Learning Network will hold a free, virtual training session created especially for ESPs from 7-8 p.m. on Thursday, September 26.

Ignacio Sanchez, a UniServ Director for NEA-New Hampshire, who has been at the forefront of the struggle to ensure that ESPs are informed and equipped for mandatory reporting at work, will provide helpful information about mandatory reporting basics, policies, and scenarios. The training also will explore bargaining language that can help your local association spread this knowledge to more ESPs.

Click here to register now: https://bit.ly/47tJ1xC

DSEA membership has its privileges!

In addition to incredible deals on theme parks, movie tickets, hotels and more, union members can get deeper discounts on back-to-school items, fall getaways and wellness essentials in celebration of National Women’s Health and Fitness Day on Wednesday, September 25.

Visit ticketsatwork.com and be sure to use the company code DSEA!

The rights of LGBTQ+ educators and students are under attack across the country.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, a former public school teacher and current NEA member, both understand what is at stake in the upcoming election.

Learn more about what they will do to protect LGBTQ+ rights – and how you can help – during a 7:30 p.m. webinar on Thursday, September 19, hosted by the NEA LGBTQ+ Caucus and NEA’s Campaign and Elections Team, in partnership with the Out for Harris Campaign.

Advance registration is required. A Zoom link will be sent to you 24 hours prior to the webinar. Click here to register now: https://bit.ly/3ZqzsNJ

Advance registration is required. A Zoom link will be sent to you 24 hours prior to the webinar.

Click here to register now: https://bit.ly/3ZqzsNJ

Congratulations to the 2025 district and charter Teachers of the Year!

Click here to see all of the dedicated educators chosen to represent their school communities over the coming year: https://bit.ly/4eotSzP

Good luck at the Delaware Teacher of the Year celebration in Dover on October 15!

Thank you to all of the DSEA members who volunteered on Primary Day!

Your hard work helped to advance candidates who value our labor and are committed to reducing class sizes, securing higher pay for public educators and creating an education funding formula that supports students with the greatest need.

While the primary may be over, our work to promote pro-public education candidates in the November general election starts today!

Reach out to your local association to find out how you can help.

While teaching students about one of the darkest days in American history can be challenging, we owe it to the next generation of Delawareans to remember the victims of the September 11 terror attacks and explain how the events of this day 23 years ago changed the course of history.

Click here for helpful resources from NEA Today: https://bit.ly/4gjzaOH

Click here for a 9/11 anniversary teaching guide from Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility: https://bit.ly/4dTOi3T

Click here for lesson plans from National September 11 Memorial & Museum: https://bit.ly/3Xgyz7P

Primary Election Day is here!

Let's make our voices heard.

Be sure to cast your ballot for candidates who value your labor and have vowed to support smaller class sizes, higher pay for public educators and an education funding formula that supports students with the greatest need.

Click here to find the Apple Ballot of DSEA-endorsed candidates running for office in your area: https://www.dsea.org/content/apple-ballot

Together, we are stronger!

Congratulations to Delaware Teacher of the Year Cory Hafer on receiving a 2025 Travelers Award for Teaching Excellence from the The NEA Foundation!

An engineering teacher at Middletown High School , Cory will join awardees from around the country at the Salute to Excellence in Education Gala in Washington D.C. on Valentine’s Day. There, five educators will receive a Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence and $10,000 while one will receive the NEA Member Benefits Award for Teaching Excellence and an additional $25,000.

Click here to read more about the NEA Foundation awards (and be sure to stick around for a video featuring last year’s Delaware TOY Ashley Lockwood at about the 1:36 mark): https://bit.ly/3XlW13o

Help those in need by donating new or gently used clothing, hats, gloves, scarves, or new socks to the DSEA Retired Winter Clothing Drive. Drop-off locations in each county.

It’s time to make our voices heard!

The future of public education is on the ballot and we get to decide what happens next.

Make sure you’re choosing candidates who value our labor and have vowed to support pay raises for public educators, school funding reform, smaller class sizes and solutions to address the nonacademic barriers to student success.

Early voting sites are now open throughout Delaware in advance of Primary Election Day on Tuesday, September 10. Make a plan to vote!

Click here to find the Apple Ballot of DSEA-endorsed candidates running for office in your area: https://www.dsea.org/content/apple-ballot

Click here to enter your address for a list of early voting sites near you, Election Day polling sites, sample ballots or to check your voter registration status: https://ivote.de.gov/VoterView

Together, we are stronger!

Together, we’re building a stronger union!

More than 930 new members joined the DSEA family last month alone, thanks to the hard work and collective will of our amazing local associations of teachers, specialists, paraprofessionals, nurses, secretaries, food service workers, bus drivers, custodians and grounds crews.

Congratulations to all of our local unions organizing so many fantastic new hire orientation events up and down our state this year, trumpeting our collective wins, and encouraging fellow educators to join our movement.

Your passion and your commitment is working to increase educator pay, reduce classroom disruption and improve public education in Delaware for all students!

Together, our voice will be heard!

Thank you to all of the DSEA members who marched today for union solidarity, union pride and union power!

Whether you’re educating children, building houses, keeping our communities safe, or saving lives, union members are the bedrock of our communities.

It’s better in a union and our union is better thanks to all of you!

(Head over to our Instagram page for more photos at dsea_1)

Whether you’re educating children, building houses, keeping our communities safe, or saving lives, union members are the bedrock of our communities.

The people who keep our state working deserve dignity and respect, especially the 14,000 teachers, paraprofessionals, bus drivers, nurses, food service workers, custodians, secretaries, groundkeepers and maintenance staff, who all work together to educate the next generation of Delawareans.

Happy 130th Labor Day to all of the proud union members here in the First State!

Register for a basic or advanced defensive driving class and get 10-15% discounted from your auto insurance. All sessions offered by DSEA are virtual. Visit https://cvent.me/xnZYkG for more information.

Learn more about how to properly prepare for your retirement by attending a Pre-Retirement Workshop, sponsored by DSEA Retired. Visit cvent.me/9qYrV7 to register today!

New hire orientations wrapped up today with outstanding events hosted by the Capital Paraprofessionals Association in Dover and the Appoquinimink Food Service Workers Association in Middletown.

Congratulations to both local ESP associations for collectively welcoming more than 35 new members to the DSEA family. What a great way to kick off the Labor Day weekend!

Check back next week for an update on how many new members our local associations added across Delaware this month. (Here’s a hint: It’s a lot!)

DSEA offices in Dover and Newark will be closing at 3 p.m on Friday, August 30, in advance on the Labor Day holiday.

We hope to see you all at the AFL-CIO Labor Day parade in Wilmington on Monday!

We're just a few days away from the triumphant return of the Delaware State AFL CIO Labor Day Parade through downtown Wilmington on Monday!

There's still time to join us as we march in solidarity with union members from across Delaware.

Click here to register now: https://bit.ly/3yX9B56

The parade route runs a half mile up King Street from 4th Street to Rodney Square. Line up starts at 8:30 a.m. and the parade steps off at 10 a.m. The parade will be immediately followed by a 2-hour festival of appreciation for organized labor, featuring family-friendly fun, food vendors, adult beverages, music and more!

It’s better in a union and our union is better with you there!

Association representatives (ARs) are key to building our union power.

Whether you are a brand-new AR or want to sharpen your skills, plan to attend one of DSEA’s upcoming AR Bootcamps.

These daylong training courses will help you better understand your role in developing your local union’s power in the areas of membership recruitment and engagement, communication, political activism, and advocacy.

Join us at DSEA’s Newark office (4135 Ogletown-Stanton Road) on Saturday, September 14, or at Sussex Central High School (26026 Patriots Way) near Georgetown on Saturday, September 28.

Click here to register now: https://cvent.me/Gw0eAQ

Breakfast and lunch will be provided!

Celebrating Our Locals (8/8): Congratulations to the Red Clay Secretaries Association on their recent successes!

While the new school year is already underway for some of our members, others are still getting acquainted with the new faces in their districts.

Congratulations to the Christina Paraprofessional Association and the Appoquinimink Educational Support Professionals Association for welcoming new members to the union.

Together, they added 35 new members to the DSEA family on Tuesday!

Are you passionate about public education?

Would you like to help DSEA advocate for educator pay increases, better school climates, and the kinds of reforms we know will lead to student success?

We have DSEA Executive Board vacancies to fill in New Castle and Kent counties!

One NCCo seat’s term will run from September 11, 2024, until the ratification of the 2025 board election results sometime around February 2025, while the other NCCo seat and the Kent County seat have terms that will both run from September 11, 2024, until Aug. 31, 2025.

If you’re interested in taking a leadership role with DSEA and helping us to advocate for educators and students across Delaware, please email a letter of interest to [email protected] or mail your letter to the attention of DSEA President Stephanie Ingram at 136 E. Water St., Dover, DE, 19901.

The executive board will review all submitted letters and vote to fill the vacancies during its next meeting on Wednesday, September 11.

Monday was the first day of school for select students in the First State!

While the start of the 2024-2025 school year won’t be fully underway for all students until next week, today marked a huge step in our collective return to our classrooms, cafeterias and school buses across Delaware.

Remember, we’re in this together.

And together, we have a voice!