The Committee of 100 | Meeting Notes

The Delaware business community has been a vocal leader in the demand for education reform in the State of Delaware. B/PEC, the Business/Public Education Council, was formed in 1990 to study and address education issues in the State and in 1992 produced the study, School and Work, Closing the Gap in Delaware, and in 1997, The Missing Link: Connecting Professional Development With Accountability to Improve Student Learning in Delaware. A consortium of Delaware companies pushed for the charter enabling legislation and then funded Delaware's first charter school, Wilmington Charter. Businesses have "adopted" individual schools and business people make up a big chunk of the thousands of mentors in Delaware's schools.

But how involved are we really? And what is the result? How successful has education reform been? If you rely on The News Journal for the status of education in Delaware, you can't be very optimistic. But what's the real story beyond the NJ headlines?

Education reform began under Governor Mike Castle, who named Pat Forgione State Superintendent to begin the difficult task of setting standards. Governor Tom Carper advanced Education Reform with the hard-won legislation that required accountability from students, teachers, administrators, districts, and, ultimately, the Governor, via the new cabinet position, Secretary of Education.

Valerie Woodruff was there from the start. As B/PEC began, she provided advice as Delaware's 1990 Principal of the Year; today she advises B/PEC as Delaware Secretary of Education. In between, she served as the Department's Associate Secretary for Curriculum and Instructional Improvement, so knows better than anyone where Delaware students have been, are now, and are headed. She will share this, and much more about education in Delaware. She'll probably surprise you!

In celebration of The Committee of 100's 35th Anniversary and its 65th Anniversary (adds up to 100!), Vandemark & Lynch is hosting our 5:30 Reception.