All of Delaware’s students deserve a safe, equitable, and proficient education, but schools in our state and across the country have a long way to go before we make that vision a reality. 

Violations of students’ rights, historic underfunding of public schools, systemic racism, and violence in schools are all-too-common occurrences behind school walls. Our education work focuses on tackling those injustices to help make schools in Delaware everything that we know they can be.

Through advocacy and direct service in schools, our education campaigns work to ensure all children receive the learning environment that they deserve. We challenge inequitable and unfair funding. We fight to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline so that our education systems open up doors of opportunities, instead of putting kids behind bars. And we protect the rights of all students — especially students of color, students with disabilities, students who are English language learners, and students who live in often-ignored zip codes.


Equity in Education campaign

The Equity in Education campaign is about engaging and mobilizing educators, parents, and students to interact with local schools and create positive school community networks.

We want all Delaware schools to foster an environment where all students belong, and that they must be included in academic and enrichment experiences that provide readiness for post-secondary opportunities and the future of work.

Our campaign goals are to:

  • Create an inclusive school culture;
  • Increase student engagement; and
  • Increase parent engagement.

We aim to create an inclusive school where educators embrace elements of safe and healthy schools that support achievement by reducing school discipline rates, engaging students in enrichment activities, and increasing access to accelerated classes.

Increasing student engagement is possible through a focus on student participation in academic leadership, civic engagement, peer-to-peer mentoring, and relationship building.

Parent engagement is vital to equity in education. Parent allies are effective advocates for safe and healthy schools that support achievement. We work with parents to increase participation in academic planning, school climate, advocacy, and problem-solving for schools in their communities.

Learn more about the Equity in Education campaign

Learn more about our campaign initiatives below.


 

Scholars Engaged for Action (SEFA)

Students who are involved in their larger communities through school programs often feel a sense of inclusion and belonging in their own school communities, leading to better education outcomes and a path of civic engagement that can last far beyond their grade school years.

Learn more about how students get involved in their communities through our Scholars Engaged for Action (SEFA) program.

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School Discipline

Children should be educated, not incarcerated. We are working to challenge numerous policies and practices within public school systems and the juvenile justice system that perpetuate a school-to-prison pipeline

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Fair Discipline Toolkit

This training is a tool for Delaware educators to address high school discipline rates by learning and adopting systematic approaches that encourage problem-solving and create opportunities for students to take more responsibility for their behavior.

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S.A.F.E. Schools

The S.A.F.E. (Safe, Accountable, Forward, Equitable) Schools campaign, powered by Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League with support from ACLU-DE, is a grassroots organization dedicated to realizing true equity in New Castle County public schools.

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