In school districts across Delaware, board members are working through increasingly complex decisions: balancing student needs, community expectations, and long-term priorities. The issues may vary from district to district, but the conditions required to move those decisions forward are often the same.
In an effort to sharpen that decision-making process across Delaware’s 16 public school districts, the nonprofit group First State Educate came up with a great idea: Bring together school board leaders, superintendents, and state partners to explore the best dynamics for achieving progress.
Soon, a consensus emerged from the professional development luncheon: School boards function best when they act early to clearly define the problem, and can agree on how to measure success. Expectations must be understood, by both board members and district leadership.
Without that alignment, even well-intended efforts can stall or lose momentum over time.
The session hosted in mid-April by First State Educate was structured as a working conversation, grounded in practice, where participants shared how their boards are approaching decisions and what has helped those efforts move forward. Attendance reached all the way to the top: Delaware Secretary of Education Cindy Marten and State Board of Education President Jon Sheehan joined a mix of 20 board members and superintendents from districts up and down the state.
“Even though each district is different, we share many similarities and can learn from each other,” said Rita Hovermale, President of the Woodbridge School Board. “Events like the professional development luncheon are a great opportunity for that to happen. The children of our state deserve nothing less.”
Building trust is crucial
Throughout the discussions, one theme remained consistent: Effective governance is continuous work. It is built through ongoing alignment, shared understanding, and the ability to connect decisions to long-term outcomes.
It’s the kind of approach that can help any school board, no matter that their priorities are unique. For some boards, the focus may be on improving early literacy outcomes, particularly at the third-grade level. In others, the emphasis is on student attendance, access to career pathways, or ensuring that resources are aligned with student needs. These priorities reflect local context, but they also connect to broader statewide goals around student success and long-term readiness.
“Communicating complex decisions clearly has been less about any single tactic and more about building a consistent, intentional system of transparency, context, and trust,” said Dr. Jeffrey Benson, Vice President of Seaford School Board. “What we’ve learned is that the community doesn’t just want the decision; they want to understand the reasoning behind it. So, we take time to explain the problem we’re solving, the constraints we’re operating under, and the outcomes we’re trying to achieve.”
Benson said board members are careful to communicate the “why” before the “what.”
“That framing reduces confusion and, more importantly, builds credibility,” Benson said.
Board members frequently find that decisions are best made with one overriding goal: student success.
“Our board’s priority is becoming truly student outcome focused: with our actions, not just our intentions,” said Monica Moriak, President of the Christina School Board. “We have just drafted five-year goals using data that shows our current reality and the vision of our community.”
Those goals are easier to keep in focus when board members are skilled at accurately reading the data. And data-reading skills are something board members can build through First State Educate, which equips boards to interpret evidence and use it to guide real governance decisions. “First State Educate will help bring professional development to our board, allowing us to understand and monitor the data, so we reach those goals,” Moriak said.
Practical effects are clear
First State Educate is also lending its support to a literacy pilot that will engage board members from participating districts in a more deliberate approach to decision making. Boards will work alongside district leadership to set clear goals for improving reading outcomes and to track progress over time. As new funding approaches are introduced, boards will examine how investments align with those priorities. This work requires leadership, alignment, and planning. FSE will support boards in structuring conversations, reviewing data, and maintaining focus over time.
Timothy Banks, member of the Woodbridge School Board, said he’s already seen the effectiveness of having the entire board aligned and supportive of an idea.
“We all recognized and all were in agreement that great teachers are the foundation of student success, but we also understood the financial challenges involved,” he said. “We also share this feeling that lower Delaware doesn’t get the attention that some of the larger districts receive.”
The approach of linking priorities to clear processes and sustained attention was reflected across multiple examples from districts. FSE’s sustained, district-level work is beginning to reshape how educational leadership is understood across the state and is gaining recognition at the highest levels of the state’s education system.
“The presence of the Secretary of Education at our session added a layer of prestige and validation to FSE’s mission,” said Carlos Dipres, board member of Colonial School District. “Her willingness to spend time with the team is a signal that this work is being noticed at the highest levels.”
Communication is essential
Participants also noted that communication plays a central role. Boards are not only making decisions; they are helping communities understand how and why those decisions are made. Clear communication supports transparency, builds trust, and helps ensure that efforts are sustained beyond a single meeting or vote.
Crucially, boards must also be deliberate and open in how they communicate issues to their constituents. They must create space for dialogue, not just dissemination.
“Clear communication is not one-directional,” Benson said. “We’ve been more effective when we invite questions, feedback, and even disagreement in a structured way. Community forums, listening sessions, and informal conversations allow us to clarify misunderstandings in real time and adjust how we communicate moving forward.”
Throughout the April session, one theme remained consistent: Effective governance is continuous work. It is built through ongoing alignment, shared understanding, and the ability to connect decisions to long-term outcomes.
First State Educate works alongside districts as the only organization in Delaware focused specifically on how school boards make decisions — supporting how boards structure conversations, use data, and maintain clarity as priorities move forward. This work is not tied to a single issue or initiative; it is a sustained effort to strengthen governance practice across districts.
“We’ve spent the last three years earning the trust that makes this kind of work possible,” said Dr. Julia Keleher, FSE’s Executive Director. “Boards are navigating real complexity: competing priorities, community pressure, hard resource decisions. I’m honored to have such deep relationships with our district partners. They want us in the room for this work, and they see us as a true governance partner.”
These types of cross-district professional development events show that, with support from organizations like First State Educate, Delaware’s school boards are increasingly approaching their work with greater intention, stronger alignment, and a shared commitment to improving results for students.
