IRSD wins two Superstars in Education awards

The Indian River School District has received two Superstars in Education awards from the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce for 2010. The “Data-Driven Differentiation” program at Phillip C. Showell Elementary School and the “Mastering the Schedule for Student Success” program at Frankford Elementary School were among the seven 2010 Superstars winners announced on Feb. 2. In addition, the district received a special Sustainability Award for its “Walk the Talk” program, which has developed a consistent and pervasive approach to learning in all schools.

“We are overjoyed to have two schools earn this prestigious honor from the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce,” IRSD Superintendent Susan Bunting said. “Despite having large populations of economically-disadvantaged students, Phillip C. Showell and Frankford elementary schools strive to meet the needs of every child. No social or economic obstacle is too great to prevent a student from being successful in their classroom. My heartfelt congratulations go to the dedicated staffs at both schools. The honors are richly-deserved.”

The “Data-Driven Differentiation” program at Phillip C. Showell targets the specific learning styles of individual students and endeavors to make curriculum and instruction fit the needs of those children. The program acknowledges academic diversity and works to refine high-impact teaching methods.

The “Mastering the Schedule for Student Success” program at Frankford has resulted in a restructuring of the daily schedule designed to allow students to thrive in a culture of support and academic growth. The new schedule includes time for core content instruction, grade-level intervention, daily physical activity and common planning by teachers.

The “Walk the Talk” program, for which the district received the Sustainability Award, is a district-wide initiative that focuses on improving student learning. Working with a national consultant from Learning Focused Strategies (LFS), the district developed a sense of urgency for change in schools and created a professional development plan to make sure that change occurred in every classroom. Today, through the use of LFS and curriculum mapping, exemplary instructional practices are being utilized in every district classroom.

Funded by the local business community, Superstars in Education is a statewide awards program that seeks to promote and share programs and best practices in education that show measurable results and raise student achievement. Since its inception in 1989, the program has honored more than 170 educational programs in the State of Delaware.

These were the district’s 13th and 14th Superstars in Education awards. Previous district winners were Frankford Elementary School (1992), East Millsboro Elementary School (1993), the district’s childcare providers’ workshop (1994), Lord Baltimore Elementary School (1998), Howard T. Ennis School (2000), Project VILLAGE (2000), the Outdoor Education Center at Ingram Pond (2001), the middle-school “Meet the Challenge” program (2005), the district’s “Leadership Institute: The 2% Solution” program (2006), Southern Delaware School of the Arts (2008), Long Neck Elementary School (2008) and the district’s “Home Grown by Indian River: An Administrative Development Model” program (2009).

All of the 2010 winners will be honored at a special celebration dinner on May 3 at the Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington.