DELAWARE- As Delaware students get ready to return to the classroom, teachers are preparing lessons, decorating rooms and welcoming a new year of learning. Meanwhile, state officials remind families that safety, both inside and outside of schools, remains a top priority.
Teacher Preparations
Backpacks are packed, classrooms are set and teachers are ready. For many, the school year begins long before the first bell rings.
Courtney Lee, a fourth-grade teacher at Lulu M. Ross Elementary, says summer break never really means disconnecting from the classroom.
“I think we all never turn our teacher brain off,” said Lee, the Milford School District’s 2024 Building-Level Teacher of the Year. “We’re just all eagerly awaiting our students to return.”
Teachers know the impact they can have on their students. For Amanda Howard, a kindergarten teacher at Long Neck Elementary, that impact shaped her career.
“I have wanted to be a teacher since I was in kindergarten,” said Howard, named the Indian River School District’s 2024 Teacher of the Year. “I had a really amazing kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Boyland. She was so kind and involved. I just want to be that for someone else, so they can say, ‘I loved school so much, I can’t get away from it.’”
A new school year brings fresh beginnings. Classrooms are decorated, desks are lined up and students are ready to reconnect.
“When they’re coming in, they’re excited,” said Leslie Mitchell, a second-grade teacher at Milton Elementary. “They’re bringing their supplies, seeing who their best friends are, and making new ones. It’s just a welcoming, fun-loving environment.”
School Safety
As students return, safety also takes center stage. Delaware State Police and DelDOT are reminding drivers to use caution in school zones, watch crosswalks, and always stop for school buses. In 2024, DelDOT says there were 173 school bus crashes in Delaware, 36 of them in Sussex County.
The Delaware School Safety Center says it works year-round to help schools prepare. Its resources include emergency training, safety grants, and an anonymous reporting app.
“Being prepared is extremely important,” said Joey Melvin, executive director of the center. “When people are ready to respond to something, they’re going to do their job better.”
From clean classrooms to safe roads, educators and officials are focused on making sure the new school year starts off right.