• Expand Early Education

• By September 2028, increase the percentage of children birth through age five who are enrolled in funded early care and education programs and services from 25% to 40%, through expanded access, as measured by state-led enrollment.

• Support children being developmentally prepared to enter kindergarten by aligning health, early learning, family support, and community partnerships to promote whole-child development.
• Increase the availability of early learning opportunities by opening more licensed child care programs statewide and expanding access to state-funded care and family support programs.
• Strengthen the quality of early learning programs and services across settings by implementing program standards and monitoring progress.
  Increase the percentage of children served in high-quality early learning environments statewide.
• Increase access to high-quality professional learning and advancement in credentialing pathways to recruit, retain, and elevate early childhood educators, ensuring that early learning programs and services are staffed by skilled, well-prepared professionals.

• Student Wellbeing
• Instructional Leadership
• Educator Workforce Growth and Retention

• By June 2028, increase the three-year retention rate of ALL early career teachers from 72% to 75%.
• By June 2028, improve student wellbeing and belonging by reducing chronic absenteeism (missing 10%+ of school days) from 15% to 13%, as tracked in state attendance.

• Build trauma-informed, inclusive environments through professional learning that improve student resilience, educator well-being, and access to physical, mental health, wellness, and nutrition services.
• Deliver targeted services for students in foster care, experiencing homelessness, in secure care, military-connected, or facing chronic truancy.
• Develop strong school and district leaders through preparation, recruitment, mentoring, leadership networks, and staffing models that focus on coaching and ongoing improvement.
• Carry out a statewide educator workforce strategy that expands Grow Your Own, residency, and apprenticeship pathways; strengthens career ladders; adds transparency for licensing; expands scholarships and mentoring; and partners with higher education to prepare educators for strong reading instruction and workforce needs.

• Early Literacy Success – Learn about the Delaware Early Literacy Plan
• Improved Student Achievement
• Data and Assessment Systems
• College and Career Readiness Indicators

Graduation and Readiness, by June 2028, increase percentages in:

• Grade 9 on track to graduate (district/charter): 84% → 86%
• Graduation rate (state): 89% → 91%
• College and Career Readiness indicator met (state): 78% → 80%

Academic Proficiency by June 2028, increase:

• Grade 3 reading (statewide assessment): 38% → 53%
• Grades 3–8 Delaware School Success Framework Composite Score: 264 → 300

• Ensure high-quality teaching by using evidence-based materials to support learning in all schools.
• Implement statewide professional learning and coaching that strengthen instruction across subjects.
• Improve student success by strengthening multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) to provide academic, behavioral, and well-being supports, including personalized instruction across student groups.
• Make data and assessments work better by helping educators use student data and ensuring tests are fair, accessible, and aligned to state standards.
• Prepare students for college and careers by expanding career and technical education (CTE) pathways, work-based learning, industry credentials, college credit, and stronger advising.
• Expand access to a well-rounded education through dual language immersion, multilingual pathways, arts education, health and physical education, and driver safety education.

• Education Funding Reform
• AI Proficiency for Impact

• By June 2026, provide agency support for the passage of legislation enabling a transition to a new hybrid funding model by August 2027.
• By June 2028, at least 75% of districts and charters will use AI tools to support educator workload or student outcomes, while maintaining 100% compliance with state AI governance, data security and privacy, and human-in-the-loop requirements.

• Put business processes in place to carry out Delaware’s updated education funding model, ensure accountability, and guide fair use of federal and state funds.
• Roll out a statewide Assurance Lab to support operational and instructional decision-making.
• Provide clear guidance on media literacy and safe, responsible, and ethical use of generative AI for educators.
• Strengthen educator and system capacity for inclusive, high-quality instruction by building in supports for multilingual learners, advancing State Board priorities, and improving data-driven planning.
• Create and use fair, accessible assessments for multilingual learners and students with disabilities.
• Launch Early Warning Systems and improve inclusive, evidence-based instruction and coordinated supports for students with disabilities, including assistive technology, behavior supports, literacy help, and career transition services.

• Family and Community Partnerships

• By July 2028, the use of data dashboards by educators to inform decision-making, equity, and accountability will increase to 75%.
• Launch an easy-to-use family and community portal that increases transparency and connects families to learning tools, updates, and support.

• Share clear, easy-to-understand data and reports that help educators, families, and communities see how students are learning, growing, and preparing for the future.
• Work with community groups, employers, and training providers to expand flexible learning options for adult learners.
• Strengthen afterschool and summer programs that build literacy skills, support academic success, and increase college and career exploration.
• Develop a statewide, easily accessible, dynamic dashboard to improve decision-making, equity, and accountability.
• Provide an Early Literacy Family Toolkit to increase exposure to literacy at home.