DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

The Townsend Building

401 Federal Street Suite 2
Dover, Delaware 19901-3639
DOE WEBSITE: http://www.doe.k12.de.us

Mark T. Murphy
Secretary of Education
Voice: (302) 735-4000
FAX: (302) 739-4654

May 26, 2015

Superintendent Daugherty:
Thank you for your continued work, and conversations, around Red Clays three Priority Schools. We appreciate
your commitment, and that of the entire Red Clay team, to improving educational opportunities for all of your
students, and we look forward to our ongoing partnership in better serving our children.
As a follow-up to our conversation earlier this week, below please find confirmation of outstanding requirements,
available funding, and a detailed outline of the path forward.
Financials
As previously discussed, Highlands ES, Warner ES, and Shortlidge ES will each receive $1,000,000 over the next
three years. This funding will be disbursed quarterly, as we confirm that Red Clay is making progress and
meeting commitments outlined under the MOU and school plans. In addition, please ensure that you have
allocated at least 10% of your Title I funds to your three Priority Schools, beyond the allocation the schools have
received historically.

Conditions
Plans
Red Clay received conditional approval of all three School Plans earlier this year. To date, the Department has not
received revised plans that incorporate changes based on the last round of feedback. If Red Clay requires any
additional support to complete these plans, please let the Department know immediately. We have extended the
deadline, again, for submission of the revised plans, which must be submitted in final form by July 15,, 2015.
Funding disbursements will begin only after final plans are approved.
In order to allow for greater clarity and focus in the implementation, please submit with the final schools plans an
Executive Summary, no longer than 15 pages, that outlines major initiatives and expected accomplishments at
each school.

Budget
From the outset of this process, and based on available resources, the school plan budgets were capped at
$1,100,000. The budgets submitted to the Department for each Red Clay school are substantially higher; thus, the
budgets have not yet been approved.
Please re-submit budgets for each school in line with the cap. All budgets submitted should include both wholeschool budgets (with all funding included) that covers last year as well as projected budgets for the next three
years, plus the budget allocations specific to Priority School work (inclusive of Priority School funding and the
additional Title I allocations). As part of the revised plan feedback process, DDOE will provide the district with a
prioritized list of what components of the submitted budgets will be funded as part of this work. This should be
reflected in subsequent plan revisions. As a note, many of the conditions on the plans do not require additional
funding, but may require resource re-allocation.
Note: The budget amendment process for Priority Schools will be different than in prior years. More details on
this process will be provided once plans are approved.
THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. IT DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, NATIONAL ORIGIN, SEX, SEXUAL
ORIENTATION, MARITAL STATUS, DISABILITY, AGE OR VIETNAM ERA VETERANS STATUS IN EMPLOYMENT, OR ITS PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
The Townsend Building
401 Federal Street Suite 2
Dover, Delaware 19901-3639
DOE WEBSITE: http://www.doe.k12.de.us

Mark T. Murphy
Secretary of Education
Voice: (302) 735-4000
FAX: (302) 739-4654

Leadership
The nominated principals at each of the three Priority Schools received conditional approval. As one of the
conditions, School Plans must now detail the following, specific to each candidate:
What are the defined metrics of success for the principal? Please include measurable, quantifiable,
specifics of how the district will determine whether or not the principal has been effective between July 1,
2015 and March 31, 2016. These metrics must include student achievement, school culture and
management, and family engagement and satisfaction. Please note, that DDOE may add additional
metrics to ensure that a comprehensive performance summary is developed.
What specific professional development and support outside of the district will be provided to these
principals in order to ensure that they are given the opportunities to develop in: holding high expectations
for all students, leading and holding staff accountable for results, creating a positive and achievementoriented school culture, and respecting low-income communities?
What is the districts commitment if any of the principals do not meet these metrics? This information
should be clearly stated in the School Plans.
Support
As part of the School Plans, the DDOE expects the plans to include an explicit commitment to continued
partnership with UVA, specifically to support and develop the three principals. Currently, the Plans indicate that
the parties have agreed to full participation in the two-year program.
DDOE will provide a Priority School Liaison role to the three schools. The Liaison will collect data for reporting
and support purposes, and will also be available to provide direct support to the schools. Each principal must meet
with the Liaison individually for at least 30 minutes each week, and for an additional 30 minutes weekly to
discuss and troubleshoot plan implementation.

Monitoring
Monitoring will occur throughout the school year, and will include both planned and unscheduled visits. Schools
should expect to have at least two visits per week. The DDOE Liaison and the principal will meet at the start of
the school year to establish check-in procedures when Liaison staff arrive, as well as other guidelines. Monitoring
must include unrestricted access to classrooms for observations, as instruction is the most critical component of
what occurs in a school. The Principal, as well as at least one member of the school leadership team, must
participate in a monthly performance management routine. Both the principal and DDOE may extend the
invitation to other relevant parties, as needed.
Please note that all monitoring reports and documents will be provided to the school and that the monthly reports
will be publicly posted. Please do not hesitate to contact DDOE with any questions that you may have. We look
forward to the work ahead.
Respectfully,

Penny Schwinn
Penny Schwinn
Chief Accountability and Performance Officer
THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. IT DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, NATIONAL ORIGIN, SEX, SEXUAL
ORIENTATION, MARITAL STATUS, DISABILITY, AGE OR VIETNAM ERA VETERANS STATUS IN EMPLOYMENT, OR ITS PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES.