The Delaware Foundation for Science and Math Education (DFSME) has been supporting Delaware’s educators and the enhancement of Delaware’s education system for nearly three decades. We have witnessed many changes in the education system and the challenges educators have faced over the years, but the impact of the pandemic has been unprecedented.
In the past two years, you have been put under incredible pressure, yet you have stepped up in amazing ways. Your grit and tenacity have kept our education system going. Your adapting to new technologies, procedures and methods of teaching has been commendable. You rewrite lessons or create completely new ones to suit the needs of the moment, often with very little notice. Many of you have spent not just time but also your own funds to ensure your students have the materials they need. You continue to present a positive and welcoming face to students in spite of anything else that may be going on. Your drive to keep teaching our students to help them build their futures is humbling.
We all have had to adapt to life in the pandemic. And while everyone’s circumstances are different, we see groups with greater challenges. The level of change educators have dealt with has been high, constant and stressful. Gaps in the education process and student learning have opened up and need to be addressed. Yet students still want to be in school, and learning still continues to take place. That is a testament to the incredible strength of our educators.
The DFSME board and leadership are sincere in thanking you for your ongoing efforts and resiliency. We interact with educators, parents, government representatives and business community members across Delaware, and the messages we have been hearing over the past two years are how impressed everyone has been with the drive of our teachers. We acknowledge the importance of educator recognition, and we broadly communicate that recognition to your colleagues and community.
You might not hear it every day, but people are thinking it every day: Thank you!
As we recognize the difficulties you have faced and are still facing, we are hopeful that better days are not far ahead. We thank you for your tremendous spirit and courage and for keeping on making a difference in the world.
Jon Manon
President, Foundation for Science and Mathematics Education
David Cadogan
Secretary, Foundation for Science and Mathematics Education
Randolph Guschl
Executive director, Foundation for Science
and Mathematics Education
