Education leaders across the nation are rethinking what high school students should learn and the conditions in which they learn it. There’s growing momentum to better connect high school learning to local workforce opportunities while creating school environments that make students feel supported and motivated. The goal is to expand students’ choices after high school, build clear and credible pathways, and create learning conditions that help them move confidently toward what comes next.
When our REL team spoke with Delaware’s education leaders about their priorities for teaching and learning, and how the REL could support them, similar themes emerged: create strong pathways to careers by strengthening career and technical education (CTE) data quality and research and build more supportive learning conditions for students through better disciplinary practices.
We’re working side by side with the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) to help advance these priorities by strengthening how the state education agency collects, understands, and uses data so it can turn insight into action and improve outcomes for students.
Strengthening Career and Technical Education Pathways for All Students
Led by Kataney Prior (REL Mid-Atlantic), Marykate Zukiewicz (REL Mid-Atlantic), Dr. Orrin White (DDOE), Dr. Denise Purnell-Cuff (DDOE), Rozie Townsend (DDOE), and Dr. Jonathan Wickert (DDOE)
Delaware has made significant investments in CTE so students can explore career options, build valuable skills, and prepare for life after high school. These investments are grounded in the state’s plans for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and Carl D. Perkins Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century (Perkins V).
The opportunities span K–12 schools, adult education, job training programs, and colleges and universities across the state. DDOE’s CTE office supports a coordinated secondary and postsecondary system that links students’ education and workforce opportunities, better preparing them to enter rewarding careers and lead fulfilling lives.
As the system has grown, state leaders identified a key need: a more consistent and data-driven way to analyze and understand access to secondary CTE programming and surface local- and state-level needs to inform policy and planning. By developing a clear routine for assessing state needs, DDOE will strengthen its practice of regularly examining labor market information, students’ access, persistence, and outcomes, and program and credential quality to create a clear picture of statewide performance and alignment. This REL project will support a process that highlights priority areas for statewide action and identifies opportunities to improve policies, supports, and resource decisions that benefit students, families, employers, and communities across Delaware. To achieve this goal, we are working with DDOE to:
- Develop a statewide data collection guide to better understand CTE needs;
- Improve guidance for districts to collect and analyze data as they conduct their own local needs assessments; and
- Build state staff capacity to analyze and use the CTE data collected to inform policy, practice, and planning.
This work supports Building Block 3 (Great Teaching and Learning) of the Department’s new strategic plan that is focused on preparing students for college and careers through expanded and high-quality career and technical education pathways, work-based learning opportunities, credential attainment, and strong advising.
Furthermore, Delaware’s Postsecondary CTE Cadre—a cross-agency workgroup with representatives from DDOE, Delaware’s Department of Labor, Higher Education Office, and school district and community college staff— requested support to develop a research agenda that strengthens evidence on who participates in postsecondary CTE, how students move through these pathways, and where gaps in CTE access or outcomes exist.
The research agenda will support the Cadre with defining its research priorities, developing measurement and evaluation strategies, and building its capacity to refine and implement the agenda over time. Findings will inform collaborative efforts to develop policy, data and reporting models, and funding mechanisms that sustain and expand career programs and support services for youth and adult learners.
This work is designed to help Delaware leaders generate useful insights about where to focus state-level resources and efforts to improve CTE programming, and improve alignment across education, workforce, and social support systems so that all students can access pathways that lead to economic independence and improved quality of life.
Creating More Supportive Learning Conditions Through Better Discipline Data
Led by Sophie Bright (REL Mid-Atlantic), Lauren Scher (REL Mid-Atlantic), Rosie Morales (DDOE), and Cassandra Codes-Benjamin (DDOE).
Delaware is committed to creating school environments in which all students feel supported, engaged, and able to succeed. School discipline practices play an important role in shaping those learning conditions.
State leaders recognized that discipline practices and outcomes can vary widely across districts and schools. To help them improve, they needed more accurate and consistent discipline data, along with stronger capacity to interpret and use that information.
Our work focuses on helping DDOE leaders to reduce exclusionary discipline practices across the state by:
- Learning from district and school leaders about current practices and challenges related to discipline. (Be sure to check out the infographics that share their reflections below!)
- Building capacity at the state, district, and school levels to interpret and use data to inform decision-making about policies, practices, and program implementation.
- Supporting efforts to implement practices that create more supportive learning environments for students.
Throughout 2026, we are hosting coaching and technical assistance sessions with state leaders focused on investigating opportunities to strengthen data reporting and analysis under the Delaware School Discipline Improvement Program. We’re exploring how to improve measurement of student outcomes and experiences within alternative discipline programs and support school and district leaders in using data and evidence to improve school climate and reduce the use of exclusionary discipline. We’re also holding a series of working sessions with DDOE and leaders of alternative discipline programs to co-design a logic model focused on supporting students’ varied academic and behavioral needs.
This work supports Building Blocks 2 (Safe, Supportive Schools) and 3 (Great Teaching and Learning) of the Department’s new strategic plan that focuses on using discipline data to identify students for additional academic supports, improve educational policies and practices, and engage caregivers and families in the process.
To support this work, REL Mid-Atlantic and DDOE developed a three-part infographic series, Improving School Climate and Discipline Practices in Delaware, designed to help school and district leaders move from discipline data to action. The series highlights three research-based and locally informed approaches for creating more supportive learning environments: promoting social and emotional well-being, implementing reflective practices, and engaging families and communities. Each infographic pairs research with examples from Delaware schools and districts, offering practical ideas for reducing reliance on exclusionary discipline, strengthening relationships, and helping students stay connected to learning.
What Makes This Partnership Work
The partnership between REL Mid-Atlantic and DDOE is ongoing. Across both priority areas, the strength of this work comes from how it’s done. REL Mid-Atlantic and DDOE have built a partnership grounded in co-design, with leaders shaping the work from the start, and ongoing needs assessment, so projects stay aligned with Delaware’s priorities. The partnership also focuses on capacity building, so staff can continue using data and evidence long after individual projects end, and a shared commitment to improving outcomes for all students.
Together, these efforts advance the Delaware Department of Education's Strategic Plan by helping schools create the conditions in which students can thrive. Strengthening career pathways expands opportunities for students to pursue meaningful futures after graduation, while improving the use of discipline data helps schools build safer, more supportive learning environments where students feel connected and engaged. In both cases, the work is grounded in a shared belief that better data should lead to better decisions, stronger support for educators, and better outcomes for students.
At its center, this work is about helping education leaders turn information into action and ensuring that decisions made at the state and district levels translate into better experiences for students in classrooms across Delaware.
