Federal funding feeds fashion program at Cape

Cape Henlopen High School students and parents continue to call on district officials to save a popular fashion program that recently lost support from the state.

The Delaware Department of Education has determined the fashion pathway, which is only offered at Cape, does not meet state Career and Technical Education requirements for sustainability, and it will no longer be supported or recognized. In response, Cape has decided to phase out the program. The school will accommodate students already in the program, but will not accept any new ones.

Mike Young, Cape Henlopen School District’s supervisor of secondary education, said the decision was made at the state level, and they must follow it because of a number of factors.

The most significant is that it receives federal funding, which is distributed to states and funneled to local school districts. He said when the state determined the fashion pathway was no longer feasible, it meant the program would not receive any additional financial support.

Young said the district has the opportunity to create its own pathways; however, he said the local programs still need approval from the state. And because the state already did an analysis and determined fashion does not meet its criteria, it’s unlikely that program would be approved.

“If we were to continue the program, then it’s fully funded by the district,” he said. “And at this point, it would be a hard thing to do without the federal funding.”

He said the funding pays for components that make the program functional.

Young said the state eliminated five pathways, but fashion was the only one being cut that is offered at Cape.

According to the state, all CTE programs require continuous evaluation to effectively place students in gainful employment and postsecondary education. Therefore, local, state and regional labor market information supply-and-demand factors are analyzed every five years to ensure each program continues to be responsive to evolving workforce needs.

The Department of Education requires all Delaware students to complete a career pathway as part of the high school graduation requirements. A career pathway is defined as three credits, beyond those courses otherwise required for high school graduation, in a specific area of focus.

Young said one year equals one credit. A student who completes one year is a participant, two years is a concentrator and three years is a completer.

Cape Henlopen High School offers seven pathways in a variety of industries: agriscience, education, health sciences, hospitality and tourism, information technology, manufacturing and marketing.