Education Secretary Mark Murphy to leave post

Education Secretary Mark Murphy announced Aug. 14 that he will end his tenure in the coming months to pursue other opportunities.

In his place, Gov. Jack Markell will nominate Dr. Steven Godowsky, a long-time Delaware administrator and former superintendent of the New Castle County Vo-Tech School District, to succeed Murphy. Murphy remains in discussions about his next position, but he and Markell agreed that it would be beneficial to announce the upcoming change, as well as the nomination of a new Secretary, prior to the start of the coming school year, said Jonathan Dworkin, Markell's spokesman in a press release.

Markell will submit his nomination to the Delaware State Senate for consideration during a special session on Oct. 28, but Godowsky will assume an interim role before that time. Murphy's last day has not been determined, Dworkin said.

“The work to prepare all of our students for college, career, and life in today’s changing world is incredibly rewarding, but it’s also not easy,” said Markell. “Mark has addressed every challenge with a remarkable determination to support the hard work happening in our schools and find solutions that best serve our youth."

During Secretary Murphy’s tenure, Dworkin said, the state’s graduation rate reached a high of 84.4 percent, a 4.5 percent increase in the past year and more than three percent above the national rate.

Other accomplishments include:

· The number of students taking dual enrollment, college-level, classes for credit more than doubled between 2013 and 2014, while the number of students taking and passing Advanced Placement tests has also increased.

· More than 2,200 students at 16 schools will be taking half of their classes in Mandarin Chinese or Spanish this fall as a result of continued growth of the state’s world language immersion initiative.

· The launch of Pathways to Prosperity over the past year is creating partnerships with Delaware employers, universities, and school districts to prepare students for a bright future in high-demand fields and careers, such as computer science, culinary arts, IT, and advanced manufacturing, giving them a head start on getting a job and/or earning a degree.

Murphy also oversaw the implementation of higher standards in Delaware’s classrooms, working with teachers and administrators to put in place the Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards, both designed to ensure that students are on track to learn the skills most valued in colleges and the workplace, Dworkin said.

“I’m grateful to Governor Markell for this opportunity to serve the children of our state,” said Murphy in a press release. “We should all applaud the efforts of our educators as they improve the lives of our young people each and every day. In many schools, we see students making incredible strides forward. To achieve the promise of great educational opportunities for all children in the coming years, continued courage and leadership will be needed by all.”

Since joining the Department of Education in 2012, Dworkin said, Murphy worked to implement the state’s Race to the Top plan with federal funding.

Through Race to the Top, Dworkin said, Delaware has:

· Established a vastly improved data system to better track student progress and identify student needs;

· Supported successful efforts by high-need schools to boost performance of struggling students; and

· Created the initiatives that catalyzed the state’s successes in improving college access and supporting teachers in the transition to higher standards.

While maintaining and improving upon the state’s progress, Dworkin said, the new secretary will lead efforts to change the state’s teacher compensation system and create new opportunities for students in Wilmington, where district boundaries were recently redrawn.

In choosing his nominee to help lead these efforts, Markell praised Godowsky’s career-long commitment to strengthening educational opportunities for Delaware children.

“During his forty plus years of work in Delaware’s schools, Steve has established himself as a respected leader with the ability to work productively with teachers, administrators, and, most importantly, our students to get the most out of their schools,” said Markell. “We have more work to do and, with the Senate’s confirmation, I am confident that he will help everyone in our system build on our progress.”

Godowsky led the New Castle County Vo-Tech District for eight years beginning in 2003. Before that, he worked in the district as an assistant principal at Delcastle Tech, principal at Hodgson Vo-Tech, and assistant superintendent. During his time as superintendent, he served a term as president of the Delaware Chief School Officers Association for the 2007-08 school year. He also spent time earlier in his career as a special education teacher in the Alfred I. DuPont School District.

“I am honored to accept this opportunity to support the outstanding work of our educators and continue the Administration’s commitment to give our students the best opportunity to learn and achieve,” said Godowsky. “If I’m fortunate enough to be confirmed by the Senate, I look forward to successfully continuing the Governor’s priorities, while building on the critically important relationships among school districts and charters, teacher groups, parents, legislators, and community leaders for the benefit of our students.”