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Delaware Teachers Institute is a collaborative partnership between five New Castle County School Districts and the University of Delaware. Our leadership explicitly reflects that partnership. This initiative is co-led by a teacher leadership team, the DTI Steering Committee, representing all five partner districts and the DTI Director, a University employee. The Director and Steering Committee are also supported by a university advisory committee comprised of University of Delaware faculty members.
The leadership recognized the challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic:
- In-person, on campus seminars were a key feature of our program
- Seminar leaders (UD Faculty members) and Fellows (K-12 teachers) had varying degrees of comfort using a fully remote model
- Fellows were navigating a novel and challenging shift in their districts, from in-person to remote to hybrid instructional models, that changed rapidly and often
- Accepted teachers had agreed to a Fellowship before the pandemic brought so many unforseen personal and professional challenges
- Many Fellows were juggling family responsibilities, illnesses and remote instruction for their own children in addition to their professional responsibilities
The leadership team responded to these challenges with a commitment to providing the same, high quality DTI experience while also embracing technology and its potential. After three cycles of fully virtual seminars, 2023 brings the opportunity to move into a mixed delivery approach. Two seminars will remain largely virtual while the third returns to in-person instruction. DTI leadership made this decision after consultation with previous participants and potential applicants in our partner districts. We remain committed to meeting the needs of DTI Fellows and are excited to support teachers as they develop new skills and new understandings about both content standards and the many ways they can meet them.
DTI has always prioritized the voice of our Fellows. We know that teachers are still navigating a challenging time in education. As we work together to overcome these challenges and maximize our opportunities, we welcome your feedback. Please contact your district representative on our
Steering Committee or the
Director at any time.