Today, Delaware Governor John Carney announced the creation of basic needs school closets for 45 high needs schools from the bottom of the state to the top. These schools have high concentrations of low-income and poverty students. I salute the Governor for this initiative! From the press release:
“We are helping to make certain every Delaware student in high-needs schools has the basic resources many of us take for granted so they can focus on their education and thrive in the classroom.” Governor John Carney
All Delaware students deserve to be able to learn in a comfortable environment, with their basic needs met.
That’s why we’re stocking basic needs closets in 45 high-needs Delaware schools. Delaware’s basic needs closets will provide elementary and middle school students across the state with increased access to free products designed to meet students’ needs so they can effectively participate in class. Each school’s basic needs closet will be stocked with products identified by districts and charter schools as essential to the wellbeing of their students, including hygiene products, school supplies, clothes, and more. Students will be able to discreetly access the closets throughout the school year. This is about meeting students’ basic needs with dignity, so they can be ready to learn in class.
A map of the schools where students will be able to access these closets can be found here. This is an excellent idea and I know Carney talked about this when he was on the campaign trail. Other organizations helping out with this program are Bayhealth, Beebe Healthcare, Christiana Care Health System, Cover & Rossiter, Delaware Dept. of Education, DrinkerBiddle, Edis, First Book, Food Bank of Delaware, Global Delaware, Incyte, Nanticoke Health Services, Nemours Children’s Health System, Office of the Governor and Operation Warm. As well, on the above link, there is a form you can fill out if you want to help with this awesome idea!
The Season Of Myths 