But because Delaware is a local-control state, the state Department of Education doesn’t broadly supply curriculum materials, even though that’s a common misconception, Feldman said. In reality, it is the local school boards that are responsible for adopting their own materials and policies.

“Districts and charter schools choose or create their own curriculum, to promote the learning of their students and their particular context,” Feldman explained. “There’s a perception out there in the public that the Department of Education provides curriculum for ELA, math, science [and] social studies, when in fact, those plans, those instructional materials, are all local.”

To support Delaware’s 19 public school districts and 23 charter schools, the DOE offers guidance for integrating culturally competent content and professional development. The department focuses on fostering cultural sensitivity among educators and assists in explaining legislation while providing a model for lesson plans and materials.

“Unpacking the legislation and really digging into what exactly is expected of each one of these districts and charter schools to implement as far as Black history,” he explained. “The department makes connections supporting districts and charter schools, but then also funding the creation of model lessons that districts can use in the creation of their local curriculum.”

The DOE collaborated with the New York Metro Center, the University of Delaware and Delaware State University, which contributed in training sessions, lesson plans and other valuable materials.

Holly Golder, supervisor of social studies at Red Clay Consolidated School District, said the first step in updating the district’s Black history curriculum involved conducting a comprehensive inventory of what has been taught in the past and identifying gaps. The next step was to collaborate with universities and organizations to create lesson plans that address those missing pieces.

“We looked to see how we could create lesson plans and units in some cases and implement Black history into what we are doing,” she explained. “Where we saw some gaps was in our K–3 classrooms.”

The Social Studies Coalition of Delaware supported Golder and her colleagues by collaborating closely with former kindergarten teacher Dawnavyn James and LaGarrett J. King. James and King work at the Center for K–12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education at the University at Buffalo, where they focus on how Black history and race are taught and learned around the world.

“So what we did was look at pairing primary sources with picture books, and using those, and the Black historical consciousness framework developed by Dr. LaGarrett J. King to find those entry points with the House bill and then create lessons around picture books and primary sources,” she said.

A similar approach will be taken under SB 297 to create and execute strategies for increased inclusivity and representation of all racial groups.

“We will unpack the bill, look at the requirements and see what we are currently doing, and then see where we can then implement and create lesson plans or other curricular materials to meet that,” she said.