As the new school year begins, school districts across the state are struggling to fill teaching positions.Delaware took one step toward addressing the issue in this year’s state budget with a nine percent pay raise for teachers, but higher salaries are only part of the solution.Delaware Public Media’s Rachel Sawicki reports this week on why hiring teachers is so difficult and what’s being done to fill in the gaps.

A recent jump in coronavirus infections has touched schools, workplaces, and local governments, and public health experts warn there may be more to come as the weather turns colder and people are indoors more.To help combat that, two new COVID vaccines have received the green light from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.This week, Delaware Public Media’s Quinn Kirkpatrick talks with University of Delaware professor Jennifer Horney – Founding Director of the Epidemiology Program and Core Faculty at the Disaster Research Center – about the uptick in COVID infections and the new vaccines.

Generation Z is poised to significantly influence the 2024 election cycle. Along with millennials, Gen Z is heading to polls at higher rates than previous generations did in their early voting years despite being viewed as detached and disinterested in politics.But their impact and who they’re voting for is more nuanced than previously thought.Delaware Public Media’s Kyle McKinnon sits down this week with Alberto Medina – communications lead at Tufts University’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement – to learn more about Gen Z’s political influence.

Born in 1895 to a middle-class family, African-American artist Allan Freelon worked his entire life in Philadelphia and promoted the idea that Black artists should follow an independent and self-realized path.The Brandywine Museum of Art aims to honor Freelon’s legacy and work with its upcoming exhibit “Allan Freelon: Painter, Printmaker, Teacher.”In this edition of Arts Playlist, Delaware Public Media’s Karl Lengel is joined by Brandywine senior curator Amanda Burdan for more on the exhibit.

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Just under a year from now, Delaware will hold its 2024 Primary elections and one of the races expected to draw a lot of attention is the race for Governor.Earlier this week, Democratic Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long announced her bid for the office. But first in the race was another Democrat, two-term New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer, who announced his run in early June.This week, Delaware Public Media’s Tom Byrne sat down with Meyer to discuss his decision to run and some key issues.

Last month, contributor Larry Nagengast reported on Delaware’s effort to be at the forefront of teaching media literacy in public schools, but one area that piece did not delve into is the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence and the impact it can potentially have on education.Contributor Larry Nagengast reports this week on how educators are dealing with AI and its effect on the classroom and teaching media literacy in schools.

A coalition of experts at Water Safety USA released a first-ever 10-year action plan to reduce drownings, calling the estimated 4,000 people who die by drowning a year across the country a public health crisis.Delaware Public Media’s Kyle McKinnon spoke this week with Adam Katchmarchi – executive director of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance and member of Water Safety USA – about the report and its findings.

The University of Delaware’s football program has a long history of tradition and success, but there’s growing speculation that the Blue Hens could soon move up from its longstanding spot in the lower Football Championship Subdivision to join the major college Football Bowl Subdivision.In this week’s edition of Enlighten Me, Delaware Public Media’s Tom Byrne talks with News Journal/Delaware Online sportswriter Kevin Tresolini about the potential move and its implications.

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