{"id":19518,"date":"2025-12-02T09:34:25","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T14:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/?p=19518"},"modified":"2025-12-02T09:34:31","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T14:34:31","slug":"laurel-guidance-secretary-earns-delawares-2026-top-support-staff-honor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/laurel-guidance-secretary-earns-delawares-2026-top-support-staff-honor\/","title":{"rendered":"LAUREL GUIDANCE SECRETARY EARNS DELAWARE\u2019S 2026 TOP SUPPORT STAFF HONOR"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

DOVER, Del.<\/strong> \u2013 The Delaware Department of Education has named Laurel Middle School guidance secretary Donna Ward as the state\u2019s 2026 Educational Support Professional of the Year.
According to the state announcement, Ward has served the Laurel School District for nearly three decades in roles supporting student learning, school operations and community programs.
The state identified her long tenure as an example of the influence support staff have on school climate and student success. State information notes Ward\u2019s involvement in coordinating Winterfest, a free community celebration offering seasonal activities and food for families. The announcement also credits her with establishing the district\u2019s first Special Olympics team and remaining active with students who participate.
Ward is also connected to the BARK Club, a weekly girls program cited in state materials for promoting service, teamwork and student confidence. District data referenced in the announcement links participation in the club to stronger school attendance among members. Her statewide selection was made public during a ceremony recognizing honorees chosen by Delaware school districts and the Delaware Charter School Network. The educational support program acknowledges workers such as paraprofessionals, food service employees, transportation staff, custodians, clerical workers and technology personnel.
According to the state, each district honoree receives a $2,000 award. Ward will receive an additional $3,000 and $5,000 earmarked for student benefit as part of her statewide title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Photo: Delaware.gov<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DOVER, Del. \u2013 The Delaware Department of Education has named Laurel Middle School guidance secretary Donna Ward as the state\u2019s 2026 Educational Support Professional of the Year.According to the state announcement, Ward has served the Laurel School District for nearly three decades in roles supporting student learning, school operations and community programs. The state identified […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/d_ward.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-54O","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19120,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/laurel-high-school-incident-leads-to-one-student-injured-and-another-detained\/","url_meta":{"origin":19518,"position":0},"title":"LAUREL HIGH SCHOOL INCIDENT LEADS TO ONE STUDENT INJURED AND ANOTHER DETAINED","author":"admin","date":"November 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"LAUREL, Del. \u2014 A post on the Laurel School District\u2019s official Facebook page alerted families this morning to an incident inside Laurel High School that involved a knife and left one student with a minor injury. 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Laurel School District Superintendent Shawn Larrimore did not immediately\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Check.png?fit=840%2C327&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Check.png?fit=840%2C327&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Check.png?fit=840%2C327&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Check.png?fit=840%2C327&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2687,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/laurel-school-district-in-remote-learning-following-threat\/","url_meta":{"origin":19518,"position":2},"title":"Laurel School District in remote learning following threat","author":"admin","date":"February 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Notice posted by Laurel School District on Monday (Facebook) The Laurel School District went to virtual learning today, after a reported terroristic threat was made against the school system on social media. 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Delaware State Police arrested 40-year-old Wade Bryan of Laurel, after he was accused of stealing from a 2021 summer and fall pizza fundraiser and Pre-K tuition. According to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/LaurelTheft.gif?fit=393%2C583&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1904,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/laurel-school-district-closes-schools-after-threats-circulate-on-social-media\/","url_meta":{"origin":19518,"position":4},"title":"Laurel School District closes schools after threats circulate on social media","author":"admin","date":"December 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Laurel School District closed schools Thursday after a series of threats circulated on social media. 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