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“Keep the main thing the main thing”
is Dr. Russell H. Knorr’s philosophy for the
Seaford
School District
. By remembering that teaching and learning are the bedrock
for the schools in the district, the business of running the
district can be built on a solid foundation. In
Seaford
, innovation and fiscal responsibility go hand in hand. Dr.
Knorr helped obtain community support for the passage of
twelve out of fourteen referendums to increase revenues and to
expand and renovate the schools during his tenure as
superintendent.
Russ earned a Bathelor of Science degree from
Penn
State
University
, his Masters degree from
Villanova
University
, and his doctorate degree from
Lehigh
University
. He taught 7th and 8th grades and coached baseball in the
Great
Valley
School District
in
Pennsylvania
for eleven years and was Assistant Principal for the
Northern
Chester
County
Vocational
Technical
School
for fourteen months before becoming the principal for
Seaford
Senior High School
in 1979. In 1983, Russ was promoted to Seaford Superintendent
of Schools. He has held the position of superintendent of
schools longer than anyone else in the State of
Delaware
.
Seaford
School District
has accomplished much under the leadership of Dr. Knorr. Since
1983, he has implemented the reorganization of the
district’s elementary schools to four K-5 schools, thereby
reducing the number of transitions students had to make. Russ
introduced the “balanced calendar” (or year-round) school
concept, leading
Central
Elementary School
to be the first such school in
Delaware
. He increased access to technology for students and teachers,
including computers in classrooms, laptops with Internet
capability, handheld computers, multi-media teaching carts –
each of which has a computer, a document camera, and a
projection system. Russ implemented the full-day kindergarten.
He inspired the use of Rosetta Stone software to introduce
three new world language offerings at the high school [Arabic,
Chinese and Japanese] as well as to help non-English speaking
students learn English. Russ led the district’s strategic
planning process in 1990-91 that involved staff, parents,
students, and Board members, resulting in a consensus on a set
of governing values, a mission statement and a long-range
strategic plan. And this last year, all of the district’s
elementary schools and the middle school met annual yearly
progress.
The district won the coveted Superstars in Education award
from the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce in 2007 for the
District’s Secondary Schools Advanced Placement Incentive
Program” in the Seaford Senior High School and Seaford
Middle School, Seaford. This program was designed to increase
participation and the diversity of students in Advanced
Placement (AP) classes at the High School level, as well as
increase grades on the Advanced Placement Tests. The schools
identify students who have potential to take these courses,
offer preview mathematics courses to prepare students for the
AP courses, provide access to a summer reading program and
encourage parental involvement in choosing classes.
The school district has been in the “Energy Star” program
since 2005 and all six schools in the district have qualified
to receive the Energy Star building label. And this year, the
district was awarded the Energy Star Partner of the Year award
in energy management.
Russ Knorr is married to Loretta and they have a son, Matthew,
who is a West Point graduate serving with the U.S. Army in
Kuwait and married to Marie. Their daughter Sarah has two
children Brendan and Evan. And Russ is, in his own words, a
“die-hard”
Philadelphia
sports fan.
Russ has garnered numerous honors over the years, including
selection to the
Abe
Lincoln
High School
wall of fame and the
General
Wayne
Middle School
wall of fame. He has been twice chosen by his peers [other
superintendents] to serve as President of the Delaware Chief
School Officers’ Association. Russ was also chosen to serve
as Chairperson of the Delaware Secondary School Athletic
Association and the President of the Delaware Association of
School Administrators [DASA]. He was twice selected as
Delaware
’s Superintendent of the Year [1990 and 2001] and selected
as the National Association of Educational Professionals as
the National Administrator of the year in 1999.
Russ believes in management of change,
which is something all school districts face. For example, in
the past three years the school district has four new
principals, four new associate principals, and new directors
for business, elementary education and special education. In
addition the district faces challenges in special education,
English as a Second Language [ESL] students, and a growing
ethnic population.. Russ has guided the school district for
more than twenty-four years and is obviously up to meeting the
challenges.
========================
Bryant
L. Richardson
Morning Star Publications, Inc.
628 West Stein Highway|
Seaford
DE
19973
302-628-9788
Building a new business is never easy, especially when during
the first year you donate $2 of each paid subscription to
local charities. The Western Sussex Boys & Girls Club,
Laurel Good Samaritans and Laurel Little League all benefited
from the “give-back.” But that is the basis of Bryant and
Carol Richardson’s philosophy – to give back to the
community because they believe that good, strong organizations
make for good, strong communities.
Bryant began his newspaper career working
for the Seaford Leader in 1972. He moved up on the
organization to news editor, managing editor and general
manager before leaving in 1984, when Bryant and Carol started
their own newspaper, the Seaford Banner. After four and a half
years, they sold the Banner to Chesapeake Publishing and
Bryant went to work for them as general manager. In April 1996
Bryant and Carol, Bryant's sister, Jo Ann Sullivan, along with
Tina Reaser and Tony Windsor, launched Morning Star
Publications, Inc. and the Seaford Star. Shortly thereafter,
Rita Brex and Pat Murphy joined the company. Four months later
the Laurel Star was started. Just over a year later, they
began publishing the Morning Star Business Report.
Morning Star Publications also publishes
the Business Journal for the
Salisbury
,
Md.
, Chamber of Commerce, the Salisbury Magazine, an annual
publication for the Salisbury Chamber, the Greater Seaford
Chamber of Commerce Visitor’s Guide and Membership
Directory, the Laurel Chamber of Commerce magazine, and
numerous special interest publications. The business had sales
of $1.2 million in 2006 and has grown to 12 full time
employees and many “stringers” or writers. The
"Stars" are paid subscription publications in
Seaford and
Laurel
with a circulation of more than 6,600.
In just over 10 years, Bryant and Carol
have accomplished everything in their original business plan.
They will continue to serve the local communities and improve
employee compensation packages to attract good people.
Bryant and Carol are now working on plans
for electronic publishing and aim to have a full-service,
full-time information center online. Morning Star Publications
now has websites for the Seaford Star, Laurel Star and the
Business Report and plans to add three more websites in the
next year. They feel this is a natural progression for the
business and find it very exciting.
Bryant and Carol are natives of Delmarva.
Bryant was born in
Federalsburg
,
Md.
, and graduated from
Colonel
Richardson
High School
. His higher education consists of courses at Delaware Tech
and numerous workshops and seminars. Carol graduated from
Mardela
High School
.
Bryant married Carol Wright in 1967 and
they have three children. Daughter Leanne is married to Hugh
Mohler II and they have three children, Hannah, Hugh III and
Henry, and resides in Towson, Md. Son Bryant Paul married
April Durham in 2006 and resides in Virginia Beach, and son
Daniel married Cassie Kraemer in January 2007 and resides in
Seaford. Daniel and Cassie work for Morning Star Publications.
Bryant is a past president of the Greater
Seaford Chamber of Commerce, chaired the Business Development
Committee for many years, and received the Volunteer of the
Year award in 2006. He is a former Little League baseball
umpire and former board member of WOLC Christian Radio
Station. Bryant is a past president and active member of the
Seaford Kiwanis. He was the first recipient of the “Roaring
Lion” award given by the Sammons family of WXPZ Christian
Radio Station. Bryant was named Editor of the Year by
Chesapeake Publishing and also garnered the SBA’s 2000
Journalist Advocate award.
Carol is a past member of the Business
& Professional Women's organization.
Through their publishing contributions
and through volunteer service, Bryant and Carol Richardson are
very effective in increasing awareness of just how important
small businesses are to the economy of the area. They
epitomize the “American Dream – Delaware Style.”
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