Delaware’s public schools have struggled for more than a decade, with most students falling short in reading and math. This ongoing crisis limits children’s growth, dignity, and future opportunities.
Citizens for Delaware Schools (C4DS) began in 2023 as an independent nonpartisan nonprofit to raise awareness about dismal K–12 public education results and spur action. We highlight the vital need for strong academics, and support new school board leaders. Through effective school boards — where decisions on policy, budgets, and classroom results come together — we help build conditions that lead to clear gains in student learning.
OUR VISION
Bring academic excellence back to K-12 public school students so they are equipped with advanced knowledge and critical thinking skills they need to achieve their full potential and success in life.
OUR MISSION
Create informed citizens and school boards so they can work together to help help kids realize their full potential and lead successful lives.
National School Board Group Affiliation
Citizens for Delaware Schools is the state affiliate for School Boards for Academic Excellence–one of our national partners (www.sbaenetwork.org). They offer school boards a variety of helpful resources from model policies to tools to foster academic excellence.
WHY SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS ARE IMPORTANT
Most people pay virtually no attention to school board elections, which occur in May.
This role is so important on so many levels — children, families, future work force, and the nation — that it seems unconscionable for a community not to take an active interest in the workings and performance of the school board. Only five percent of Delaware voters turn out for school board elections.
Yet, local school boards are the unseen decision makers in your child’s schooling. School boards members wield considerable power over the education and social development of children. Their primary function is to select and oversee the superintendent but there is much more.
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Oversight and approval of how millions of taxpayer dollars are spent.
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Maximize student outcomes to the highest degree.
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Approve construction and maintenance of extensive school buildings and infrastructure.
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Review selection and implementation of curriculum and textbooks.
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Create policies that ensure the safety of students and teachers at school.
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Promote the greater involvement of parents and the community in education.
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Evaluate the superintendent’s (their only employee) performance through SMART objectives
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Hire and fire the superintendent
Founder
Nancy Mercante
Nancy Mercante spent years as an executive in corporate communications with major companies in finance, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications. After leaving the corporate world, she served on the board of Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids, a statewide school garden program, from 2020 to 2024. During her tenure, she helped shape the organization’s trajectory from a founder-led startup to an employee-led growth stage.
In 2023, she founded Citizens for Delaware Schools to turn public awareness and concern about K-12 public education into action. This grassroots group works to engage parents, hold school boards accountable, and recruit strong, independent candidates who put students and academic learning first. Nancy also serves as the Center Director for Education Policy at the Caesar Rodney Institute.
Inspired by the teachers who shaped her path, she is committed to ensure every child in Delaware has the same opportunity to succeed.
Board of Directors
M. Jane Brady
M. Jane Brady is the former Attorney General of Delaware and a former Delaware Superior Court Judge who brings decades of experience in litigation, constitutional law, regulatory matters, and public policy. A seasoned trial attorney, she has handled more than 100 jury trials and over 40 Delaware Supreme Court appeals. In private practice, she advises clients on corporate governance, complex litigation, mediation, policy advocacy, and constitutional issues.
Jane made history as Delaware’s first woman Attorney General, serving three terms after her election in 1994. During her tenure, she helped strengthen legal protections for crime victims and modernized Delaware’s response to child abuse, senior victimization, and animal cruelty. She later served on the Delaware Superior Court from 2005 to 2017, presiding over business, criminal, insurance, and contract cases. Jane remains active in civic and legal leadership and currently chairs A Better Delaware. She joined the Citizens for Delaware Schools Board in 2023.
Melissa Brayman
Melissa Brayman is Director of Administration & Finance at the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce and a University of Delaware graduate. A longtime resident, she has held leadership roles in the nonprofit sector and ran for New Castle County Council President in 2024. She joined the Board in 2025.
Her passion for education reform is personal. As a mother, she witnessed challenges in Delaware’s public schools—especially during and after COVID-19—and ultimately chose a private school for her daughter. As a board member of Citizens for Delaware Schools, Melissa advocates for policies and accountability to ensure every student has access to a high-quality education.
Robert Geist
Robert Geist is an accomplished strategic communications and government relations expert with over twenty years of experience at the local, state, and federal levels. He joined the Citizens for Delaware Schools board of directors in February 2026.
During his career, he has served as press secretary for two members of Congress, a state cabinet commissioner, and a public affairs professional advising companies and organizations, contributing his expertise across public policy areas such as education, energy, transportation, and strategic litigation communications. He is principal at Delasey Strategies LLC, which provides strategic communications and government relations to businesses and groups in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Rob is also a seasoned veteran of numerous local, state, and federal political campaigns and local and state grassroots organizing initiatives. A father of three charter school graduates, he resides in Dover with his wife Donna.