Cape school board honors Cape High educators

Cape district leaders recognized Cape High’s Edward Dowgin and Juliana Danese with the first Going the Extra Mile awards of the 2024-25 school year at the Sept. 26 school board meeting.

Board Vice President Janis Hanwell said Col. Edward Dowgin served as a long-term JROTC program substitute last year while he finalized his retirement from the U.S. Army.

“You would never know he was a substitute, as he embraced his new assignment with energy, dedication and passion,” Hanwell said. “He saw an already successful JROTC program and believed that he could enhance current programming, bring new ideas to our cadets and encourage student leadership, and he did just that.”

Under Dowgin’s leadership, Cape High held its first Cadet Ball, which was a beautiful event honoring cadets, seniors and their families, and the community, Hanwell said. With his support, cadets also formed the first bilingual promotion board interviews to support the school’s multilingual learners population.  

Last year, the hardworking JROTC staff and cadets earned the acknowledgement of being an Honor Unit with Distinction, a prestigious award given to a small number of JROTC units who have earned 95% or higher on every area in the inspection, Hanwell said. 

Board member Jessica Tyndall said Juliana Danese is a resource and AVID teacher who is a champion for all her students by helping them access classroom environments and feel success in a variety of settings.

Danese assists her students with coping strategies and self-advocacy skills, Tyndall said, and believes in her students so much, they begin to believe in themselves. 

Last school year, Tyndall said, Danese helped organize a group of teachers to work on school-wide multi-tiered systems of support opportunities and positive behavior support initiatives. 

“She started what became known as the Grassroots MTSS group, and this group created opportunities for students to recognize and thank their school champions,” Tyndall said. “She was integral in organizing student voice groups, and we look forward to witnessing where she takes this program.”

Cape Henlopen Educational Foundation donates SoDel Concepts gift cards for the monthly GEM awards, Tyndall said.