Audrey Carey oversees early learning in Cape Henlopen’s schools and has spent a quarter of a century in education.

“My whole career, my strength has been creating something new and different to reach children and meet their needs,” she says. As the supervisor of early learning for Cape Henlopen School District, Carey applies that strength toward the youngest minds. “Every day I get to come to work for the kids. It’s an exciting new world.”

Carey is Cape Henlopen’s first supervisor of early learning, a position the school district created to reflect the Delaware Department of Education’s efforts to provide the state’s children, from birth to age 5, with a foundation for lifelong development.

Every day I get to come to work for the kids. It’s an exciting new world.” -Audrey Carey

“It’s not just an extension of kindergarten,” says Carey. “Preparing children for their schooling career is a part of these efforts, but we’re also focused on serving their physical and mental health needs.”

A WilmU graduate, Carey earned a Master of Education in School Leadership and Instruction in 2001 and a Doctor of Education in Innovation and Leadership in 2006. Before joining Cape Henlopen in the spring of 2022, she taught elementary school students and later supervised testing, new teachers, instruction and early learning for the Indian River School District.

 Preparing children for their schooling career is a part of these efforts, but we’re also focused on serving their physical and mental health needs.”

-Carey

In her role at Cape Henlopen, Carey seeks to build partnerships with government, nonprofit, faith-based and community agencies to ensure that area families have access to the programs and services necessary in assessing and supporting children’s growth and development.

“Early intervention for children is essential, but how to coordinate that across the community can be the hard part,” says Carey. “How do we accomplish what we envision in Delaware? If we’re all working together instead of in our own individual silos, we could change that.”

—David Bernard