Terry Schooley, Delaware's 23rd District Representative
About Terry

Terry Schooley is a member of the Delaware House of Representatives for the 23rd District in Newark. Her career has included over 30 years of management, leadership, and advocacy for children, families and women’s organizations. Over a dozen years have been spent working for Planned Parenthood of Delaware and another 14 years working with KIDS COUNT in Delaware. A graduate of Gettysburg College with a degree in music education, Representative Schooley started her career as a teacher and continued in education with her election to the Board of Education of the Christina School District and presidency of the Delaware School Board Association.

Representative Schooley currently directs KIDS COUNT in Delaware, part of a national and state project funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. KIDS COUNT both tracks and reports on the status of children and families and serves as an advocate for policies to improve their lives. One KIDS COUNT project completed a report on the rising rate of child poverty in the state of Delaware. The report was followed by the creation of a Governor-appointed Child Poverty Task Force which has taken steps to enact public policies to help children and families.

In 2005, Representative Schooley joined with other members of the General Assembly to establish the Kids Caucus of the General Assembly. This bi-partisan House and Senate caucus sponsors legislation to improve the lives of Delaware's children and families. She has served as a co-chair since 2006.

Representative Schooley was awarded the Professional Merit Award from the University of Delaware where she directs the state KIDS COUNT Project. She was also honored as Woman of the Year in March 2006 by the University of Delaware Women’s Club, and honored as a Friend of the Family by the Delaware Family and Consumer Sciences Association. She sits on the board of the Delaware Financial Literacy Institute, the Healthy Mothers and Infants Consortium, the P-20 Council, Jobs for Delaware Grads, and various Task Forces throughout the state. Her involvement in the community and state helped lead to her election to the House of Representatives in 2004. She is married to the Rev. Dr. Kit Schooley and has two grown daughters, Tara and her husband Tom; and Korynn and her husband Jared, and two grandchildren, Tate and Taylor.