The Delaware Women's Hall of Fame

The Delaware Women's Hall of Fame

Wilmington, Delaware

Organized by the Office of Women's Advancement and Advocacy with the support of the DE Department of Human Resources and Delaware Women's Hall of Fame Committee

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Marguerite Hill Burnett
  • Marguerite Hill Burnett
  • Inducted 1987
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Year Honored: 1987

Birth: 1885 - 1966

Biography

Marguerite Hill Burnett implemented “Americanization Programs,” for immigrants in Delaware schools. The main purpose of the program was to help immigrants gain citizen, and thousands did so. Burnett had originally come “on loan” for six months in 1920, from the New York School System but she ended up staying on as program supervisor.

The program prepared immigrants for citizenship examinations in English, history, writing, and other fundamental subjects. Burnett “instilled a real love for America and a genuine understanding of democracy in her students.” She served as the Director of Americanization and Adult Education for 40 years (1921 – 1961). She was also one of the founders of the National Council of Naturalization and Citizenship, established in 1940, with the goal to improve immigration and naturalization laws.

Burnett was an ardent supporter of education. She was responsible for the creation of the adult education program in Delaware, which included evening classes and literacy tutoring. Once she discovered many men serving in the armed forces in New Castle County during World War II could barely read, she helped create a one-one-one tutoring program.

Among the rest of her work in education, Burnett also volunteered as Coordinator for the Delaware Congress of Parents and Teachers, Programs Chair of the Delaware Citizenship Conference, and she organized and directed the Delaware White House Conference on children and youth. In honor of her many contributions to education, the Marguerite H. Burnett Middle School was named for her.
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Sources and Additional Readings

Delaware Commission for Women. (2006). Twenty-Fifth Anniversary: Hall of Fame of Delaware Women: The Legacy Endures.

Immigration. Social Welfare History Project. (2017, October 16). Retrieved January 10, 2022, from https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/issues/immigration/

National Council on Naturalization and Citizenship. JDC. (n.d.). Retrieved January 10, 2022, from http://search.archives.jdc.org/notebook_ext.asp?item=676237&site=ideaalm&menu=1

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