Lulu M. Ross Elementary School

Our Ladybug

Mrs. Brown's Class visiting the State Legislature in 1974

Ross Students

Made a Difference in Our State!

      On April 25, 1974, nineteen Lulu M. Ross Elementary School Pre-Second graders made Delaware history!  After reading in their Weekly Reader about the state bugs from other states, they decided that Delaware should have a state bug also. After much discussion, the class voted for the ladybug. After many months of hard work and campaigning, the second graders and their teacher, Mrs. Mollie Brown, lobbied state legislators to have the ladybug named as the official Delaware State Bug.  Their efforts were successful and the children learned first hand how petitioning and lobbying for a particular cause can result in having a new state law.

      In past years, Mrs. Mollie Brown-Rust has been teaching Mrs. Vincent’s and Mrs. McQuaid’s classes about this important contribution.  While visiting the Delaware Internet web page, Mrs. Vincent’s and Mrs. McQuaid’s 1999-2000 class noticed that no credit was given to Mrs. Mollie Brown’s class for their efforts. Therefore, they petitioned the webmaster of the Delaware homepage and asked that credit be given to Lulu M. Ross school and to Mrs. Mollie Brown and her pre-second graders for their part in history.  This credit was added to the website in the spring of 2000.  So, once again, Lulu Ross second graders helped to make a difference!

       Each year the City of Milford holds a Bug and Bud Festival that celebrates the beauty of our town.  Among the many activities are parades, artwork, and crafts centering around our ladybug!  The now grown students that made this legislative change in 1974 often attend this event as well. 

        In 2007 the city was surrounded by huge ladybug statues that were painted by local artists and auctioned off at the festival.  Lulu Ross Elementary received one of those ladybugs as a gift to commemorate our role in the ladybug's importance to Delaware.  This ladybug is presently placed in various classrooms as an award for good assembly behavior.