Red Clay and Brandywine’s school boards must approve the amendment for the planning period to be extended.
Christina School District’s board on Tuesday became the first to vote to extend the planning period for the Wilmington Learning Collaborative.
Planning was supposed to have ended with the 2022-23 school year, but because it took a longer time than expected for the 15-person governing council to form, find an executive director and get school assessments moving, the board asked for an additional planning year.
Christina, Brandywine and Red Clay school districts are the three that make up the Wilmington Learning Collaborative, which is focused on improving social and academic outcomes for city students across nine elementary schools in Wilmington.
All three districts must approve the amendment. Red Clay is expected to vote on it in its Aug.16 board meeting, followed by Brandywine being the final vote in its Aug. 21 meeting.
Laura Burgos, chosen as the Collaborative’s first executive director, spoke at the meeting. She officially signed her $170,000 contract Monday and attended the board meeting Tuesday night.
“This is my first meeting so I’m carefully taking notes and seeking to better understand the priorities, aspirations and concerns of the community,” Burgos said. “I look forward to leading the charge of the council and certainly accelerating teaching and learning outcomes for our students.”
Christina’s board president Don Patton, who sits on the collaborative’s governing council, said the extended planning period gives Burgos the opportunity to gain some foundational knowledge of the community and the challenges that it faces.
The collaborative was created in November 2022, and the council wasn’t filled until February 2023. With Burgos not starting in her role until this week, the collaborative lost about 10 months of its initial planning year.
“It’s going to be a challenge for her but everybody’s up to it,” Patton said, “she’s up to that challenge.”
Raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Jarek earned a B.A. in journalism and a B.A. in political science from Temple University in 2021. After running CNN’s Michael Smerconish’s YouTube channel, Jarek became a reporter for the Bucks County Herald before joining Delaware LIVE News.
