Wilmington's Riverfront Market will host districts and schools for Saturday's DE connectED event. (Riverfront Wilmington)

DE connectED to host schools, community event at Riverfront

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

Wilmington's Riverfront Market will host districts and schools for Saturday's DE connectED event. (Riverfront Wilmington)

Wilmington’s Riverfront Market will host districts and schools for Saturday’s DE connectED event. (Riverfront Wilmington)

A new education group will hold a multi-level event in Wilmington Saturday, Dec. 10, to help people find jobs in schools, register students for school and learn about public school options they may not know about.

The ultimate goal for DE connectED – the name of the group and the Saturday event at Wilmington’s Riverfront Market – is to make the community more aware of what’s available and how they can be involved.

One station will focus on how people can run for school boards or volunteer to be part of the many committees that school boards operate. Another will talk about adult education.

From 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday 29 district and charter schools from across Delaware will have representatives on the top floor of the market, located at 3 S. Orange St. next to Banks Seafood.

DE connectED is sponsored by Colonial School District, Delaware Charter Schools Network and the Department of Education

The event hopes to help address the state’s teacher shortage, increase parental involvement in schools and allow parents to fully access the information they need to make the best decisions for their children.

Given the challenges facing public education with both staff shortages and declining enrollment, the DE ConnectED is an amazing opportunity to collaborate with K-12 educators,” said Jeff Menzer, superintendent of Colonial.

“We have incredible opportunities in our Delaware public schools, district and charter across the state, and we have incredible opportunities to work in them,” said Kendall Massett, executive director of the Delaware Charter Schools Network.

“Say you want to be a board member but don’t know what the heck that even means or entails, this will help you find out,” Massett said. “And for parents who want to get involved but might not want to run for a board seat, the committees at these schools are something the public must be a part of.”

This is the inaugural DE connectED event. Massett hopes to have another one in the spring. 

The organization’s core belief is that for Delaware public schools to provide the foundation that students need to succeed in life, they must be connected to each other, incredible educators and staff, engaged families, and invested community members, its website says.

“There are so many incredible opportunities that not enough people know about,” Massett said. 

She pointed to John G. Leach School in Colonial, designed for students with special needs, as one successful program that many Delaware parents are not aware of. 

“There are a lot of amazing things our public schools have to offer like in Leach, and we’re just not talking about it enough,” she said.

Here are the schools that will be at the Riverfront Market Saturday:

New Castle County

Academia Antonia Alonso Charter School
Charter School of New Castle
Charter School of Wilmington
Christina School District
Colonial School District
Delaware Military Academy
EastSide Charter School
First State Montessori Academy
Freire Charter School
Gateway Charter School
Great Oaks Charter School
Kuumba Academy Charter School
Las Americas ASPIRA Academy
MOT Charter School
New Castle County Vo-Tech
Newark Charter School
Odyssey Charter School
Red Clay Consolidated School District
Thomas Edison Charter School

Kent County

Capital School District
Early College School at Delaware State University
First State Military Academy
PolyTech School District
Providence Creek Academy Charter School
Smyrna School District

Sussex County

Bryan Allen Stevenson School of Excellence
Indian River School District
Sussex Academy
Sussex Montessori

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