Two Christina board members to revisit charter moratorium request

Jarek RutzEconomy, Education, Headlines

Two Christina School Board members have asked the board to revisit its request for a moratorium on new charter schools in the state. Dr. Naveed Baqir, who voted against the moratorium, will speak out against it during Tuesday’s board meeting.  Board member Donald Patton, who also voted against the moratorium, plans to provide support for Baqir during his presentation.  Patton …

Red Clay joins Christina, Brandywine in Learning Collaborative talks

Betsy PriceEducation, Headlines

Gov. John Carney went door-to-door in Wilmington to sell his plans for the Learning Collaborative.   After making Gov. John Carney wait for hours at their January meeting and then raking him over the coals, the Red Clay School Board on Wednesday took only minutes to unanimously vote to join discussions to create a Wilmington Learning Collaborative. Red Clay now …

Christina School District asks for moratorium on new, expanding charter schools

Charlie MegginsonEducation, Government, Headlines

Christina School District’s Board of Education has called for a statewide temporary moratorium on new charter schools and the expansion of existing charter schools. The board hopes that the pause will stabilize relationships between schools and districts that serve students in Wilmington while they work together on developing Gov. John Carney’s proposed Wilmington Learning Collaborative and implementing proposals from the …

Wilmington Learning Collaborative waits for school districts OK

Betsy PriceEducation, Headlines

Gov. John Carney takes questions about the Wilmington Learning Collaborative project during a December town hall.   A state program that wants to centralize learning for Wilmington students now split between three districts is waiting to see whether those districts vote to join the effort. The Wilmington Learning Collaborative, a joint project of the Delaware Department of Education and Gov. …

Carney hawks idea of new board to focus on Wilmington students

Betsy PriceEducation, Headlines

Gov. John Carney addresses a Pulaski Elementary crowd about his proposed Wilmington Learning Collaborative.   A meeting to get buy-in for a new program that would focus efforts on improving education for Wilmington school children often ended up in the same place: Questions about the plan’s details. “That’s been one of the more difficult things about selling the concept,” Gov. …

School bus drivers return with new contract vote next week

Betsy PriceEducation, Headlines

  Christina and Appoquininimink school district buses ran as normal Friday morning as drivers returned to work after a one-day strike with a new contract to vote on next week. They were among the systems disrupted when Teamsters Union 326 bus drivers went on strike Thursday after contract negotiations with First Student Transportation failed. The move had Appoquinimink, New Castle …

Delaware bus payment system, driver shortage complicate strike situation

Betsy PriceEducation, Headlines

Bus driver pay is not governed by the state, but is set by individual companies. While the state of Delaware provides most of the money for school buses, it does not designate pay or benefit packages for drivers.  That’s left up to the transportation company that hires the drivers and means the Appoquinimink, Christina and VoTech schools hit by a …

5 school districts, charter school launch program to help all Wilmington seniors thrive

Betsy PriceEducation, Headlines

The school districts that serve Wilmington are combining forces to help the seniors of 2022 be as prepared as possible.   The five school districts serving a slice of Wilmington and a downtown charter school are joining efforts to help the city’s 500 rising seniors have the best senior year possible. The new Boost’22 program will allow Wilmington seniors in …