School districts have until Dec. 1 to approve class size waivers. (Unsplash)

School district class size waivers moving through

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

Schools up and down the First State are asking their school boards to allow them to put more than 22 students in elementary school classes. Boards have until Dec. 1 to submit waiver requests to the state Department of Education. The waivers are required by Delaware law for kindergarten through third grade students in the core academic subjects of English/Language …

The Department of Education has released its 20 district and charter schools educator support professionals of the year. (Unsplash)

State to honor school workers who keep systems running

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

The 20 individuals who have been named as Educational Support Professionals of the Year are the “glue that keeps our schools together.” “Educating kids through teachers is the goal and the mission of schools,” said John Marinucci, executive director of the Delaware School Board Association, “but the support folks handle all the things that have to take place around the …

Lead in Delaware Schools

General Assembly to hold virtual forum on lead in schools

Charlie MegginsonHeadlines, Health

The General Assembly will hold a public forum next week focused on the recent discovery of lead in the water supplies of nearly 50 Delaware school buildings. The virtual forum will be held Monday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. “Like many parents throughout Delaware, my fellow legislators and I are very concerned about the presence of any lead in the …

The applications for school choice are now open in Delaware.

Public, charter school choice applications now open

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

Delaware’s school choice applications for the 2023-2024 academic year open this week. The First State is one of 13 in the country that allows families to send their child to any district or charter school in the state. Students may submit applications to multiple school districts. Applications must be in by Jan. 11 at 11:59 p.m. After reviewing school choice …

The state's equalization formula has been frozen since 2009.

State grapples over freeze on equalization formula

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

Delaware’s Equalization Committee has agreed to not make any decisions on whether to freeze or change the state’s equalization formula, which affects school funding, until next year. The purpose of the equalization formula is to allocate state resources to districts inversely based on their ability to raise revenues through their local property tax base.  “It’s to try to help those …

Colonial School District will get four new environmentally-friendly and fuel-efficient buses courtesy of a federal rebate program. (Pexels)

Colonial awarded 4 eco-friendly buses through federal grant

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

Colonial School District is adding three electric buses and one propane-powered bus to its fleet, courtesy of an $809,000 federal grant awarded to the state’s Department of Education.  In addition to a quieter ride, electric and propane-powered buses are said to be more environmentally friendly than gasoline-powered ones because they release less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Colonial Superintendent Jeff …

The Learning Collab needs to fill out the remaining seats of its governing council and conduct a needs assessment of each school. (Pexels)

Here’s what the Learning Collab will do to get started

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

The Wilmington Learning Collaborative already is forming the council that will govern it. Once the council is established, it will order a needs assessment, which will help the council decide where to put or share resources. Those are the starting tasks of the new education group that state, city and district officials hope will help raise learning and test scores …

A. I. Du Pont Middle School, which was built in 1894, is the districts oldest building. (Red Clay Consolidated School District)

State rejects Red Clay’s $265 million request

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

Delaware’s Department of Education has denied Red Clay Consolidated School District’s request for $265 million to address maintenance costs and improvement needs in 27 buildings.  “With anticipated available funding, the focus of the public education capital budget for Fiscal Year 2024 is funding previously authorized projects, including market pressure funding for increased construction costs and statewide minor capital improvements and …

Take exam

State to unveil new math program to combat low scores

Jarek RutzEducation, Headlines

Delaware will announce a new statewide math plan in December to counter COVID learning loss and boost the state’s horrific test scores, which are among the worst in the nation. The state has been working on the plan since January but is not yet prepared to release details because the plan hasn’t been finalized. Underscoring the need for help, especially …

Delaware students performed worse on math tests in the past three years than any other state.

Report: Delaware math, reading scores drop tops state lists

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

Delaware test scores have fallen to the bottom of the heap since 2019, with some worse than any other state, according to the Nation’s Report Card, which was released Monday.  From 2019 to 2022, the average scores for Delaware fourth-graders on the math assessment dropped by 14 points, the steepest of any state.  “In Delaware specifically, our scores were decimated,” …