Joshua Sheppard raised more than $9,000 for Saint Mark's Sean's Room.

8th grader raises $9k for Saint Mark’s mental health room 

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Health

An eighth-grader from Holy Angels School donated more than $9,000 to Saint Mark’s High School to support a lounge dedicated to mental health support. Over the course of eight months, Joshua Sheppard raised the money to donate to Sean’s Room, an extension of Sean’s House, a mental health center in Newark that serves 14- to 22-year-olds.  The room was opened …

Saint Mark's esports center opened at the beginning of last school year.

Saint Mark’s inspiring careers in gaming with esports center

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

Video games are no longer just a source of entertainment, but a multibillion dollar industry that is becoming increasingly ingrained in schools with some students clamoring to pursue a career in the field.  “Almost everyone in the world is connected to a video game somehow, on their mobile phone or on their console,” said Chris Ruffini, esports manager at Saint …

Paul and Linda McConnell with students from St. Mark's.

McConnells give $1M to Saint Mark’s for lab, studio

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

Paul and Linda McConnell have given Saint Mark’s High School another $1 million just two months after donating $1.75 million to help Ursuline Academy grow its tuition assistance program. The new donation will go towards the school’s $8 million capital campaign, which was launched at the beginning of this school year.  The McConnells donation will go to both the endowment …

The state looks to establish certification and licensure requirements for charter school leaders.

Enrollment in state charters went up 5.1% during pandemic

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

Over the course of the pandemic, enrollment in Delaware charter schools increased 5.10%, while traditional public schools’ student body dropped 1.14%. That’s according to a report published in November by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. It found that traditional public schools lost students in nearly every state. The First State’s traditional public schools lost 1,423 students from 2019 …

From left, Tyasia Cannon, MayEllen Clark, Caleb Odou, Chip Rossi (president of Bank of America Delaware), Timothy Nguyen, Samhitha Vallury.

5 First State teens named ‘National Student Leaders’

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Delaware Live, Education

Five Delaware junior and senior high school students have been selected as Bank of America Student Leaders. The Student Leader Program began in 2004 with the intent to help prepare students to enter the workforce through skills-building and leadership development. “The students are standout young adults who were selected for their involvement in standing up against inequality and injustice, as …