DSU and the University of Belize signed their memorandum of understanding on March 11.

DSU widens global presence with University of Belize alliance

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

  Delaware State University has created a partnership it hopes will lead to future opportunities in Belize, a nation on the eastern coast of Central America. “It opens the door to collaborative activities,” said Carlos Holmes, DSU’s director of news services. “This could range from anything from joint events, joint presentations, joint research, joint studies, it could indeed involve possible …

learning community education buildilng

Schools await final $3.8M for downtown gym, learning center

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

Three schools sharing the same building in downtown Wilmington are eagerly awaiting the hoped-for completion of an $18 million project to build a gym, theater and early learning center.  Kuumba Academy Charter School, Great Oaks Charter School  and High Road School of Delaware share the Community Education Building. Formerly a MBNA office building. the Community Ed building is meant to …

Caesar Rodney culinary team. From left to right: Melia Stamper, Shannon Powell, Ralph Figueroa, Carys Raber, Zoe Rowe, Grey Bendel.

Caesar Rodney HS: 5x state culinary competition winners

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

The young cooks from Caesar Rodney School District are state champs once again. Caesar Rodney High School’s culinary team recently took home its fifth straight state title in the 11th Annual Delaware ProStart Student Invitational, which was hosted at the Chase Center in Wilmington.  The Delaware Restaurant Foundation hosts the statewide competition featuring 17 culinary and management teams who were …

Smyrna and Appoquinimink are the two school district's with unsuccessful referendums this academic year.

Smyrna School District referendum fails

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

Smyrna School District’s capital and operating referendum to raise local revenue for it school’s has failed. It’s request to raise local funds was rejected at a vote of 820 “yes” and 1,129 “no” (57.9%). The other ballot option – which would authorize the district to issue bonds for capital projects like building a new intermediate school – also failed, with …

Delaware breaks its funding expenditures for schools into nine categories.

Here’s how Delaware slices its school funding pie

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

One might find it hard to believe that laundry, driver’s ed and athletic travel and equipment are considered “instructional costs” in Delaware public schools, but they are.  Instruction is one of nine categories of funding for the First State’s public schools.  It makes up 55.28% of the spending for the 23-24 school year, totaling $1,584,970,346, according to the Delaware State …

Senior Maiss Hussein is the 2024 Delaware Poetry Out Loud winner.

Hodgson’s Maiss Hussein repeats as Delaware Poetry Out Loud champ

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

Maiss Hussein, a senior at Paul M. Hodgson Vocational Technical High School, is once again Delaware’s Poetry Out Loud winner. She went back-to-back, winning this year’s competition at the Smyrna Opera House Thursday night with her rendition of “’Hope’ is the thing with feathers” by Emily Dickinson.  The poem reads: “Hope” is the thing with feathers – That perches in …

Colonial School District's 2024 referendum is successful.

Colonial referendum passes one day after Red Clay’s success

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

Colonial School District’s capital and operating referendum has passed, a day after Red Clay’s referendum also passed. With the successful referendum passes, there will be a phased approach to a local tax increase, with a spike of 25 cents per $100 of assessed property value in fiscal year 2025, 10 cents in fiscal year 2026 and five cents in fiscal …

DREW ATCHISON FROM THE AMERICAN INSTITUTES FOR RESEARCH PRESENTS THE REPORT ON DELAWARE EDUCATION FUNDING IN DECEMBER. HE IS EXPECTED TO PRESENT TO THE LEGISLATURE NEXT THURSDAY.

Legislature to be briefed on new school funding report

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

Delaware’s legislators will get their first official look next week at a recently released funding report that suggests changes to how the state funds its schools and says it should pump $500 million to $1 billion more into education. Many of the legislators attended the December announcement of the report by the American Institutes for Research. On Thursday, March 7, …

Hundreds of students packed the gym to celebrate the largest donation in Ursuline Academy history.

Ursuline’s record $5M Fusco donation to rebuild, expand gym

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

A downtown Wilmington Catholic girls school has received the largest donation in its 130-year history, and students rocked its gymnasium in delight Thursday. Anthony N. Fusco Sr., a Delaware philanthropist and real estate developer has made a $5 million commitment to Ursuline Academy. The donation will pay for the total renovation of Laffey McHugh Gymnasium, originally constructed in 1980; create …

Red Clay's 2024 referendum is successful.

Red Clay referendum passes with large support

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

The referendum for the Red Clay Consolidated School District, the largest school district in Delaware, has passed. The district’s residents have voted for both the operating and capital component of the referendum that will increase their taxes $404 on average over three years. It would include $242 more in fiscal year 2025, $81 more in fiscal year 2026 and $81 …