HB 125 would give all students free breakfast and lunch.

Moore hawks bill to give all students free breakfast, lunch

Jarek Rutz Headlines, Education

Rep. Sherae’a Moore, D-Middletown, pushed her bill to give all Delaware students free breakfast and lunch during a roundtable discussion Wednesday evening. The roundtable at Everett Meredith Middle School included administrators, medical professionals, teachers, school nutritionists and other stakeholders who would like to see universal free breakfast and lunch. Several members of the table said that hunger affects students, both …

The new Louis L. Redding building will be open in fall 2025. (Jarek Rutz/Delaware LIVE News)

Appoquinimink breaks ground on new Louis L. Redding school

Jarek Rutz Headlines, Education

A historic Middletown school building is getting a $57.1 million makeover. The Louis L. Redding Building, part of Appoquinimink School District and named after the first Black practicing lawyer in Delaware, will have a new home in two years. District and government officials on Tuesday broke ground on the new building, which will be right in front of the current …

2 Appo school board candidates fielded questions Wednesday.

Only 2 of 4 Appo school board candidates attend board’s Q&A

Jarek Rutz Headlines, Education

Appoquinimink school board candidates answered questions about transgender bathrooms, equity and inclusion, goals for the board and more Wednesday night. The district’s school board hosted a question-and-answer session Wednesday night to allow families in the district to get to know candidates. Two of the four attended: Tim Johns, a pastor, and Ray Petkevis, a realtor. The other two candidates, Madeline …

Appo will buy metal/weapon detectors for all 3 of its high schools. (Photo from Evolv)

Appo to lease weapon detectors amid schools’ focus on safety

Jarek Rutz Headlines, Education

Appoquinimink School District’s vote this week to install weapon detectors is the latest move by Delaware schools to combat violence and the presence of guns. It’s an issue that’s plagued schools since fall, with the latest incident occurring Wednesday when a Sussex Central High School student was found with a firearm on school property.  The student was taken into custody …

Voni Perrine, principal of Odessa High. (Jarek Rutz/Delaware LIVE News)

Odessa students send Birds off with ‘Fly, Eagles Fly’ performance

Jarek Rutz Education, Headlines

  What do Odessa’s choir, orchestra and band students have in common, besides a love of music?  The Philadelphia Eagles. And to express their support, Appoquinimink’s Old State Elementary and Odessa middle and high school ensembles performed the team’s fight song “Fly, Eagles Fly”  Tuesday.  The students wanted to give the NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles a proper send off to …

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

School district class size waivers moving through

Jarek Rutz Headlines, 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 …

Two classrooms in Appo's elementary schools are overenrolled, so a request for class size waivers was needed. (Pexels)

Appo’s board approves two class size waivers; fewest in years

Jarek Rutz Headlines, Education

Appoquinimink School District’s board of education approved a request for two class size waivers Tuesday night, by far the fewest amount of waivers approved in the past five years.  The waivers allow class sizes to be expanded to accommodate additional students.  Delaware code requires a maximum student-to-teacher ratio of 22:1 in kindergarten through third-grade classrooms in the core subject areas …

The four district superintendents watch from the front row as Jon Cooper, director of student services at Colonial, announces the new wellness centers.

New Castle launches 4 elementary wellness centers

Jarek Rutz Headlines, Education

Four New Castle County elementary schools are getting wellness centers that will offer medical, mental health and nutrition services to vulnerable students. Appoquinimink’s Louis L. Redding Middle School – which also serves Silver Lake Elementary – Christina’s Brookside, Colonial’s McCullough, and Red Clay’s Richardson Park elementary schools will receive $250,000 in funding for the next two years, for a total …

After two years in a school that wasn't their own, the Everett Meredith Middle School community has a place to call home.

Everett Meredith reopens after 2 years without a home

Jarek Rutz Headlines, Education

The Crusaders of Everett Meredith Middle School finally have a home to call their own. For the past two years, they’ve moved around as the Appoquinimink School District destroyed the original 1929 building and rebuilt it in the same location on Broad Street in Middletown. Wednesday at 6 p.m. officials will cut the ribbon to celebrate the school opening this …

Appoquinimink School District buses

Appo votes to buy 25 buses for fall use

Jarek Rutz Education, Headlines

  Appoquinimink School District’s board voted unanimously this week to  invest $215,000 in up to 25 new buses by the fall. This will help serve 2,000 students for whom the district has not been able to provide busing. The idea of the district purchasing its own buses instead of relying only on companies that contract with the district to provide …