Brandywine School District and its educators struck a deal Monday night after a nearly year-long contract impasse. The district, which is the fifth largest in the state, agreed to raise the pay and protect the working conditions of more than a thousand public school teachers and specialists. âThis is a huge win for teachers and specialists here in the Brandywine …
Del. leads national ‘Internet for All’ funding initiative
Delaware is leading the charge in the federal governmentâs mission to provide internet for all. Tuesday, the Department of Commerceâs National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approved the First Stateâs final proposal for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. The program is a key feature of the federal governmentâs âInternet for Allâ initiative to connect everyone in America …
Brandywine teachers hit the picket lines ahead of holidays due to expired contracts
WILMINGTON â An expired contract situation in Brandywine School District has tainted the holiday spirit of teachers, as they began to picket the district Tuesday in the first local educatorsâ union picketing in well over a decade. âI am shocked and saddened to be in this position,â said Jeannette Wilt, a computer and math teacher in the Brandywine School District …
Educators agree high absenteeism drives poor performance in 4 northern NCCo districtsÂ
Delawareâs four most northern schools â which make up four of the six largest districts in the state â have data metrics that can tell a number of stories, all of which keep parents, teachers, administrators, and even students awake at night. One story is about absenteeism. Another is about resources, another about the challenges of special student populations, and …
Hereâs how the WLC plans to spend $16 million this year
The Wilmington Learning Collaborative is making the final touches to its nearly $16 million budget for this 2024-2025 school year. After already getting the budget approved, the group voted for amendments Tuesday night in three line items: expanded learning time, professional development and school leader recruitment and retention. Funds were decreased in the first two buckets and moved to school …
WLC summer program yields reading growth in 4 schools
A coalition of city of Wilmington elementary schools can tout growth in reading over the summer. In the Wilmington Learning Collaborativeâs monthly meeting Tuesday night, Executive Director Laura Burgos presented the academic progress as a result of summer programming. The group contracted Reading Assist, a group contracted by the WLC that focuses on improving literacy rates, to help tutor students. …
State test scores show 33% proficiency in math, 40% ELA
This is a developing story. Check back for updates. Delawareâs state-wide test scores from the 2023-2024 school year were released Thursday, and while they are still very low, they did not get any worse than last year. That might not be saying much, as education experts across the state have been calling the low scores a âcrisisâ for multiple years …
Clear bookbags, weapon detectors, more coming to Delaware schools
This story was originally published on Spotlight Delaware. The reality of school shootings has plagued the nation for more than two decades, and last year saw more than 300 such incidents. While Delaware has been able to escape much of the bloodshed, recent incidents have unnerved many families and faculty. Guns have been fired inside schools amid altercations, threats have been left …
Legislator: Mental health programs hurt Delaware classrooms
A member of the state task force thatâs trying to improve student behavior and school environments in schools said that tiered mental health programs are killing Delaware classroom productivity. âThey don’t need all the fancy stuff,â said Sen. Eric Buckson, R-Dover, said. âThey don’t need the interventions. They don’t need the couches, they don’t need the specialists. They just need …
WLC launches anticipated website, new trademarked logoÂ
The Wilmington Learning Collaborative has a new look. âMuch like when you meet a stranger for the first time, you don’t have associations with their face, and as you start experiencing that person, you gain those associations over time, so the WLC has just launched its new face,â said John Himics, president of First Ascent Design. The collaborativeâs governing board …