newark police school threat.

Delaware State Police investigating anonymous threats to schools

Betsy Price Government, Headlines

  Delaware police and schools apparently are among the targets of nationwide calls of false active shooters at the schools. Delaware State Police issued a statement later in the afternoon that said the calls have been determined to be a hoax and a form of “swatting.” Swatting occurs when a prank call is made to emergency services in an attempt …

Reading score discovery at Colonial

Colonial surprise: Reading scores higher after COVID

Betsy Price Education, Headlines

Colonial School District Superintendent Jeffrey D. Menzer unearthed a surprising fact while he was devising a method to track the effectiveness of a new focus on student reading skills and scores. The 2022 eighth graders who had been at Colonial schools since second grade scored higher on reading proficiency tests than those in eighth grade in 2019, Menzer told the …

Wilmington Learning Collaborative

School boards lay out worries, support for Learning Collaborative

Jarek Rutz Headlines, Education

    A joint meeting Tuesday of the Brandywine, Christina and Red Clay school districts about the Wilmington Learning Collaborative featured a lively discussion, but still no vote. The 21 board members were joined by Gov. John Carney, Education Secretary Mark Holodick and other key education officials. While no one outright opposed the learning collaborative, some expressed concern about the …

Caesar Rodney summer reading program

Caesar Rodney debuts ‘100-minute’ reading challenge

Jarek Rutz Education, Headlines

  The Riders of Caesar Rodney School District have saddled up to corral a higher number of summer reading minutes. And in doing so, the students just might lasso some of the hundreds of dollars worth of prizes as a reward.  Until Friday July 22, kindergarten to grade 12 students in any of Caesar Rodney’s 13 schools can participate in …

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 …

Diwali is Hindu's festival of lights, a celebration lasting 5 days.

Delaware schools pushed to declare Diwali a holiday

Jarek Rutz Delaware Live, Education, Headlines

A Hindu activist last week praised Brandywine School District as the first in Delaware to close so students could celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of light. Students will be off, but only because that is a day the district designated for parent-teacher conferences. Staff members will be working. In 2023, Diwali falls on a Sunday. But the system has not …

Grades

Appoquinimink: No plans to drop letter grades

Jarek Rutz Education, Headlines

A flyer for an Appoquinimink School District professional development workshop left some people thinking that the district was ditching a grade-scale system for next year. They are not. “The workshop, originally titled, ‘Ungrading & Portfolio Lens Crash Course’ was an attempt at a catchy title that we now regret,” said Lilian Miles, Appoquinimink’s public information officer, in an email to …

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Rosa Trotter retires after 48 years of teaching kindergarten

Jarek Rutz Education, Headlines

  After spending four decades working in a room full of frogs and children, Dr. Rosa Trotter is hopping into the next phase of her life. Thursday, she taught her last kindergarten class at Carrie Downie Elementary School in New Castle, after teaching for 48 years, with 39 of them in that room. The nearly 3,000 students she taught will …

wilmingtoncollabedit

Wilmington Learning Collaborative releases draft agreement

Jarek Rutz Education, Headlines

A draft of the agreement formalizing the Wilmington Learning Collaborative says parents, students and teachers will be included in the governing council, which will hire a small team to run the organization. The draft, announced Wednesday during a community engagement event, is a major step forward the five-year process that will see Wilmington elementary and middle schools carved out of …

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DOE’s new summer camp website includes lots of free options

Jarek Rutz Education, Headlines

  First State parents can help students can keep their minds active this summer by using a new website that includes hundreds of programs made available in Delaware’s “Summer of Opportunity.” The Department of Education this week announced its new website contains a database of 265 different camps and programs that will help families find school and community-based learning opportunities …