School board elections: turnout low, but rising in places

Jarek Rutz Headlines, Education

Although last week’s school board elections had extremely low voter turnout, one education group points out this year’s numbers rose in many prominent districts. It has been consistently said that only about 10% of eligible voters hit the polls in school board elections.  Of the 11 school districts that had races this year, just one, Delmar, hit that mark, with …

School board elections: polls open until 8 p.m. Tuesday

Jarek Rutz Education, Headlines

Today’s the day: after nine weeks of campaigning, 40 Delawareans will compete for 23 school board seats in Tuesday’s school board elections.  “Over the last couple of months, our campaign has had the opportunity to connect with thousands of voters who’ve shared their stories, hopes, and aspiration for Red Clay and its future,” said Jose Matthews, an incumbent board member …

Several school districts removed the virtual option for board meetings. (Unsplash)

5 school districts drop virtual option for board meetings

Jarek Rutz Headlines, Education

Five of Delaware’s 19 school districts no longer livestream their board meetings.  Caesar Rodney, Delmar, Laurel, Smyrna and Woodbridge school districts removed the virtual option this years as students and faculty return to an in-person environment with pandemic restrictions diminishing. John Marinucci, the executive director of the Delaware School Boards Association, said the organization pushed for legislation that allowed, but …

The House voted for a bill that would speed up aspects of school board elections.

Bill aims to rectify school board candidacy delays

Jarek Rutz Headlines, Education

A bill that would eliminate delays to school board candidates’ names appearing on Delaware’s Department of Elections website was passed by the Delaware House Tuesday. House Bill 88, sponsored by Rep. Paul Baumbach, D-Newark, would require the state to publicly list school board candidates who are waiting for their background checks to be completed as a “provisional candidate.” Due to …

Although the deadline to file for school board candidacy has passed, the final list of candidates will likely come in a few weeks.

School board candidate listings delayed by background checks

Jarek Rutz Headlines, Education

The deadline for people to file to run for the May 9 school board elections has passed, but it may  take weeks until the final list of candidates is published. The problem: A 2021 law that requires school board candidates to complete a criminal background check and a child registry check.  These must be completed before candidates’ names can be …

The clock is ticking for prospective candidates for file for school board elections. (Unsplash)

Eds up: School Board candidates must file by March 3 

Jarek Rutz Education, Headlines

Candidates have 19 days left to file to run in the May 9 school board elections, and education advocates hope to encourage more people to run in those three weeks. “There’s a lot more community members than there are elected people, so if you don’t like the direction that your community is going in, run,” said Laurisa Schutt, executive director …

Reading score discovery at Colonial

2022 Rewind: Colonial Reading scores higher after COVID

Betsy Price Education, Headlines

This story was originally published in November 2022. 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 …

District school boards are responsible with hiring and evaluating the superintendent. (Unsplash)

Many Del. districts don’t evaluate superintendents annually

Jarek Rutz Headlines, Education

Even though the job of superintendent of education is one of the most powerful in a school district, many Delaware districts don’t perform annual reviews of theirs. “Some boards have a formal review, and some don’t,” said Donald Patton, board member of Christina School District. He was a teacher and principal for decades before being elected in May. “How do …

From left: First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney, Program Manager Diane Frentzel and Community Coordinator Camelia Vivero of Delaware Readiness Teams presented the state's new kindergarten registration process. (Jarek Rutz/Delaware LIVE News)

Kindergarten registration: Meet state’s new quick process

Jarek Rutz Headlines, Education

A new digital and uniform process to register children for kindergarten in the First State was unveiled to an audience of 25 Tuesday at the Wilmington Public Library.  “Having a consistent process throughout Delaware allows libraries and other agencies to provide quick support and assistance to parents who are registering their children for school for the very first time,” said …

Brandywine board member Kristin Pidgeon said that many city children are bused to suburban schools and the Learning Collab should consider providing programs and services to those students. (Courtesy of Harlan Elementary School Facebook group).

A look at Brandywine’s city vs. suburban test scores

Jarek Rutz Headlines, Education

A look at the test scores of Brandywine School District’s elementary schools shows why the state is focusing only on Wilmington children in its proposal for a program to raise student achievement in the city. Brandywine school board member Kristin Pidgeon this week questioned why Brandywine’s other eight elementaries – all in suburban schools – are not included in the …