Cab Calloway's Anthony Gray-Bolden is this year's Delaware Principal of the Year.

Cab Calloway’s Anthony Gray-Bolden named 2025 Principal of Year

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

WILMINGTON – Anthony Gray-Bolden, Dean of Cab Calloway School of the Arts in the Red Clay Consolidated School District, has been named the 2025 Delaware Principal of the Year Award. “I am truly honored to be recognized as Principal of the Year,” Bolden said. “This achievement is a testament to the incredible staff, teachers, students, families, and my dedicated administrative …

2024 NAEP results were released to the public Wednesday, and show little progress in on subject for Delawareans. (Photo by gece33/iStock Getty Images)

NAEP scores show increase in math scores, little change elsewhere

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

2024 data from what’s referred to as the “Nation’s Report Card” was released Wednesday, and while there’s still critical underperformance, Delaware’s making slight improvement in test scores and proficiency rates. Delaware is nine points below the national average for scores in eighth-grade math and seven points below in eighth-grade reading. Fourth-grade math scores were four points less than the national …

The survey gave a snapshot into the various challenges educators face with school climate and student behavior. (Photo by Nikada/iStock Getty Images)

Survey: many teachers injured by students, lose class time

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

A survey among more than a thousand educators found that one in three are worried about receiving a physical injury from a student, while 20 percent have been injured from a student. The report was shown to the 24-member Student Behavior and School Climate Task Force Monday night, which is made of government and educational officials as well as school …

schools

Clear bookbags, weapon detectors, more coming to Delaware schools

Julia MerolaEducation, Headlines

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 …

First State Educate's latest webinar focused on school board agendas. (Photo by redkphotohobby/Adobe Stock)

Education group details school board agendas, legal rules

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

Delaware school boards operate under many rules, including having public meetings that have been advertised in advance to comply with state Freedom of Information requirements. That was one of the details that came up during a  First State Educate webinar Monday night  focused on how school board agendas work, the legal requirements of boards, the importance of communication and more. …

The state's 2024 secretary scholars were honored Tuesday night.

93 honored as 2024 Secretary of Education Scholars

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

The head of Delaware’s Department of Education has named his 93 scholars for 2024. Secretary of Education Mark Holodick selected the students based on their continued academic achievement and involvement in the community.  “This represents one of the highest academic achievements a student can earn in a Delaware public school,” Holodick said at a dinner in Dover honoring the students …

Districts that have had successful referendums are now planning designs, construction bids, and how projects will be phased over the next few years.

Here’s what happens now in districts whose referendums passed

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

Now that Colonial, Red Clay and Brandywine have had successful referendums, residents of those school districts may be wondering when they’ll have to pony up finances and when they’ll see new facilities. Delaware school districts that have had a successful referendum typically phase their spending over three years or more.  The concept of the referendum isn’t widespread nationally.  Delaware is …

Several school districts will hold a referendum this year to raise local revenue.

5 school districts to hold tax hike referenda in 2024

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

Five of Delaware’s 19 school districts are asking their residents to head to the polls in 2024 and vote for a local tax increase. In the First State, districts must hold referendums if they want to increase their local school tax in order to increase local revenue. They include the Brandywine, Red Clay Consolidated, Colonial, Smyrna and Appoquinimink. Schools get …

Red Clay and Colonial school districts were the biggest funding beneficiaries of this year's certificate of necessity approvals.

Colonial, Red Clay biggest winners in state funding requests

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

The state Department of Education has made some school districts very happy by deeming their requests for state funding necessary to fulfill building projects. For fiscal year 2025, the Department of Education approved 50 certificate of necessity requests, 44 of which involved state funding. They were concentrated in six districts. Districts submit certificates of necessity each year to the department, …

Parents have shared some positives and some preferred changes, as well as what they look for as they navigate through the process of school choice.

Here’s what parents dealing with school choice say it’s like

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

As Mia McIntyre navigates her first rodeo of school choice for her daughter, she’s found it fairly easy, but with some surprisingly stressful points in Delaware’s process. Xavia Davis finds the process burdensome and said she was treated rudely by district employees who seemed entitled to know why she wanted to choice her children away from the district. Nicole Kowal, …