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• District Will Create District-Level and School-Level Teams
   
• Christina Board and Superintendent Welcome Invitation by Secretary Mark Murphy to Collaborate with DOE

The public comment portion of the Christina School Board meeting on September 30 lasted over two hours and included a variety of viewpoints. Photo credit: Saquan Stimpson

The Christina Board of Education met in a public session at Sarah Pyle Academy on September 30 to discuss a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) developed by the Delaware Department of Education (DOE) that would affect the future of Bancroft Elementary School, Stubbs Elementary School, and Bayard Middle School. The three schools were named "Priority" Schools by the Department of Education on September 4.

At the meeting on September 30, the Christina Board passed a resolution that stated that as an elected public body, the Board had been vested with the responsibility to govern schools as granted by Delaware Code, and that it was directing the Superintendent to submit a Board approved MOU to the Department of Education after the District had conducted a "fully engaged effort to include all affected stakeholders in a systemic and meaningful manner."

The September 30 meeting was attended by many members of the Christina community, including parents, teachers, legislators, and district residents. The public comment portion of the meeting exceeded two hours and included a variety of viewpoints. Christina Superintendent Freeman Williams stated, "I have never been more proud of the passion and commitment to your students and schools that has come through time and time again tonight. It has been an honor to observe this."

On October 1, Superintendent Williams announced the District would create a district-level MOU design team made up of key administrators, representatives from the Christina Education Association, representatives from each Priority school, and a community representative. This team will work with the Delaware Department of Education to develop an MOU to outline the relationship the District will have with the State in developing plans to address the needs of the three schools. The resulting MOU will ultimately be presented to the Christina Board of Education for approval. In addition, broader school-level teams will also be formed at Bancroft, Stubbs, and Bayard that will include school leaders, parents, students, and members of the school community. These school-level teams will be actively engaged in developing the plans to move their schools forward as required by the Department of Education for each Priority school.

On October 2, following statements made to the media by Secretary Murphy that the Department of Education was open to working collaboratively with Christina, the Christina Board and Superintendent Williams issued a formal statement that they welcomed Secretary Murphy's invitation to collaborate.

Christina Board member John Young stated, "It is our ardent hope that this process is focused solely on children and eschews ideology and anecdotal solutions. Only when we work together, unconstrained by arbitrary deadlines, will we be able to craft a consensus document that satisfies all parties and that places children squarely at its center."

"We were excited to learn that Secretary Murphy has decided to engage us in the process of creating a new MOU with input from teachers, students, staff, the Department of Education, and our community members," said Superintendent Williams. "We look forward to creating a document and a plan that reflects our joint resolve to help all students."

The audio recording of the Board meeting may be found on the District website in the Board of Education section at the following link: http://www.christinak12.org/apps/video/watch.jsp?v=49908  

 

(Please note: The meeting audio recording begins at approximately the 08:09 minute mark.)

 

More information about the "Priority" schools, including the MOU documents. Turnaround Guide, and news releases are available on the District website at the following link:

http://www.christinak12.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=246303&type=d
 

The Wilmington City Council will feature Mark Murphy, Delaware's Secretary of Education, at the October 9, 2014 meeting of the Education, Youth and Families Committee from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers in the City/County Building at 8th and French Streets in Wilmington.  Murphy will be discussing the plan to improve Wilmington's struggling schools. There will be a question and answer session after his presentation. 

 

 

Networks students read Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, written by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Ray Cruz.   The students then helped the first graders discuss the sequence of the story and the characters' feelings. Their activity was to brainstorm ideas of how to make themselves feel better, make flowers and write a good note to themselves so that when they have a terrible day they can feel better. Ms. Kaufmann's first grade class enjoyed the guest readers.  [more photos]

 

 

The Brader Elementary School's new Girls on the Run team has made training to run a 5K look like fun!  Girls on the Run is a program for 3rd through 5th grade girls that helps to promote self-confidence, healthy lifestyles, and physical activity.  The girls have been practicing team building, positive self-talk, and nutrition and healthy lifestyles all while building their running stamina. The team practices twice every week at Brader, and the girls come ready to give their best effort and cheer each other on. Each girl has exceeded her personal physical activity goals, and they are well on their way to completing a 5K this November! 

 

 

The students at Jones Elementary School were recently performing experiments to determine how the wildlife surrounding the marsh would be affected by a proposed ramp off I-95.  

 

Marshall Elementary School families will be helping feed the hungry this Thanksgiving.  On September 26, Caitlin Custer, Donor Outreach Coordinator from the Food Bank of Delaware visited with students to explain where their donations go and how by bringing in just one box of macaroni and cheese, they will be directly helping a local family.  For the month of October, students and staff will be filling barrels with boxes of mac and cheese that will go into baskets for needy families this Thanksgiving.

In honor of 9/11 this year, the 1st grade Chinese Immersion classes at Downes Elementary School made over 40 beautiful "Thank You" cards for our local heroes. The cards were sent to various local fire houses and police stations, which included Aetna Hook and Ladder, Christiana Fire Company, and the Delaware State Police, along with trays of goodies, made by Farmers Insurance, via Rachel Rodriguez, a parent of one of our students. On September 11, these trays were delivered to a total of 17 stations in Delaware and Pennsylvania, which beat last year's record of 5!

 

In addition to making cards, the classes discussed what and how important First Responders are, how they help us, and what makes them heroes. Smiles and pride were seen all over the children's faces while creating their masterpieces!  Inside were notes like, "Thank you for helping us" and "You Rock!" The firefighters and police were very grateful and touched by these small tokens of appreciation.

 

Smith Elementary School Girls on the Run are busy preparing for their 5K run in November.  At each practice the girls have a theme.  This week one of the themes was "twin day."  The girls enjoyed running together and dressing as twins.  What a fun way to practice for the 5K!

Smith Elementary School students and staff showed their school spirit during the week of September 22.  The first school spirit day was a baseball theme.  Students and staff wore shirts to show the team they support.  While there were lots of Phillies fans, there were some Flyers, Cubs and Orioles fans among the many different teams.  Thanks to the many staff members and students who participated.

 

On September 26, students from Stubbs Elementary School participated in the Bright Smiles, Bright Futures Program, sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive Company.  Students received free dental screening, with a Dental Screening Report card for parents.  Students also received information on the proper way to brush their teeth.  Stubbs students were also aided by Dental Tech students from Howard High School of Technology.  This program was organized by long term community member and Stubbs Elementary School supporter Ms. C. Hoey.

 

Families of Stubbs Elementary School students are participating in and supporting the 6th Annual Brother to Brother 5 Mile Walk / Run at the Brandywine Park (across from the Zoo). The event begins at 10:30 a.m. on October 4 and all are encouraged to participate. Those who are unable to participate in the run/walk are invited to make an online pledge at https://www.delcf.org/donate.php. Search and select the Derrick Sean "Rick" Hoey's Survivor's College Scholarship Fund and Make A Difference in a student's life.

 

At Wilson Elementary School, the PBS Jr. Leaders Crew supports school personnel in making decisions around Wilson's PBS programs as student leaders.  Four 5th grade members, Alayna Arreola, Madelyn Degnars, Kyra Lambert and Brianna Younker, recently helped serve the Kindergarten and 1st Graders during "Lunch with the Principal."  Students who demonstrated being respectful, responsible, managing themselves and following directions were invited to eat with Assistant Principal Mr. Chuck Priestly and Principal Mrs. Natalie Birch.

On September 26, the Christiana High School staff challenged the students to a basketball game fundraiser.  The staff took home the trophy with a final score of 34-28. The event raised over $1,000 for Breast Cancer Awareness.  

CHS Staff Team Members (L-R):  Dan Mahoney, Rubin Turner, Sherman English, Hassan Greene, Ryan Howell-Conkey, Frank Yannes, Michael Kinlaw, Beau Dwyer, Sam Postlethwait, and Noreen Lasorsa.

On September 27, the Glasgow High School Marching Band won second place in their class with High Marks for Drum Major. The competition was held at Elkton High School.

Glasgow High School AP Calculus class got into the spirit to celebrate "Nerd Day" during the school's Spirit Week festivities on September 30.

On September 27, Glasgow High School's Gay-Straight Alliance as well as family and friends participated in the AIDSWalk 2014 at the Wilmington Riverfront.  The 2014 AIDSWalk Delaware is the 28th Annual event bringing the community together in support of AIDS awareness.  Funds raised from this event will be used to provide services to people living with HIV/AIDS in Delaware, as well as preventative education, outreach, and testing throughout the state.

 

On September 22, students from Newark High School participated in a national webcast with author Rick Riordan.  The event was billed as, Live from Mt. Olympus.  Readers familiar with Rick's works know that the Empire State building is a gateway to the home of the Greek and Roman gods.  Rick read an excerpt from his latest book Blood of Olympus which will be released on October 7.  He also talked about a new series of books based on Norse mythology starting in 2015 and a new phone app to play at being a demigod.  This was a great experience for students to hear directly from such a successful and well loved author.

 

  

This photo album displays the efforts of the freshman class at Newark High School as they prepared for their first experience with homecoming as high school students.  Under the direction of class advisors, Mrs. Vivian Morales and Mrs. Donna Reed, they made friends, had fun, and enjoyed being a very important part of the homecoming festivities.  We are very proud of all their hard work.

 

VIEW PHOTO ALBUM

 

CLICK HERE for complete information.

 

Questions or comments regarding the CSDNews may be directed to the Christina School District Public Information Office at 302-552-2670 or feedback@christina.k12.de.us 

            

Christina School District, 600 N. Lombard Street, Wilmington. DE 19801