Christina School District

The Christina School District is a Delaware public school district located primarily in the Newark area and a non-contiguous portion of Wilmington. The district office is located in the Drew Educational Support Center in Wilmington, with Dan Shelton as the current superintendent.

Old Newark Comprehensive School, the previous district administrative headquarters

The district includes Newark, Brookside, central portions of Wilmington, most of Glasgow, about half of Bear, half of North Star, and parts of Pike Creek and Pike Creek Valley.[1]

History

The district was created on July 1, 1981, from the New Castle County School District after legislation passed in 1980 permitted the State Board of Education to divide the New Castle County School District into smaller districts.[2] At the time all students in grades 5 and 6 went to schools of those grade levels, all of them in the city of Wilmington, to satisfy a State of Delaware desegregation directive that came into place in 1978.[3]

From 1984 to 1988 its student population increased by 2,000 and it was the largest school district in Delaware. From 1987 to 1988 the student population increased by 500.[3] Due to the growth, in 1988 two elementary schools were under construction, with completion scheduled in 1989, and the district enacted a $29.6 million program to build two additional schools and expand four. The district aimed to build capacity in Wilmington as it anticipated more grade 5-6 students enrolling.[4] Additionally, it had one active school and one school not yet open south of Baltimore Pike despite having 1,877 students in grades Kindergarten through 3rd grade.[5]

Lillian M. Lowery served as Superintendent of the Christina School District from 2006 until her appointment as Secretary of the Delaware Department of Education in 2009, and was subsequently appointed as Superintendent of the Maryland State Department of Education in 2012.[6][7]

Schools

High schools

Middle schools

Elementary/middle schools
  • The Bancroft School (Wilmington)
  • The Bayard School (Wilmington)
    • The original building opened in 1925. The current school opened in 1973.[8]

Elementary schools
  • Brader (Henry M.) Elementary School
    • Opened fall 1989[4]
  • Brookside Elementary School (Brookside)
  • Downes (John R.) Elementary School (Newark)
  • Gallaher (Robert S.) Elementary School (unincorporated area)
  • Jones (Albert H.) Elementary School (unincorporated area)
  • Keene (William B.) Elementary School (Glasgow)
  • Leasure (May B.) Elementary School (Bear)
    • Opened as Eden School and taught 1-8 but later reduced to grades 1-6 when NHS began accepting grades 7–8. A 1934 fire gutted the school and classes were temporarily moved to Lodge Hall; the new facility opened in 1935. The school received its current name, which honors teacher Elizabeth May Brown Leasure, in 1970, and the current facility opened in 1998.[9]
  • Maclary (R. Elisabeth) Elementary School - Chapel Hill (Newark address)
  • Marshall (Thurgood) Elementary School (unincorporated area)
  • McVey (Joseph M.) Elementary School (unincorporated area)
    • In 1988 it was the only elementary school that had all of its attendance boundaries located in a single feeder for each subsequent level, so its students stayed together until grade 12.[5]
  • Oberle (William A.) Elementary School (Bear)
  • Smith (Jennie E.) Elementary School (Brookside)
  • West Park Place Elementary School (Newark)
  • Wilson (Etta J.) Elementary School (Pike Creek Valley)

Early childhood education
  • Christina Early Education Center
    • It adopted school uniforms in the 1990s. In 1998 52% of the students reported having a positive reception to wearing uniforms, 60.2% of parents argued that uniforms were less expensive than non-uniform clothes, and 65% of teachers stated that uniforms improved the classrooms.[13]
  • Stubbs Early Education Center

Other schools/programs
  • Brennen School - Delaware Autism Program
  • Delaware School for the Deaf
  • Douglass School
  • Middle School Honors Academy at Christiana High School
  • Montessori Academies at Christina
  • Networks School for Employability Skills
  • Christina R.E.A.C.H.
  • Sarah Pyle Academy

Former schools
  • Dr. Charles Richard Drew Elementary School (Wilmington) - It was on the east side of Wilmington. In 1988 the district proposed expansion.[4] In the 1990s the school, as Drew-Pyle, adopted school uniforms. In 1998 76% of parents stated that it makes getting dressed for school easier and 65% stated that the cost is lower with uniforms. Above 50% of the students wanted to revert to a non-uniform policy. All of the teachers expressed support in keeping uniforms.[13]
  • Elbert-Palmer Elementary School (Wilmington) - It was in Southbridge, Wilmington. It closed in 1981, but in 1988 was under renovation and being expanded so it could reopen in fall 1989.[4]
  • Casimir Pulaski Elementary School (Wilmington) - It was in Hedgeville. In 1988 the district proposed expansion.[4]
  • Pyle Elementary School (Wilmington)[14]
  • Frederick Douglass Stubbs School (Wilmington) - It was in Canby Park. It was a center for handicapped students, but in 1988 they were being mainstreamed into traditional schools so Stubbs could be expanded and converted into a regular school.[4]

Facilities

Its current administrative offices are in the Drew Educational Support Center in Wilmington.[15] It was formerly the Dr. Charles Richard Drew Elementary School.[16]

It previously had its administrative headquarters in Newark.[17] These administrative offices were formerly housed in the Old Newark Comprehensive School.

Dress code

By 1998 three schools: the early childhood center, Shue-Medill Middle School, and Drew-Pyle Elementary School had adopted school uniforms, prompting other districts to consider it, though in 1998 the number of public schools in Delaware with uniforms was below 20.[13]

Controversy

The district has been criticized for its strict interpretation of its "no weapons" policy. In 2009 it suspended a six-year-old Cub Scout for taking a camping utensil to school and wanted to send the child to its alternative placement school for 45 days as punishment.[18] In 2007 the District expelled a seventh-grade girl for using a utility knife to cut windows out of a paper house for a class project.[18] In 2011, a seventh-grader was suspended and almost expelled for dyeing her hair.

References
  1. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: New Castle County, DE" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  2. "Online Guide to the Collections". Delaware Public Archives. State of Delaware. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  3. Dennison, Sandy (1988-10-15). "Christina to decide on new school attendance areas". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. pp. B1, B2. - Clipping of first and of second pages
  4. Dennison, Sandy (1988-07-12). "Christina district wants 2 new elementary schools, 4 additions". The Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. pp. B1, B2. - Clipping of first and of the second page at Newspapers.com.
  5. Dennison, Sandy (1988-10-29). "Christina reassignment plans present challenge". The Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. p. A3. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
  6. Lillian M. Lowery-State Superintendent of Schools-State Department of Education (Maryland Manual On-Line)
  7. Lillian M. Lowery-Superintendent's Biography-Maryland State Department of Education. Archived June 16, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Bayard School History". Bayard School. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  9. "History of Leasure". May B. Leasure Elementary School. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  10. "School History". William A. Oberle, Jr. Elementary School. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  11. "School to be named for Oberle". Newark Post. 2011-01-19. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  12. "Christina renames elementary school for Oberle, Jr". Newark Post. 2011-09-17. p. 9. Retrieved 2021-06-24. - Print title: "Christina renames school for Oberle, Jr.", Text version stored at the University of Delaware.
  13. Taylor, Allison (1998-06-11). "Uniform discussion spreads". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. p. B3. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
  14. "Christina School District / Homepage". Archived from the original on 2001-10-23.
  15. "Welcome to Christina!". Christina School District. Retrieved 2021-06-24. Administrative Offices Drew Educational Support Center 600 North Lombard Street Wilmington, DE 19801
  16. "Elementary schools". Christina School District. 2001-06-23. Archived from the original on 2002-10-04. Retrieved 2021-06-22. Dr. Charles Richard Drew Elem. School - [...] 600 Lombard Street · Wilmington, DE 19801
  17. "Home". Christina School District. 2001-06-23. Archived from the original on 2001-06-23. Retrieved 2021-06-22. 83 East Main St., Newark, DE 19711
  18. Urbina, Ian (October 11, 2009). "It's a Fork, It's a Spoon, It's a ... Weapon?". The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
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