How one Wilmington school will offer free food for students, families: Education roundup

Happy holidays!

It's Christmas week for some, a continued holiday season for many. With most schools not in session, it sends children home and families together across the First State.

But in this weekly roundup, we'll still look to catch you up on some uplifting education updates you may have missed.

[Did we miss another good education story? Tell me about it: kepowers@gannett.com]

Wilmington's Nativity Prep opens food pantry to support school community

Brian Ray knows he wants to preserve dignity at Nativity Preparatory School, as a priority. He also knows his school community is strapped with food insecurity.

Many of his educators have not been strangers to sending kids home with leftover food, he says, some extra peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches for the weekend, some surplus food from partnering organizations.

"Especially this time of year, there's such a high focus on making sure with our families and individuals in our community, that their needs are met," said the school president. "Even the basics of basic needs."

Now, there's a home for that effort.

Nativity Prep has partnered with St. Mary Magdalen's Church and the Kevin Sullivan Food Closet to host a food pantry within its Wilmington walls starting this holiday season. The tuition-free Catholic middle school for boys announced the move by late November, opening first for only students and their families.

For now, the stock is dry, nonperishable goods. The office also uses a duffel-bag system — mirroring existing bags given to each student as the year begins — to allow students to take food home over the weekend, as Ray said some families prefer aid being "discrete."

The Kevin Sullivan Food Closet has roots reaching back to the 1980s, according to the school, budding within the Christ Our King Church in Wilmington. The volunteer-fueled program distributed food bags weekly and hosted a Thanksgiving dinner initiative that offered "all the trimmings for a memorable meal."

The diocese ultimately closed that church, and Nativity Prep was soon eyed as the next distribution epicenter, due to size and need. Ray hopes to expand that service across the community and possibly nearby schools, alongside adding freezers and refrigeration, if funds allow.

"That's where we're starting right now," Ray said. "As we continue to grow, we have a responsibility not just to our own family, but the community we serve. We're not the only ones with kids and families who need this."

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University of Delaware donates over 700 pieces of dorm furniture to Habitat for Humanity

First, they packed a warehouse.

What does one do with 552 tall dressers, 36 wide dressers, 41 wardrobes, 44 desks and 35 spare chairs? The University of Delaware had been updating room configurations during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, while housing some 7,500 students in 22 buildings yearly.

The state's largest university took to renting warehouse storage space for the wares deemed fully functional but obsolete. Until this year.

"They reached out to me to see if we were interested — and, of course, we said yes," said Rick Peterson, director of ReStores for Habitat for Humanity in New Castle County. "So we basically ended up meeting them over at the warehouse in Newark, and as you can imagine, 700 pieces of furniture looks like a mountain.

"We just took it from there."

UD donated some 708 pieces of furniture to Habitat for Humanity ReStores beginning this summer. The donation came in the name of sustainability, per a university spokesperson, but also stands to help support affordable housing.

Now the numbers are coming in, Peterson says.

Habitat raised some $30,000 from the UD donation, alongside spreading certain pieces to other nonprofits in the area. It joins the $1.6 million that the county's ReStores are on track to net this year alone. All profits head to Habitat's affordable housing mission.

"We focus our homebuilding on a lot of specific areas to have the most impact," Peterson said. "And we're also trying to support the community in ways, help lift up the community — so there are lots of layers to it and where the money goes."

While it's the first time Peterson has worked with UD on such a donation, the affiliate has maintained relationships with other companies over the past three decades. By late December, he was expecting four truckloads from DuPont, as well as some 12,000 trash bins from another donor. He moved UD's donation in a matter of seven weeks.

He now expects an ongoing relationship in Newark, as its dorms get updated.

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New charter school to embody the mission of one Delaware criminal justice icon

Bryan Stevenson came home last month.

The founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, renowned lawyer, human rights activist and author, spoke to a sold-out Chase Fieldhouse on Nov. 30. Standing in his home state, the Milton native spoke of harnessing identity, changing the narrative — and getting proximate.

Some five years ago, the first board began creating the next charter school in Sussex County, working from the same foundations.

Now, the Bryan Allen Stevenson School of Excellence is eying an opening in fall 2024, set to fill the old Howard T. Ennis building in Georgetown.

"They were thinking about where they wanted to get proximate," said Chantalle Ashford, soon-to-be head of school, thinking back to fellow founders that included members of Stevenson's family. "We want to found a school that is innovative, that does something different, that pushes our students to excellence."

Ashford said the coming public charter hopes to reach 250 students as it opens first with sixth, seventh and eighth grades, later expecting to reach 12th. BASSE is on track, she said, though the school delayed its original opening due to low enrollment.

By law, charter schools must have 80% of their enrollment by April 1 to operate the next academic year. This winter will come with hiring staff and preparing the building, while applications continue.

The 10-year educator is also confident the tenants of her new school will set it apart — with personalized learning plans, service-focused learning, unique scheduling and extracurricular activities for all students.

The name on the building will also continue serving a purpose.

"You want kids to be like: 'Oh my God, this man's from Milton, Delaware? He has traveled the world; and he gives speeches; and he's argued in front of the Supreme Court. Wow, he's from this little town in Delaware, and he could do all that?'" Ashford said with a smile.

"'If I know he exists, what can I do?'"

More info from BASSE: New Sussex charter enrolling students for 2023-2024 school year

Capital schools launches 'well-being' campaign

Capital School District hopes to reconnect with its community's needs.

The system announced the launch of a "Supporting Our Well-being Campaign" to help prioritize the care of students, staff and families. Aware of "the national teacher shortage, ongoing national transportation shortfalls and the relentless unfolding of trauma accompanied by a polarizing political climate," the district formed a plan, according to a press release on Dec. 18.

The campaign has been in the works for months, per the district, subject to continued feedback and recommendations.

The campaign will focus on increasing communication about additional social and emotional services the district will provide, according to the release, alongside "Valued Innovation Partnerships" to address behavior challenges in schools. The "Trauma and School Connectedness Task Force" will also reconvene in January.

“Any parent, caregiver, or Senator who is in need of help, please contact your school and request to speak to your assigned parent liaison," wrote CEO and Superintendent Vilicia Cade in a letter to the district community. "Please know that we are eagerly standing by to help you take advantage of the resources and any support we can provide to help with your needs.”

The district plans to continue working with local community and faith-based leaders to "help address the increase in trauma" felt throughout the system.

Capital School District Educators Association President Sarah Kashner called the plan "a move in the right direction" for overworked teachers and unprecedented times.

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Got a story? Kelly Powers covers race, culture and equity for Delaware Online and USA TODAY Network Northeast, with a focus on education. Contact her at kepowers@gannett.com or (231) 622-2191, and follow her on Twitter @kpowers01.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: How one Wilmington school will offer free food for students, families