Freire Charter finally gets a home-court advantage
Freire Charter School Wilmington is finally getting home-court advantage.
The school had been without a dedicated gymnasium for athletics and physical education since it opened in 2015, but last week came with a ceremony marking the big opening. From basketball and volleyball, to better supporting children in general, the impact is hard to miss.
Over in Claymont, a teacher-student duo is expected to head to first Young People’s Continental Congress, representing Delaware this summer in Philadelphia.
In this weekly roundup, we’ll catch you up on these and other education updates you may have missed.
Freire Charter School unveils first gymnasium to its Wilmington community
Under the beats of a Marching Dragons drumline, one Wilmington charter school unveiled its first athletic facility in its history.
Freire Charter School Wilmington and the Freire Foundation hosted a ribbon cutting last week for the new space, fit with a gym, showers, laundry facilities and more. Celebrated with student performances, speakers and a pep rally, Freire’s project was made possible by community donations. That includes a roughly $1.4 million grant from the Longwood Foundation, alongside other partners.
Impact was clear.
“This is a school that serves low-income children, and we thought: ‘That’s not right,’” said David Singleton, school board secretary, speaking with Delaware Online/The News Journal. “Some of our nice suburban schools have wonderful gyms that they deserve – but our kids deserve one, too.”
Freire serves one of the highest populations of lower-income students among Delaware high schools, a spokesperson said, and yet it was one of the only area high schools without a gym. Now, student athletes on volleyball and basketball teams will not have to travel to practice. Laundry and shower facilities also will serve as resources to children battling home insecurity.
“We have a high school that opened in 2015 here, but in addition we have a gym,” said Kelly Davenport, Freire Schools CEO, “a state-of-the-art gym, for the first time, which was something our kids were dreaming about, our staff was dreaming about.”
Delaware student-teacher duo heading to Philadelphia for first Young People’s Continental Congress
A local student-teacher duo is set to represent Delaware at the first Young People’s Continental Congress in Philadelphia this summer.
To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the First Continental Congress – held in Philadelphia in 1774 – 13 student-teacher teams from across the country, with one additional team from Pennsylvania, were selected to represent the original colonies.
Following a competitive application process, according to a press release, high schooler Josie Calder and history department chair Tara Creekmore from Archmere Academy in Claymont, were selected. They’ll spend five days in Philadelphia to discuss contemporary democracy and civic engagement issues, while making recommendations to address them.
Programming is hosted by the Carpenters’ Company of Philadelphia – prepping for its own 300th anniversary – and Carpenters’ Hall, in collaboration with National History Day.
“I wanted to join the Young People’s Continental Congress because I’ve taken other courses through National History Day,” said Creekmore, quoted in a press release from an event ahead of this summer. “I love historical research, so it’s nice to have this opportunity to engage our students.”
Delaware students invited to digital-mapping contest
The First State’s geospatial education community is calling on Delaware students.
Particularly, Delaware Department of Education and partners are calling on middle and high school scholars to enter ESRI’s 2024 ArcGIS national webapp competition. Students are challenged to create and share interactive mapping projects using ESRI ArcGIS software, accord to DDOE, executing a digital Storymap that explores some aspect of life in Delaware.
Competition closes Friday, May 3. Delaware’s top-five middle and top-five high school students will be each awarded a $100 prize. Then, the state also will select one middle school and one high school entrant to compete nationally. More information and support is available to teachers and students, with email maps@doe.k12.de.us for questions.
“Each year students wow me with their entries,” said Mark Holodick, secretary of education, in a press release. “This is a great opportunity for students to have fun while practicing real world skills.”
Got a story? Kelly Powers covers race, culture and equity for Delaware Online/ The News Journal and USA TODAY Network Northeast, with a focus on education. Contact her at kepowers@gannett.com or (231) 622-2191, and follow her on X @kpowers01.