In this issue:

A Message from Superintendent Green: Next Steps for the 4th Marking Period | 4th Marking Period Calendars | Last Day for Seniors Is May 28 | School Board Approves 2021-22 Academic Calendar | WATCH: March 17 School Board Meeting | Red Clay Honors Visiting Teachers | Red Clay 8th Graders Join First Cohort in State to Pursue High School Immersion | Congrats, Fall and Winter Athletes!

A Message from Superintendent Green: Next Steps for the 4th Marking Period

Dear Red Clay families,

It’s hard to believe but the third marking period is quickly coming to a close. On behalf of Red Clay, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate all our students and staff for their hard work and dedication over these last several weeks. Every day we see Red Clay learners give it their all on campus, online and at home. Our elementary students recently performed in their first virtual recital and quickly followed it up with an outstanding outdoor concert. We are proud to have All-State athletes, All-Conference honorees, and a host of team accomplishments. Our middle and high schoolers excelled in state competitions and took home top honors in entrepreneurship, digital design, sports medicine, nurse assisting and many other categories.

As we look ahead to the remainder of the 2020-21 school year, I want to share important updates and next steps for the fourth marking period. Please take some time to review the information below, which will answer many of your questions about what to expect after Spring Break.

4th Marking Period Calendars

To coincide with Superintendent Green's message about our next steps for the fourth marking period, we published Red Clay's fourth marking period calendars today. Please take a moment to review your student's calendar as you plan ahead for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.

Last Day for Seniors Is May 28

Please note that the last day for students in grade 12 is Friday, May 28. The last day for all other students is Tuesday, June 15.

School Board Approves 2021-22 Academic Calendar

At its regular meeting on March 17, the Red Clay school board approved the 2021-22 academic calendar. Click here to see the approved draft.

Please note: We are in the process of preparing the official version of this calendar and updating our website calendar to reflect the school board's action. This process should be complete by Friday, March 26.

WATCH: March 17 School Board Meeting

The school board held its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, March 17. Agenda items included:

• Student/Staff/Community Recognitions
• 2021-22 School Year Calendar
• Board Policy 8004
• FY 21 Final Budget
• New Castle County Tax Amnesty
• Superintendent's Report

Click below to watch the meeting on our YouTube channel.

Red Clay Honors Visiting Teachers

In a recent investigative report, NBC10’s Claudia Vargas described how school truancy rates have been going up throughout the Philadelphia region as a result of virtual learning, particularly among students of color. When the NBC10 investigators heard about how districts like ours have made it a priority to try to connect all families with the tools needed to learn virtually, they were eager to meet some of the folks doing this work on the ground—so we took them straight to our small but mighty team of visiting teachers.

In Red Clay, visiting teachers (who are sometimes known as truancy officers) have been hard at work helping students to stay connected during the pandemic, often stepping in when parents don’t know where to turn for help. Visiting teachers work to assist the school buildings to be in compliance with state law and Red Clay’s attendance policies. They are there to support and enhance the work done at the building level and to intervene in situations where building efforts fail to produce a change in a student’s daily attendance.

They also assist in the early identification and monitoring of students with patterns of irregular or non-attendance; they assess and investigate the family situation through phone contacts and home visits; and they act as an advocate for students needing further services and connecting the family to these resources.

On behalf of all of us at Red Clay, thank you, visiting teachers, for all that you are doing to help students and their families overcome challenges and stay connected to school during COVID-19.

• Felicia Bennett, a visiting teacher since 2005 who serves students and staff from Baltz, Brandywine Springs, Conrad, Cooke, McKean, Richardson Park, Stanton and Warner, with additional roles on the Red Clay Dropout Prevention Team and the Red Clay Diversity Committee.
• Ebony Jones, a visiting teacher who serves students and staff from Cab Calloway School of the Arts, First State School, Forest Oak, HB Middle, Heritage, Dickinson, Meadowood, McKean, and Skyline.
• Robert Smith, a former special education teacher who now serves students and staff from Richey, Marbrook, Skyline, Dickinson, North Star, HB Dupont, A.I. High School and AI Middle School
• Kelly Ortiz, a visiting teacher who serves students and staff from AI High School, AI Middle School, Highlands, Linden Hill, Mote, Lewis, Stanton and Shortlidge

Red Clay 8th Graders Join First Cohort in State to Pursue High School Immersion

Back in 2011, a group of students took the first steps to becoming Red Clay’s first cohort to participate in the dual language immersion program at William C. Lewis Dual Language Elementary School, under then Governor Markell’s World Language Expansion Initiative. The parents of these students understood the value that the immersion program could bring to their children and to their future, as they could ultimately become fully bilingual, biliterate, and socio-culturally competent.

In this immersion program, elementary students spend half of their school day learning in English and the other half learning in Spanish. School staff worked closely with the students’ parents to help them stay invested in the program by guiding them to the middle school immersion track at Skyline Middle School, where for the last three years they have spent 30% of their school day learning in Spanish.

Now 8th graders, the students recently participated in the ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages—which is an assessment of standards-based language learning that assesses a student’s ability to engage in personal, social and academic communication through reading, writing, speaking and listening. We’re thrilled to announce that the students scored at the top of the state when compared with other students taking the same assessment.

What’s more, the students demonstrated a level of language proficiency that opens a number of new opportunities at the high school and college levels on their path to bilingualism and biliteracy. Specifically:

• They have already met the high school world language graduation requirement and earned 4 World Language credits that will appear on their high school transcript.
• They are now eligible to take Advanced Placement Spanish language and culture courses as a 9th grader.
• Beginning in 10th grade, they can extend their immersion language and content knowledge into the college environment through dual enrollment courses.
• If they reach a performance level 3 or 4 out of 4 on the State’s Smarter Balance Reading Assessment, they will earn a Certificate of Multiliteracy. The Certificate is Delaware’s version of the Seal of Biliteracy, which is a national response to recognize the importance of language learning as a critical career and workplace skill. The Certificate is both a tangible reminder to students of the benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism and a credential that can help differentiate them as an applicant for a job, college entrance or the military.

On behalf of Red Clay schools and all of our immersion program staff at William C. Lewis Dual Language Elementary School, Skyline Middle School, and Alexis I. du Pont High School, we want to express how proud we are of their accomplishments. Since entering this program in elementary school, this cohort has set the standard for all immersion programs across the State of Delaware. As they prepare to transition to the immersion program at AI High next year, they represent the first group of Delaware students to enter high school.

• Crystal Alarcon-Flores
• Cristian Ambrocio Diaz
• Rebekah Bright
• Sergio Carballido Martinez
• Sherlyn Fuentes Aguilar
• Yandel Fuentes-Vasquez
• Gonzalo Garcia-Aguilar
• Maliyani Garcia-Reyes
• Astryd Guerrero Jimenez
• Yureizi Hernandez-Tecomateco
• Linzyenid Juarez
• Sianni Lopez
• Sarai Luna-Gomez
• Yesenia Mendez Pablo
• Zuleyka Sandoval-Garcia
• Jasmin Sauce Analco
• Carlos Solis
• Areli Tlaseca Ventero

In addition, we want to take a moment to recognize the dedicated school leaders and staff members who have helped to build Red Clay’s Spanish immersion program over the years:

• From Lewis Elementary School, principal Mark Phelps and the entire Lewis immersion staff
• From Skyline MIddle School, principal Noreen LaSorsa, Assistant Principal and immersion coordinator Pete Metrinko, and Spanish immersion teacher Antonio Amores Ortiz
• From Alexis I. du Pont High School, principal Kevin Palladinetti and immersion teacher Nils Marcune
• And from the district level, Ana Richter, who serves both Red Clay and the Delaware Department of Education as a Dual Language Immersion Instructional Specialist

Best of luck to the students as they head to AI High in the fall!

Congrats, Fall and Winter Athletes!

We can't hide that Tiger Pride

In the fall, the AI Tigers ended their football season with a victory at Glasgow, 2 players named to 1st Team All Conference, and constant support from the cheer squad and the marching band who were able to perform at all 4 home games! The boys cross country team fell just one win short of an undefeated season and the field hockey team defeated Glasgow 5-0 on Senior Day with 2 players named to 1st Team All Conference. The girls volleyball team competed admirably until they had to fold due to a loss of players, and the boys soccer team was able to complete the season despite having only 9 healthy players.

In winter basketball, the Tigers hosted and won their first round tournament game against Milford 73-53, joined by the amazing Imirah Trader who became the first girl to play on a boys varsity team in Delaware, after her season was cancelled due to a shortage of players. The wrestling team finished one match shy of the Blue Hen Conference Flight B title, while the boys swim team defeated Odessa 12-0 with only one swimmer and the girls swim team posted a record of 4-4!

Thank you to Athletic Director John Barr, Athletic Trainer Brandon Slawson, Transportation Coordinator Joyce Peterson, School Nurse Ruthann Turner, Warehouse & Supply Coordinator Mark Watkins, and all of the coaches who helped the A.I. Tigers to have a safe and successful return to play!

The Force

In the fall, the Force marching band was able to perform at all the home games and 5 football players were selected to the Diamond State Conference all-conference team. The cross country teams were Conference champions, with the girls team being the State’s Division 1 runner-up. The field hockey team made their 3rd straight appearance in the state tournament, and the girls volleyball advanced to the DIAA quarter finals.

The boys and girls basketball teams competed in the DIAA state tournament, and the boys and girls swim teams were DSC champions, with the boys being the state runner-up and the girls placing third in the state. At the state meet, swimmers Noah Reice and Georgia Colborn took 1st place. The indoor track team and the wrestling team also competed in the DIAA state tournament!

Thank you to Athletic Director Chris Eddy, Building Chief Monte Perrino, Athletic Trainer Craig Aukamp, School Nurses Karen Micale and Phyllis Whaler, and all of the coaches, managers, COVID Response Team members and volunteers who supported the Force this year!

Go, Redwolves

At Conrad, the Redwolves celebrated a big win against St. Elizabeth’s in football. The marching band showed tremendous support in restarting activities and the cheerleaders brought energy to the sidelines.

The girls cross country team placed 3rd in States and Katrina Holloway and Nora Wolford were named Cross Country Coaches of the Year. The boys soccer team was down 2 goals with 20 minutes left against Archmere but they came back to tie it up and ended in a draw.

The boys basketball team saw a 9-5 regular season record, with a first round win in the state tournament. The girls basketball team celebrated a 12-2 regular season record, first and second round wins in the state tournament, and their 5th straight conference championship. Ja’Nylah Whittlesey scored her 1,000th point, and she and Che’ Jackson were named Conference Players of the Year!

The girls swim team had a 6-3 regular season record and placed 6th in the State Finals. Six wrestlers competed in the State Tournament. Altogether 6 Redwolves were named to 1st-Team All-State in cross country, swimming and soccer.

Thank you to Athletic Director Pat Williamson, Assistant Athletic Director Rob Naylor, COVID-19 Coordinator Melody Brown, Athletic Trainer Renee Allen, Dean Copeland and the Custodial Team, and all of the coaches who helped the Conrad Redwolves to have a safe and successful return to play!

Seahawks soar

At DMA, the Seahawks finished the football season 5-2 and saw 8 players make 1st Team All Conference, with cheerleaders doing a remarkable job to keep the energy up at home games when there were few fans allowed due to COVID restrictions. The cross country team finished 2nd in the conference, and DMA’s Quinn O’Dell was named Overall Conference Champion. The field hockey team won its first ever playoff game, and three players made 1st-Team All Conference. The girls volleyball team finished 3rd in the state, with 2 players making 1st Team All Conference and Jen Johnson named Conference Coach of the Year.

In boys basketball, DMA finished the season 9-5 with two players making 1st Team All Conference. The swim team competed at States and the wrestling team won the conference and finished 2nd at States, with Seahawk Dom Sama placing 3rd. The ice hockey season is still underway, and the Seahawks are currently 6-2!

Thank you to Director of Athletics Jeremy Jeanne, Athletic Trainer Krista Capelli, School Nurse Paige Dolan, and all of the coaches, team moms and support staff who have helped the Seahawks soar this year!

Champion Rams

At The John Dickinson School, the girls cross country team finished the season 3-2, and the field hockey team finished 7-4, just missing the Top 12 cutoff for the state tournament. The girls volleyball team was named Blue Hen Conference Flight B Champions and Head Coach David Lee was named Flight B Coach of the Year! Two players made 1st Team All Conference. Three other fall athletes made 1st Team All Conference in soccer and field hockey.

In the winter, the boys basketball team finished 7-4, qualified for the state tournament and saw two players make 1st Team All Conference.

The girls and boys swim teams finished their seasons strong, with both being Co-Champions of the Blue Hen Conference Flight B. On the girls team, Abigail Campion made 1st Team All Conference and qualified for states, and on the boys team, Sammy Bufano broke the school record in the 100 yard and qualified for states in 3 events!

Thank you to Athletic Director Andy Dick, Athletic Trainer Samantha Chiappa, School Nurse Donna Watson, all of the Dickinson coaches, and the entire "ramily" for helping the Rams to have a successful fall and winter season!

It's a great day to be a Highlander

At McKean, it was an exciting football season as the Highlanders defeated the AI Tigers for the first time in 15 YEARS. The boys soccer team finished 6-4 and made the DIAA State Tournament. The unified flag football team finished 3-1, also making it the State Tournament.

In the winter, McKean hosted the DIAA Diving State Championships, with Micah Reilly competing. McKean’s Aleecia King was selected as the Blue Hen Conference Girls Swim Coach of the Year. The unified basketball team finished 2-1 and hosted a DIAA State Tournament Game. The Highlanders won their second consecutive Flight B Championship in wrestling and competed in the DIAA State Championships.

Thank you to Athletic Director Matt Carre, Assistant Athletic Director Dwayne Pritchett, the school health and custodial teams, and all the coaches and volunteers who helped the Highlanders have safe fall and winter seasons!