The state’s top-ranked public high school has named a new leader to take on pressing challenges including enrollment caps and financial pressures.
Charles W. Baldwin, 60, will take over as president of The Charter School of Wilmington, a math and science college preparatory school, on July 1. Baldwin, former head of the Delaware Military Academy and Kirk Middle School, was chosen from a field of more than 30 candidates by a committee that included two students.
Baldwin’s experience as principal of a charter school and a traditional public school was an important factor in his selection, said board chairman Irwin J. Becnel Jr. He said Baldwin’s proven fundraising abilities, management experience, and local contacts also were factors.
“We have a lot of financial challenges right now. We hope that he will continue the efforts to get our finances in good shape and really help us streamline our operation so we can live within the funds we get. [Current President Walter Warner] and the current board have started that,” Becnel said. “We also hope his experience in fundraising will help us raise money so that we can offer additional resources for our students. It could be staff, it could be additional equipment, whatever Chuck Baldwin feels is most important. He had some visionary ideas how to move Charter ahead.”
Becnel said the school’s finances have been stretched because enrollment crept up far above the limit of 945 students agreed upon when the Red Clay School District chartered the school in 1996. The school has been attempting to move enrollment down to the agreed-upon number since Warner took over as president in 2009. Because the school receives an average of $8,600 to $8,800 per student from state and local sources, cutting enrollment lowers the school budget. The Charter School of Wilmington currently has 970 students, so it could accept only 221 incoming freshman for September, although more than 700 eighth-graders applied.
In addition, the school previously paid only operating costs for the Wilmington building it shares with Cab Calloway School of the Arts; it now pays rent.
First Lady Carla Markell, a Charter parent and a member of the search committee, said Baldwin’s leadership skills, his ability to connect, and his experience starting and running a charter school were factors in his selection.
“He seems to really have a deep understanding of what it means to be an excellent school and an excellent leader,” Markell said. “He loves the kids, and he has a great ability to relate to both teachers and parents. He has experience running a charter school and starting one, which takes a tremendous amount of energy.”
Science teacher Rose Lounsbury, a teacher representative to the search committee, said Baldwin was so well liked by the students that one senior joked that he might repeat a year to hang around with him. “He’s very loving and kind, and those are qualities the kids really need. He was extremely supportive with the kids and the kids love him.”
Nancy Crain, a parent representative, said Baldwin’s connections in the fundraising arena and his experience were important factors, but she also appreciated his dedication to improving the school for the students.
“He has been searching the country and the world at large for what makes successful schools successful,” Crain said. “He’s not just happy with our status quo.”
Baldwin, a 25-year Navy veteran, worked as an education consultant after retiring from the Delaware Military Academy in 2009. He said he underestimated how much he was going to miss the students when he retired.
“I need to be somewhere where I can work with kids and open doors for them,” he said.
Baldwin said he plans to stay at The Charter School of Wilmington for many years. “I’ve got an eight-month-old granddaughter, and I plan on doing her student orientation at Charter.”