The Delaware GOP used the Bancroft School in Wilmington as the backdrop for unveiling its plan to address First State education issues.
The plan focuses on school choice, and GOP chair Jane Brady says it includes some changes made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brady says she noticed some cracks in the system during the COVID-19 pandemic and seeks to fix them with this plan.
She argues the pandemic shows some children may learn better online and an alternative remote learning school would give them the option to do that.
“So we have kids who can’t attend school that could attend remotely, we have some kids who excel and would actually benefit from remote learning opportunities,” said Brady.
Dwight Davis is the president of the Model Cities Motivational Center and went to the Bancroft School as a child. He says there's increased urgency to address city schools.
“Education is so important for us here in the city of Wilmington because at this particular time we are in probably the worst time in violence and unrest that this city has had since the 1968 riots,” said Davis.
Davis is pushing for the state to create a Wilmington school district to give it better control over its public schools. Wilmington children are currently served by four different school districts.
Creating a new Wilmington School District is among the considerations by the Redding Consortium, a legislative group charged with looking at ways to strengthen education of low-income and minority children in Wilmington.
The GOP plan also includes expanding charter schools, saying it believes they have been a success in Delaware.
The Republican Party also called for fully reopening schools amid the pandemic.
Brady says students are far less likely to die from Coronavirus, but many health experts say there is concern children can spread the disease to family members who are at a higher risk.
GOP officials urge parents to push for all of these changes in their own school districts.
Brady says that parents are the ones that can move things forward within their districts, if they have the will.
