Education

The coronavirus pandemic has put on hold many of those familiar senior year milestones: prom, recognition for their accomplishments, and a commencement ceremony with all of the familiar trappings.

Now, graduation plans at Delaware high schools are evolving after Governor John Carney recently updated the COVID-19 State of Emergency to allow outdoor gatherings of up to 250 people.

The coronavirus dramatically altered life for high schoolers in Delaware. 

Many are getting more sleep, trying out new hobbies or playing more video games. Others are struggling with online school, social isolation and persistent worries about the virus.

Delaware Public Media partners with McKean and Mount Pleasant High Schools in the Red Clay and Brandywine school districts to work with students in those schools when classes are in session in those buildings.

But with students all working remotely, Delaware Public Media’s youth media producer Sophia Schmidt tried something different - collecting audio journal entries from radio students at these schools over the past month.  The result is their pandemic experiences, in their own words. 

The state’s School Reopening Working Group - tasked with planning how to bring students safely back to school this fall - started its work after a week's delay.

Occasionally, The Green takes time to highlight work created by student journalists, including those at the University of Delaware.

And while learning during the spring semester has been completely online at UD, these students continued to do their work telling stories about issues and topics they find interesting and important - remotely

In this week’s Enlighten Me, we highlight a series of thoughtful, informative pieces produced without the usual access to equipment and interviews studnets would normally have when working on these stories -- which make them all the more impressive.

Colleges and universities in Delaware are taking a hit from the coronavirus outbreak. Just how big financial losses will be depends on whether schools are on-campus or online this fall, and several institutions are waiting to make that call. 

Christina School District could see close to $10 million in cuts to teachers and programs if its June referendum fails.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is prompting pay cuts at the University of Delaware.

And top administrators and the school’s senior leadership team are taking the hit.

The COVID-19 pandemic us prompting All Saints Catholic School in Elsmere to close at the end of this school year.

The University of Delaware faces an unprecedented multimillion dollar loss after the coronavirus crisis pushed classes online this semester. 

Delaware State University is helping its most vulnerable students during the coronavirus pandemic with an emergency relief fund.

While admitting Thursday that Delaware schools will likely stay closed for the remainder of the academic year, Gov. JohnCarney says it’s not an easy call to make.

Education in the First State faced a number of issues before the coronavirus pandemic upended everything.

But those pre-COVID-19 issues have not disappeared.  And work to address some of them continues.

Contributor Larry Nagengast checks in on one - Redding Consortium for Educational Equity - this week.

Contributor Larry Nagengast has spent the past two weeks detailing how schools across the First State have ramped up remote teaching with their buildings closed until at least May 15th under Gov. John Carney’s emergency order.

This week, he turns his attention to what this sudden shift in teaching could mean for the future of education in the First State.

Last week, contributor Larry Nagengast took an in-depth look at how schools across the First State were preparing to teach students remotely with their buildings closed until at least May 15 under Gov. John Carney’s emergency order.

Many schools began their remote teaching efforts this week – and Larry checked in with teachers and others on the frontlines to get a sense for how it is going.

Researchers at First State universities are forced to make adjustments during the coronavirus pandemic.

Schools in the First State remain closed until at least May 15th under Gov. John Carney’s emergency order.  That means at least a month and a half more of school trying to educate students remotely.

The challenge of doing that it’s a huge one.  Delaware Public Media contributor Larry Nagengast checked in this week with districts and schools around the state to see how they’re faring – and found approaches and preparedness vary.

The University of Delaware was the site of the first confirmed cases of the new coronavirus disease COVID-19 in Delaware.

The University responded by suspending classes, moving up, then extending spring break, closing its residence halls, and promising a move to online-only courses starting this Monday.

Delaware Public Media’s Sophia Schmidt talked with Sharon Pitt, vice president for information technologies and chief information officer at UD - and Lynn Okagaki, deputy provost for academic affairs - about how the school plans to make the transition.

Gov. John Carney is extending the time Delaware schools will close in response to the spread of the new coronavirus.

Public schools, including charters, will remain closed until May 15th.