Three Delaware schools have been awarded Delaware Wraparound Services Initiative grants from the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE).

As recommended by the Redding Consortium for Educational Equity, this competitive, one-time grant provides $4.5 million to districts and charter schools serving extraordinary percentages of children living in poverty. Funding is designed to support programs offered before school, after school and during summer months that also include health services like emotional wellbeing care and behavioral health assistance.

The following schools received funding.

• The Bancroft School – Christina School District ($958,000)
• The Bayard School – Christina School District ($1,238,000)
• Kuumba Academy Charter School ($1,416,855)

The goal of the Delaware Wraparound Services Initiative grant is to establish or expand community learning centers that provide students with academic and non-academic opportunities as well as high-quality preventative health care and mental health assistance when schools are not in session.

“It is essential that we address the needs of the whole child as we work toward better student outcomes. It is also important that we build positive learning experiences that help our students connect their learning to the world around them. We are so excited to provide both enrichment and extra learning time for our students,” Christina Superintendent Dan Shelton said.

Schools may contract with third parties to operate some or all of the programs.

For Kuumba Academy Charter School, the grant provides funding to expand its already successful afterschool and summer enrichment program with Wilmington’s Community Education Building (CEB). An additional 160 students will be able to access the enrichment program’s academic tutoring, career readiness, counseling, arts education and social emotional programming designed to help low-performing students meet achievement standards in reading and mathematics.

Kuumba is also partnering with ChristianaCare to establish a student-based health center that will provide onsite preventative care, mental health, and acute care services for all 637 Kuumba Academy students.

“We have been working toward adding a school-based health center for several years,” Kuumba Academy Head of School Sally Maldonado said. “We are so grateful for this grant opportunity to bring this dream to fruition for our students and families.”

Additionally, Kuumba plans to leverage its existing partnership with CEB to expand its capacity to provide crisis services, coaching and development, mental health counseling and more to families. Kuumba’s ParentCamp and CEB’s Families Achieving More (FAM) programs will work with families to promote supportive environments in the homes and communities where students live.

“Kuumba is deeply committed to serving the whole child and family, and these additional services will help us make tremendous strides in doing just that,” Maldonado said.

For Christina, the Wraparound Services Initiative grant allows both The Bancroft School and The Bayard School to partner with the United Way of Delaware (UWDE) and the Life Health Center (LHC) to provide students with tutoring, extra-curricular activities, preventative health care and assistance with mental health. LHC will implement telehealth services as well as on-site services at the Stubbs Early Education Center (SEEC). At Bayard, LHC will support the school’s wellness center. Both organizations will invite and actively recruit families to participate in services.

“In recent years, our schools have learned about and implemented trauma-informed practices and protocols so that our scholars could engage in content-rich instruction in order to be successful citizens,” Christina School District wrote in its grant application. “We cannot do this in isolation. It is imperative that we partner with community and wellness organizations to assist with this key endeavor. This Wraparound Grant will be a valuable resource to support our work.”

Secretary of Education Mark Holodick praised the grant awardees on their commitment to meeting student, family and community needs.

“Strong schools are more than student learning buildings. They are community hubs, trusted spaces where families and children alike can access needed services,” he said. “These grants will help Kuumba, Bancroft and Bayard provide critical academic and health supports. When our families and communities are healthier, our students and schools are more successful.”

Media contact: Alison May, alison.may@doe.k12.de.us, 302-735-4006

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