Sussex charter school heads host legislative breakfast

The heads of three of Sussex County’s public charter schools hosted a breakfast event Jan. 12 for legislators and community leaders to discuss the challenges facing the schools.

The event, held at Sussex Academy in Georgetown, allowed the heads of schools at Sussex Academy, the Bryan Allen Stevenson School of Excellence and Sussex Montessori School to give an overview of what their schools do and their needs moving forward. Legislators attending included Rep. Rich Collins, R-Millsboro; Sen. Eric Buckson, R-Dover; and Rep. Jeff Hilovsky, R-Georgetown.

A public charter school is an independent, publicly funded institution that is designed to be free of the red tape and bureaucracy of a normal public school, said Sussex Academy Head of School Eric Anderson. Public charters determine enrollment based on a lottery system, although there is no cost to the parents for the student to go to one. 

While public charter schools do get some state funding, BASSE Head of School Chantalle Ashford said they do not get funding for things like capital projects, which have to be funded through private donations. Anderson said he understands why the state would be hesitant to provide capital donations for public charters, as the state would not want to provide funding for a project that quickly went belly up, but he believed the state should change its stance for schools that have stood the test of time and been around for 20 years, such as Sussex Academy.

For Ashford and Sussex Montessori Head of School Lisa Coldiron, the challenge has been getting a public charter off the ground. Sussex Montessori opened its facility on a converted dairy farm in Seaford in 2020, while BASSE is set to open on the grounds of Delaware Tech in Georgetown in the fall. 

“It is one of the hardest things,” Coldiron said of opening a school. “The workload. The hoops you have to jump through. You have to have a really good board, which we did. You have to have a working board. We couldn’t have done it without the board we have.”

Ashford added, “It is really challenging. The community wants innovation. But then it's like, ‘Where do you go?’ Finding a facility was hard. We’re so excited about our partnership with Delaware Tech to lease that building. It’s really difficult to build something from scratch. We’re trying to do something outside the box, which is hard, but is worth it.”

One thing the public charters are preparing for is increases in student enrollment, which has been something public schools at Cape Henlopen School District have been dealing with. Anderson said while Sussex Academy is capped at an enrollment maximum of 1,135 students, the school has seen an increase in applicants.

“We used to get maybe 30 to 40, and it’s skyrocketed. We have over 240 kindergarten applications. We’ve definitely seen an increase and our waitlist is continuing to grow,” he said.

Teacher recruitment is another issue that has been facing schools across the country and, Anderson said, Sussex Academy is fortunate that it has been able to recruit good teachers who have built a positive environment at the school. However, there are challenges when it comes to salaries, as the charters can’t pay as much as the larger public schools.

“Districts can offer signing bonuses. We can’t compete with that. That can be a struggle, but we’re fortunate in that we’ve been able to fill all of our teaching positions without issue,” Anderson said.

All three heads of school said they are optimistic about the future, as the schools are attracting students from all over Sussex County; they provide access to a high-performing school for students. The schools also collaborate with one another, and the heads of school hope to maintain good working relationships to provide the best service for the kids.

“We need each other,” Coldiron said. “Every child deserves this. It just shouldn’t be for an elite few.”