The Echo

Dear Christina Community:
Christina has been in the news again with today’s News Journal article, 
“Christina May Turn Back $2.3 M.”  This article follows a decision by the 
Christina Board of Education to direct District staff to develop a new amendment 
to be submitted to the state as part of our Race to the Top plan.

Although it is very disappointing to read quotes by Governor Jack Markell and 
Secretary of Education Mark Murphy that are critical of Christina, please know 
that I believe in our teachers and our schools. I know that great teachers can 
make a profound difference in a child’s life, and I do not believe any statement 
that suggests we are not living up to our commitments on behalf of children. We 
have not “forfeited” the Race to the Top money, it has been withheld from us by 
our own state Department of Education because we could not come to agreement on 
implementing one initiative out of more than 100 separate initiatives included 
in our Race to the Top plan. We stand with the membership of CEA on this issue, 
and we will continue to do so.

Our continued negotiations with the Delaware Department of Education have led 
the Christina Board, District administrators, and the Christina Education 
Association to conclude that there are irreconcilable differences with the 
Delaware Department of Education (DOE) around funding and implementing a 
differentiated incentive/retention program for teachers at identified schools in 
Christina.

What does this mean? It means that we have reached the point in our negotiations 
with the state where we feel we have to “agree to disagree.” We believe it is in 
everyone’s best interest that we develop a new amendment that removes the 
teacher incentives initiative from our plan and redirects more than $753,000 
directly to classrooms and schools with the highest need, to build technology 
capacity and address the “digital divide” that exists between student groups.

Some examples of how these redirected funds might be used include purchasing 
laptop computers or tablets in elementary and middle school classrooms where 
students have fewer opportunities to access internet technology, upgrading STEM 
equipment such as digital microscopes, or implementing a one-to-one computing 
program in high-needs schools. The schools would include Bancroft Elementary, 
Brookside Elementary, Elbert-Palmer Elementary, Leasure Elementary, Oberle 
Elementary, Pulaski Elementary, Stubbs Elementary, Bayard Middle, Kirk Middle, 
Christiana High, Glasgow High, and Newark High.

The Department of Education made it clear as early as April 1 that they were 
beginning the process of withholding the entirety of Christina’s Year 4 funding, 
approximately $2.4 million. We plan to submit our new amendment by the end of 
April. It is possible that we will be able to resolve this issue with the 
Delaware Department of Education, and we will continue to work toward achieving 
this goal.

Race to the Top funding is scheduled to end in 2014 for all school districts in 
the state. If we are forced to, we will begin planning for the end of this 
funding one year earlier than we had anticipated. We will take a hard look at 
the programs we have implemented under Race to the Top and determine what 
programs are worthwhile and if we can continue to support them. Those decisions 
will be made locally, with input from our parents, students, teachers, and 
members of the community as part of our Strategic Planning process.

The Christina Board, CEA, and administration are united in our desire to make 
sure that all decisions are equitable, fair, and are made in the best interest 
of our students, staff, and district as a whole. If you have specific questions 
about the content of the article, the Race to the Top plan, or any related 
concerns, please communicate them to our district Public Information Officer, 
Wendy Lapham, and she will make sure they are forwarded to the right person for 
a response.

Thank you for all you do for the students of Christina,
Freeman
Freeman L. Williams, Ed.D.
Superintendent