Dear ASD Families,
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT! Our next district referendum will take place on Tuesday, April 23.
At the heart of this referendum is our students and our staff.
If the April 23 referendum is unsuccessful, we will face a $5 million budget shortfall that will need to be addressed with significant reductions and cuts. There are five key areas that will be tremendously impacted:
- Increased class sizes due to staffing
- Reduction in classroom support
- Elimination/reduction of after-school activities
- Substantial reduction of all budgets
- Significant changes to immersion programming
It’s also important to recognize that if our April 23 effort is unsuccessful, we will lose all of the state funding for the three new buildings.
Our December effort was unsuccessful by a margin of roughly 245 votes. EVERY VOTE COUNTS and we need our parents and community members to come out on April 23.
Referendum Request:
On the capital side – we are asking for three much-need buildings to ensure we have adequate space for students.
Capital referendum request (3 cents)
- New middle and high school on Summit Campus
- New elementary school on Green Giant Road
On the operational side – we are asking for support to focus on teacher and staff compensation, school safety, costs due to growth, and student devices.
Operational referendum request (39.9 cents)
- Teacher and staff compensation (36 of 39.9 cents)
- School safety
- Operational costs due to growth
- Maintaining student devices
Updated Ballot
The April 23 referendum ballot will have two questions. The first question will ask if you are FOR or AGAINST funding the additional tax for current operating expenses (teacher and staff compensation, school safety, operational costs, student devices). The second question will ask if you are FOR or AGAINST issuing bonds for the three new buildings (elementary, middle, and high school).
More than anything – we need every parent and family member in our district to be an ambassador for this effort. We need to ensure our community knows how important this is, how much is at stake, and why our students and staff need our support.
Please make sure every person in your family, neighborhood, and school community votes on April 23.
If you would like to get involved, you are welcome to email communications@appo.k12.de.us to join our team.
Respectfully,
Matt Burrows, Superintendent
2024 Workforce Readiness Fair
On March 15, our district held its Workforce Readiness Fair! This is the second consecutive year that the fair has been held in this format— juniors from our three high schools travel by bus to the Chase Fieldhouse and Junior Achievement of Delaware where they cycled through three workforce-related activities. They engage in mock job interviews, a discussion of the ins and outs of a typical workplace by a panel of experts, and a networking lunch. This event is a massive undertaking for our Work-Based Learning team and offers our students countless opportunities and experiences. We would also like to thank our industry partners who attended — thank you for your continued support and helping our students grow! We would also like to thank the pathway leaders (high school seniors) who volunteered their time and assistance at the fair. Finally, we must thank our students who did a phenomenal job representing their schools and our district at the fair!
AHS seniors successfully file for a provisional patent!
Please join us in congratulating seniors Dylan Everett, Lucas Karpinski, and Brodie Neubauer who have successfully filed for a provisional patent! As part of their Engineering Pathway coursework, the students created a golf tee that makes it easier to golf in colder conditions and the tee is less likely to break than a standard one. They filed for a provisional patent and were approved on February 22. According to their teacher Stephen Landry, this is the first provisional patent granted to students since the inception of the engineering program at Appoquinimink High School!
Odessa High School’s ProStart team is headed to Nationals!
Please join us in congratulating Odessa High School’s ProStart team, who placed first in the management competition and is headed Baltimore to compete in the national competition! The National ProStart Invitational (NPSI) will be held April 26-28. NPSI is the country’s premier secondary school competition focused on restaurant management and culinary arts. Annually, nearly 400 student competitors put their skills to the test in front of industry leaders, NRAEF Trustees, state restaurant associations, and family and friends – all with hopes of earning coveted scholarships from the nation’s best culinary and restaurant management programs.
Third annual Black Student Summit is a resounding success!
The third annual Black Student Summit was held at Appoquinimink High School this year! The event is a full day gathering that service as a space to connect and uplift members of Black Student Unions, and associations, as well as advisors, school administrators, and the allies that support them. Thank you to United Way of Delaware, the Delaware Racial Justice Collaborative, and Barclays for hosting this event.
Congratulations to our 2025 Building-Level Teacher of the Year Winners!
Please join us in congratulating our 2025 Building-Level Teacher of the Year Winners! The Teacher of the Year program honors the outstanding educators in preschool through the 12th grade at every school. Students, parents, colleagues, teachers, and community members – everyone who lives in the district, teaches, or attends school were invited to participate, and from those nominations, the building-level teachers of the year winners were selected! Stay tuned for Monday, May 6 when the district’s Teacher of the Year winner will be announced!
Appoquinimink Preschool Center: Madden Elentrio
Brick Mill Early Childhood Center: Jen Schimpf
Cedar Lane Early Childhood Center: Robin Wright
Spring Meadow Early Childhood Center: Amanda Best
Townsend Early Childhood Center: Mackenzie Griffith
Brick Mill Elementary School: Amanda Larson
Bunker Hill Elementary School: Alexis Ryan
Cedar Lane Elementary School: Sherry Stewart
Crystal Run Elementary School: Lauren Faulkner
Lorewood Grove Elementary School: Tricia Moyer
Old State Elementary School: Christine Shipengrover
Olive B. Loss Elementary School: Katelyn Bubeck
Silver Lake Elementary School: Shanna Weiss
Townsend Elementary School: Daphne Smith
Alfred G. Waters Middle School: Joseph Roth
Cantwell’s Bridge Middle School: Brendan Mann
Everett Meredith Middle School: Alyson Kerrigan
Louis L. Redding Middle School: Tamara Walker
Appoquinimink High School: Charlene Taylor
Middletown High School: Scott Woodring
Odessa High School: Shellee Wong
Laura Davis is our 2025 Behavioral Health Professional of the Year!
Cantwell's Bridge Middle School's Laura Davis is our district's 2025 Behavioral Health Professional of the Year! Davis is the nurse at CBMS, and we're proud to have her represent our district as she advances to the state-level BHPOY recognition!
STEM Showcase wows!
Between the creativity of the projects, and the excitement to engage in STEM activities, our second annual STEM Showcase was an awesome event! Science fairs have been a staple in our district, but this is the second year we've held the STEM Showcase in its current format — all elementary students are invited to present their science fair projects all in one place at Odessa High School! The event also offers students and their families the opportunity to engage in interactive STEM activities, see chemistry demonstrations, and speak with students from our high schools who are in the Engineering Pathway!
Celebrating our BPA winners!
Please join us in congratulating our BPA students on their achievements at the 2024 State Leadership Conference! Our students did an amazing job and some of them will advance on to the national level. Congratulations to all. *Denotes advancement to the national competition.
Appoquinimink High School:
- Anu Akinlotan*: fourth, Graphic Design Promotion
- Mahika Gujja: second, Personal Financial Management
- Meghan Virani: fourth, Advanced Spreadsheet
- Raymond Chen*: fifth, Financial Analyst Team
- Harsh Jasani*: fifth, Financial Analyst Team
- Prishu Gaire: second, Presentation Management
- Sriadithi Mamilla: second, Presentation Management
- Aayan Kaswala: second, Global Marketing
- Devkrishna Manappattu: second, Global Marketing
Middletown High School:
- Shil Shah, Madison Harris, Gabriella Mazzio, Devayshi Sharma: first, Global Marketing Team
- Hardnik Annam, Kendall DeCook, Adithi Jonnagadia, Cameron Nguyen: second, Podcast Production Team
- Jenna Hughes, Brianna Morales, Lazette Poey, Parker Floyd: third, Visual Design Team
- Laila Alston: first, Prepared Speech
- Alexia Drummond: third, Ethics and Professionalism
- Jennae Overton: third, Extemporaneous Speech
- Aadi Patel: third, Fundamental Spreadsheet Applications
- Shil Patel: fourth, Fundamental Spreadsheet Applications
Odessa High School:
- Caroline Miller: BPA State Historian
Alfred G. Waters Middle School:
- Pranav Chilakapati: second, Introduction to Video Production Team
- Praneel Desai: second, Introduction to Video Production Team
- Blake Dziegrenuk: second, Introduction to Video Production Team
- Leonard Dong: second, Digital Game Design Team
- Anusha Sarwadi: second, Digital Game Design Team
- Sanvi Kondabolu: second, Digital Game Design Team
- Neil Virani: fourth, Financial Literacy
- Blake Dziegrenuk: first, Spreadsheet Applications
- Anusha Sarwadi: third, Prepared Speech
- Evina Shingavi*: V08 - Start-up Enterprise Team - ML
- Meher Papreja*: V08 - Start-up Enterprise Team - ML
- Aashitha Tamballapalli*: V14 - Ethical Leadership and Decision Making Team - ML
- Taylor Riess*: V14 - Ethical Leadership and Decision Making Team - ML
- Reilly Mhyre*: V14 - Ethical Leadership and Decision Making Team - ML
- Evina Shingavi: Middle Level Representative 2024-2025
Appoquinimink High School students participate in DECTFL World Language Showcase
On March 16, Señoras Neubauer and Rump accompanied 15 Spanish class students to the Second Annual DECTFL World Language Showcase. There, students competed in individual and team events against schools from across Delaware. All our participants did a wonderful job representing Appoquininimink High School!
Intermediate Storytelling:
- 1st – Navya Anumandla, Kara Jessop, Felipe Martinez
- 3rd – Flavio Aspilcueta, Ryan Ortiz, Ryder Ortiz
Intermediate Escape Room:
- 1st – Ankolik Das, Mahika Gujja, Indira Manrakhan
- 3rd – Navya Anumandla, Kara Jessop, Felipe Martinez
Intermediate Cultural Presentation:
- 2nd – Mahika Gujja
- 3rd – Navya Anumandla
Heritage Speaker Cultural Presentation
- 1st – Flavio Aspilcueta
Intermediate Photo Trivia:
- 3rd - Ryan Ortiz
All participants from Appo High: Navya Anumandla, Flavio Aspilcueta, Waryn Catania, Ankolik Das, Mahika Gujja, Kara Jessop, Jaehla Johnson, Cyraa Khan, Elisha Liu, Indira Manrakhan, Juan Felipe Martinez, Ryan Ortiz, Ryder Ortiz, Erinn Rodriguez, and Michael Smagala.
Celebrating March for the Arts!
Our schools have celebrated the arts in honor of Delaware having designated the month as "March for the Arts in Education." Be sure to visit our social media accounts to see more posts from our schools.
Sarah Leonard is a Trailblazing Educator!
Louis Redding Middle School's Sarah Leonard is officially a Trailblazing STEM Educator (but we already knew that)! Please join us in congratulating Leonard on earning the 2024 Trailblazing STEM Educator Award for her work to inspire the next generation of explorers and innovators! This award celebrates K-12 teachers who go above and beyond to inspire the next generation of explorers and innovators. The three winners come from schools across the United States and were selected from nearly 50 nominations. The nominations demonstrate the remarkable efforts teachers make every day to empower underserved and underrepresented students in STEM while using unique strategies, tools, and lessons in and out of the classroom to further energize students.
Career Fairs get students excited for their futures!
What better way to get our seventh graders thinking about their future careers than hearing from people who are established in the workforce! All four of our middle schools are holding fairs. In March, Alfred G. Waters, Everett Meredith, and Louis L. Redding Middle School held Career Fairs! (Stay tuned for Cantwell's Bridge Middle School fair, which will be held in May.) Thank you to the guest speakers at these fairs — students heard from professionals working in fields ranging from healthcare to computer science to forensics to government.
Girls with Goals Club volunteers at Our Daily Bread
Just ahead of spring break, 17 students from the Girls with Goals Club at Everett Meredith Middle School had their first community service project at Our Daily Bread. They were divided into groups to accomplish tasks like assembling packets, stocking shelves with food, collecting dropped-off donations, putting snack bags together, and cleaning areas of Our Daily Bread. This was such a great learning experience for the students and many of them want to continue to volunteer their time. EMMS’s Girls With Goals Club meets weekly after school and regularly has guest speakers. The club members focus on different topics of concern to today’s students — these topics include peer pressure, bullying, self-esteem, confidence, strengthening relationships from peer to peer and more!
Bunker Hill Elementary School earns RAMP designation
Bunker Hill Elementary School was one of two schools in Delaware to receive the Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) designation! The RAMP designation recognizes schools committed to delivering a comprehensive, data-informed school counseling program and an exemplary educational environment. The RAMP designation is valid for five years. “This year’s RAMP honorees have shown their commitment to students and the school counseling profession,” said Jill Cook, ASCA executive director, in a news release. “These schools used data to drive their program development and implementation so all students can achieve success. RAMP designation distinguishes these schools and encourages school counselors nationwide to strive for excellence.” Congratulations to BHE!
BMECC celebrates International Social Emotional Learning Day with guests from our secondary schools!
Seeing Orange! Appoquinimink celebrates Inclusion Day
Live It. Experience It. Choose to INCLUDE!
Aimee Hastings helps establish free diabetes training for all Delaware schools
Aimee Hastings, Appoquinimink Preschool Center’s nurse, has helped inspire a partnership between the Delaware Lions Clubs District 22D, the Delaware Department of Education, and the Delaware Diabetes Coalition to create Lions Empowering School Nurses for Children with Diabetes! This effort provides three levels of diabetes training for all Delaware public and non-public schools and is paid for through a grant from the Lions Clubs International Foundation. Training is open to all school nurses, staff, contractors, and parents of children living with diabetes. Hastings, who has a son living with Type 1 diabetes, saw the need for readily available diabetes education for school nurses and staff in Delaware. She approached the Delaware Diabetes Coalition and the Lions Club with Salus Education’s training program, “Diabetes Care at School: Bridging the Gap.” Together, they partnered with the Delaware Department of Education and applied for a grant through the Lions Club International Foundation to fund every Delaware school’s access to the training for two years.
Danielle Nigro is our March Transportation Employee of the Month!
Danielle Nigro is our March Transportation Employee of the Month! Nigro currently drives bus #227 for Odessa High School, Spring Meadow Early Childhood Center, and Old State Elementary School. She was voted to receive this honor from her peers. Not only does she drive for the district, but Nigro also is our district-certified school bus driver trainer — she trains all new hires to obtain their CDL license.
Register your student for Kindergarten today!
If you have a child who will be 5 years old by August 31, it’s time to register for kindergarten!
Registration is completed through an online portal. We have all the information on our district website. And don’t forget: our district offers TWO language immersion programs! Kindergarten immersion programs include Spanish Immersion and Chinese Immersion at certain buildings. Kindergarten students who participate in our immersion programs learn math, science, reading, writing, and social studies in two languages instead of one! We’ll include information below to register and to learn more about immersion.
Upcoming Events & Meeting Reminders:
- April Occupational Therapy Month
- 29 March - April 7 Schools / offices closed – Spring Break
- 1-5 April National Assistant Principals Week
- 3 April National Paraeducator Appreciation Day
- 4 April National School Librarian & Library Aides Day
- 8 April Schools reopen
- 9 April School Board meeting, 7 p.m at the Marion E. Proffitt Training Center, 118 S. Sixth St., Odessa. Tune in virtually by clicking here.
- 11 April Tri-M Spring Recital, 6 p.m. at MHS
- 13 April MHS Junior Prom, 7 p.m. at MHS
- 13 April Spring Fling at AHS. Time TBD.
- 17 April Elementary Choir Festival, school day event at MHS (this is a student-only event)
- 17 April SLE Instrumental Concert, 6:30 p.m. at EMMS
- 18 April District Band Festival, school day event at AHS (this is a student-only event)
- 18 April BMECC Spring Concert, 6 p.m. & 7 p.m. at BME
- 19-20 April CRE Spring Musical, 7 p.m. 4/19 & 2 p.m. 4/20 at CRE
- 20 April AHS Theatre Dept.’s “Star for a Day” Workshop Gr 1 & 2, time TBD at AHS
- 23 April School Bus Driver Appreciation Day
- 24 April Administrative Professionals Day
- 24 April Decision Day at AHS (school day event)
- 24 April OSE Instrumental Concert, 6:30 p.m. at OHS
- 25 April OSE Choir Concert, 6:15 p.m. & 7:15 p.m. at OHS
- 25 April Indoor Arts Wildwood Send Off, 6 p.m. at OHS
- 26-27 April EMMS Spring Musical, 6:30 p.m. on 4/26 & 3 p.m. on 4/27 at EMMS
- 26-27 April CLE Spring Musical, 7 p.m. on 4/26 & 2 p.m. on 4/27 at AGW
- 27-30 April ASD Elementary Art Show: Grades K-5, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. on 4/27 — Artwork will remain on display during library hours through 4/30 at Appoquinimink Community Library
- 30 April AHS Spring Instrumental Concert, 7 p.m. at AHS
- 1 May Decision Day at MHS (school day event)
- 1 May Decision Day at OHS (extended compass)
- 1 May AHS Spring Choir Concert, 7 p.m. at AHS
- 1 May CBMS 7th & 8th Grade Orchestra Concert, 7 p.m. at OHS
- 2 May OSE/CBMS 4-6th Grade Band Concert, 7 p.m. at OHS
- 2-4 May SLE Spring Musical, 7 p.m. on 5/2-5/4 & 1 p.m. on 5/4 at SLE
- 3 May School Lunch Hero Day (tentative date)
- 3-4 May BME Spring Musical, 7 p.m. on 5/3 & 1 p.m. & 7 p.m. on 5/4 at BME
- 3-4 May OBL Spring Musical, 7 p.m. on 5/3 & 1 p.m. on 5/4 at OBL