Caesar Rodney School District

The Caesar Rodney School District in Delaware serves approximately 8,338 students across 14 schools, including eight elementary schools, four middle schools, one high school, and one alternative school, and ranks 5th out of 34 districts in the state with a 4-star rating.

For parents, the standout schools are clear. Major George S. Welch Elementary School is the district's crown jewel, ranking 5th in the state with a 5-star rating and posting proficiency rates nearly 30 points above state averages in ELA and more than double the state average in science. Allen Frear Elementary School is another top performer, maintaining a top-10 state ranking for three years with 85% social studies proficiency. Dover Air Force Base Middle School, despite being the smallest school with just 98 students, ranks 5th in the state and boasts the lowest chronic absenteeism rate at 7%. W. B. Simpson Elementary School has shown remarkable improvement, jumping from the 74th to 92nd percentile in just two years. On the other end, Star Hill Elementary School ranks lowest in the district at the 28th percentile, with math proficiency rates less than half the state average, and W. Reily Brown Elementary School also struggles, particularly in 4th-grade math.

Key takeaways for families: attendance is a powerful predictor of success—every top-performing school has chronic absenteeism below 10.6%, while struggling schools exceed 20%. The district's middle schools vary dramatically, from Dover AFB at the 92nd percentile to F. Niel Postlethwait Middle School at the 47th. Caesar Rodney High School excels in ELA (52.6% proficient vs. 44% state) but struggles significantly in math (16.9% vs. 18.2% state). Social studies is a district-wide strength, with several schools exceeding 75% proficiency. The district's graduation rate of 92.7% exceeds state averages, though the dropout rate of 6.6% is notably higher than the state's 3.9%. Finally, spending doesn't guarantee results—Allen Frear achieves exceptional outcomes with the district's lowest per-student spending, while John S. Charlton School spends $82,844 per student yet still faces 24% chronic absenteeism.