Christina School District

The Christina School District in Delaware serves more than 10,000 students across 27 schools, including 18 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, 3 high schools, and 3 alternative schools, and it holds a 3-star district rating that masks a dramatic split between its top-tier elementary schools and its struggling secondary schools.

For parents, the most important takeaway is that elementary school choice matters enormously here. Wilson (Etta J.) Elementary School is the district's standout, ranking in the 87th percentile statewide with just 4.8% chronic absenteeism and 5th-grade ELA proficiency at 75.47%—far above the state average of 46.01%. West Park Place Elementary School and Marshall (Thurgood) Elementary School also earn 4-star ratings, with Marshall achieving top-quartile results despite having the lowest per-student spending in the district at $13,704. At the other extreme, The Bayard School ranks 103rd of 106 elementary schools, and Maurice Pritchett Senior Academy ranks dead last at 109th, with 3rd-grade ELA proficiency at just 6.67%—despite spending more than double what Marshall spends per student.

The secondary picture is more uniformly challenging. Christiana High School is a paradox: its 7th-grade ELA proficiency hits an extraordinary 94.19%, but by 11th grade SAT scores fall to 36.95% ELA, below the state average. Glasgow High School ranks 38th of 41 high schools with just 18.97% ELA proficiency, while all three traditional middle schools—Shue-Medill Middle School, Gauger-Cobbs Middle School, and Kirk (George V.) Middle School—rank in the bottom half statewide. Chronic absenteeism is the clearest warning sign: the district average is 19.8%, but Douglass School hits 68.1%, a 14-fold gap from Wilson's 4.8%. Graduation rates at all three high schools fall well below the state's 88.9% average, with Newark High School posting the highest dropout rate at 6.5%.