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Dignitaries Greet Students at Baltz on First Day
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Gov. Jack Markell and Secretary of Education Lillian Lowery joined Red Clay officials Monday morning to greet students and parents as they arrived for the new school year. Baltz Elementary was selected after exceeding federal targets for student achievement during the past two years. 
“I think this school is a microcosm of society and it demonstrates clear progress in a very challenging environment,” said Gov. Markell, who was joined by Red Clay Superintendent Merv Daugherty and Principal Jennifer Shields-Russell. “It’s important to showcase this school and the people who work in this school.”
Dr. Lowery agreed. “The accomplishments at Baltz were something we really wanted to acknowledge.” This school year the Science and Social Studies DSTP scores came up by more than 30 points on average and Reading scores increased in each grade level tested. In Math, grades 2, 3, and 5 each increased by more than 10 points on average.
The staff at Baltz undertook a number of initiatives recently, including adding 30 minutes of reading to each child’s schedule, having 4th and 5th grade change classes to allow teachers to become content experts and the introduction of “Singapore Math,” a highly visual way of teaching math concepts in depth that has proven effective in many countries with bi-lingual students.
The building leadership team analyzed data and used information to plan instruction and took time to celebrate small successes, halfway through last year the school held a staff/student basketball game to celebrate disciplinary cases cut in half.
The school was awarded an Extra Time grant for after-school program for winter- targeting students who were close to “meeting the standard,” invited parents to the school on a monthly basis to share bilingual reading strategies and held DSTP strategy meetings in Spanish and English for parents.
The staff held quarterly “Saturday” Math workshops for professional development and the school partnered with the Delaware Institute for Arts in Education to bring multi-cultural programs as part of a year long conflict resolution program called, “Who I Am”. Shields-Russell said, “This was about having a staff that committed to change. It’s not easy to accept change. I admire the professionalism of my staff who were willing to put years of teacher training aside to pursue best practices for Baltz “changed” population’s needs. They deserve this honor for putting kids first.”
For the current year, Baltz will continue participation with Creative Mentoring with a +30 commitment of mentors for Baltz from Agilent Technology and will provide remediation and enrichment to all students, in part with the help of two Math Coaches that will give students additional math instruction.
“The leadership and staff at Baltz have done a fantastic job,” said Superintendent Daugherty. “And we are very honored today to have the school recognized for their hard work and success.”
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