Can we get some positive education news?
One Delaware charter school just landed $12,000 and national recognition as a state winner in a STEM competition, as its “smart hydrogel bandage” project advances to the next round. One William Penn senior is watching his school community help fuel dreams of reaching an internationally renowned marching band program.
In this weekly roundup, we’ll catch you up on these and more education updates you may have missed.
(Did we miss another good education story? Let me know: kepowers@gannett.com.)
Charter School of Wilmington statewide winner in national STEM contest
Just 50 schools are moving ahead.
Last week, Samsung announced state finalists in the 15th annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow national STEM competition, and Delaware’s Charter School of Wilmington landed the spot. The school will see a $12,000 Samsung technology prize package, including a video kit to showcase their project for national consideration.
Wilmington’s team presented a possible “STEM solution” related to health care. Citing a shortage of physicians, these juniors are trying to develop a “smart hydrogel bandage” to aid overworked doctors and nurses in handling injuries and saving resources.
“A worsening physician shortage has left the federally underserved counties of Kent, Sussex and parts of New Castle without quick access to healthcare,” one student, Subiksha Srinivasan Vidya, told Charter School of Wilmington for the school’s announcement.
“In these areas, wait times from primary care visits have skyrocketed by nearly 200% in the past 20 years, jumping from 8.2 days to a staggering 23.5 days, and this delay is only expected to grow with increasing physician shortages.”
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This project proposes a smart hydrogel bandage – and an app – to aid in attending shallow wounds, according to the school. The bandage’s sensor system will be able to read different biomarkers and regulate medication output to fight infection.
Nationwide, Samsung said this year’s state winners showed the most concern with environmental sustainability and climate disasters (28%), public health (26%) and accessibility (20%). The competition looks to “empower” middle and high school students to use STEM for innovative solutions to critical issues in their communities.
Students from Charter School of Wilmington are Aishwarya Reddy, Asvika Gobinathan, Elaine Zuo, Anna Huang, Arya Anilkumar, Subiksha Srinivasan Vidya, and Niharika Addagada, while the team is moderated by teacher Cindy Tanzer.
Donations fuel one William Penn student’s chance for international summer arts program
Davon McKeever knew he was the first William Penn student to ever land a spot.
The renowned Spartans Drum and Bugle Corps had offered him a place in its summer program. The senior was already the first Black student to be a drum major at his school, conducting a massive marching band of Colonials. He had already participated in his school’s wind ensemble band, pep drumline and theater arts program. For McKeever, he knew this was “the NFL” of marching bands.
There was just one problem.
Tuition was $5,000. And that didn’t include getting to Nashua, New Hampshire, every month, before intensive practice in June, before a nationwide tour with 165 other students all summer and more. He had to get creative, and his school was listening.
McKeever started a GoFundMe page. It began with just $80 thrown in, but in under 24 hours, according to Colonial School District, some $3,500 was raised by teachers, administrators, residents and even fellow students. McKeever told the district it was “mind-blowing,” in a press release earlier this month. As of last week, he was edging closer to $4,500.
He might have a bit more work to go, but McKeever wanted fellow students to know: “If you really put the effort into something, you can make it.”
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New Catholic high school coming to Dover area
Holly Cross High School just landed a nearly $1.2 million donation.
The independent, Catholic high school is set to open by this fall. And the single donation – the largest to date for the school’s $6 million capital campaign – from Brian and Kathy Lessard – will go far in making that happen.
The Lessard contribution will fuel “critical renovations” to the school’s first building in Camden, support expenses and enhance the endowment fund to assist future students, according to a spokesperson from the school. Brian, president of Lessard Builders in Dover, is already a founding trustee and a member of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington’s Board of Education.
School President Tom Fertal said he was deeply grateful to the pair, in a press release following an event to honor the “transformative gift.”
For anyone interested in learning more, there’s an upcoming information session on the new school on Feb. 12.
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Schools to celebrate Disability History and Awareness poster contest winners
The Governor’s Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens has held a poster contest ever since Gov. Jack Markell signed House Bill 123 in 2011, to deem October “Disability History and Awareness Month.”
Youth from across the state submitted their works of art aiming to capture topics Delawareans living with disabilities face. The theme for 2024, with submissions to be judged, was “Share Our Similarities. Celebrate Our Differences.”
Now, winners and their families have been invited to a Cookie Reception on Feb. 7 in their honor, according to the council’s Kathie Cherry. Last year, the same reception saw more than 100 students, family members, educators and legislators.
Got a story? Kelly Powers covers race, culture and equity for Delaware Online/The News Journal and USA TODAY Network Northeast, with a focus on education. Contact her at kepowers@gannett.com or (231) 622-2191, and follow her on X @kpowers01.