Delaware students look out for scholarships, a college-readiness event: Education roundup

The school year is winding down, but Delaware's education news certainly isn't.

Boys & Girls Club is hosting a conference to get students and families planning for college. Student teams of all ages, shapes and sizes have been winning big in competitions this past week. And, one local high school was honored as a national demonstration school.

Last week, Appoquinimink just got its yes on school funding, with Cape Henlopen up next on May 21.

In this weekly roundup, we'll catch you up on these and other education updates you may have missed.

[Did we miss another good education story? Tell me about it: kepowers@gannett.com.]

Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware to host college-planning fair for students, families

Delaware's Boys & Girls Club is set to host a college-planning conference this weekend.

The youth development outfit and alongside partner organization Navient — a firm in technology-enabled education finance and business processing solutions — will take over the Greater Dover Boys & Girls Club building from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 4. Special guests are expected, while the main event will be resources for all things higher-education.

The free event, open to public, will look to provide students and families the information they need to "successfully prepare and pay for college," according to the Boys & Girls Club. Sessions will touch heavily on financial aid and scholarships, while regional colleges and universities will also have a presence at the event.

All of this comes alongside snacks, prizes, music and possibly some college scholarships provided.

“Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware has had a long partnership with the Navient Community Fund, working together to provide support for college planning and awareness to help our members and their families navigate the college application process," said John Wellons, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware, in a press release ahead of the event.

ICYMI: Appoquinimink voters give a yes to school funding boosts in revised referendum

Delaware State team clinches fourth place, $250,000 for university in national finance competition

Back in 2020, Goldman Sachs made a $25 million, five-year pledge to double the number of campus-analysts recruited from Historically Black Colleges and Universities by 2025.

One component of this HBCU Possibilities Program is dubbed "Market Madness" — culminating a semester-long course on concepts and careers in finance, access to senior leaders at the firm, networking, mentorship opportunities and more. Delaware State was just one team among the competition.

The final action came last week, as more than 150 students from 11 HBCUs had participated in the program, selected from a record number of over 600 eligible applications, according to a press release from Goldman Sachs. Students were split into 27 teams and, throughout the semester, have conducted company research and proposed a strategic business solution for Nike.

The final four teams presented case studies. Here's how winners came out:

• First Place: Spelman College ($1 million grant)

• Second Place: Howard University ($500,000 grant)

• Third Place: Florida A&M University ($250,000 grant)

• Fourth Place: Delaware State University ($250,000 grant)

Team members Carl Jennings, Ava Larkin, Jesus Lorenzo Ramirez Perales, Nya Stokes and Imani Wulff-Cochrane led the team to final-four competition, according to Goldman Sachs.

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Charter School of Wilmington wins 22nd-straight Delaware Envirothon championship

Team members Siddhi Dinavahi, Arya Gupta, Eesha Sagiraju, Dharshini Senthilnathan, Amber Wong and Elaine Zuo — of the Charter School of Wilmington's Team A — won their school's 22nd-straight Delaware Envirothon championship.

The event took shape at Abbott’s Mill Nature Center in Milford, bringing high school students from across the state to compete for scholarships and prizes. Teams of five were tested on their knowledge of aquatic ecology, forestry, soils/land-use, wildlife, air quality and public speaking skills, according to Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. This year’s special environmental topic was “Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Future.”

Each first-place team member receives a $500 college scholarship, and cash awards totaling $1,300 are given to the second through seventh place teams.

Odessa High School FFA — Zachary Binnie, Joseph Delaney, Kalena Diaz, Natalie Holdren and Nate Sutton — secured second place. Students Saathvi Arunkumar, Rujula Borkar, Finnigan Carroll, Subiksha Srinivasan Vidya, Dhriti Tattari and Jane Oommen came in third.

When is graduation? Here's the latest 2024 commencement breakdown across Delaware colleges

Program focused on workforce re-entry graduates latest class

Delaware Center for Horticulture celebrated the graduation of seven "Branches to Chances" participants last week.

The nonprofit's program is a nine-week course designed to "introduce participants to the horticulture industry," according to a press release from graduation, through combined classroom sessions, hands-on skills, field trips, and character-building experiences supervised by industry experts.

This covers everything from botany to horticulture, plant maintenance to water management, equipment use to general safety. Work-life skills also make their way in — training in financial literacy, computer skills, preparing for a job interview and more. Job placement can include positions in landscaping, tree maintenance and park maintenance.

This year's graduates were Robert Black, Jade Cromartie, Darrell Hinton, Jonathan Elam, Lawrence Trader, George Lacey and Kendell Dickerson. Recruitment for next year begins this December.

Big read: National investigation alleges 'nightmare' history in one Delaware private school

Mount Pleasant High School named a 'Demonstration School' in connection to national readiness program

To become an AVID school means taking on national programming aimed at "providing students with academic skills, content knowledge and the social adaptability to be successful after graduation," as Brandywine School District explained. That's "Advancement Via Individual Determination," or a college and career readiness system.

The district said there are about 8,000 such schools taking on the program across the globe. Only 218 of them have been designated as AVID National Demonstration Schools.

Now, Mount Pleasant High School has joined them.

Demonstration Schools undergo a "rigorous" validation process, according to a press release, requiring revalidation every few years. As a national demonstration site, Mount Pleasant High School will now host administrators and teachers from other school districts around the country, serving as a teaching and learning to model systems for the college and career readiness system's implementation.

ICYMI: Proposed rental tax impacting UD, area landlords 'tabled indefinitely' in Newark

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.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware students: Look out for scholarships, college event this week