South New Castle News

In an effort to help a group of students improve learning performance and close the gap on proficiency tests, the State of Delaware has allocated $75 million toward the Opportunity Funding initiative.

This is the first of three years for the initiative which has two goals. Secretary of Education Susan Bunting told the Middletown Transcript the short-term goal is to improve reading proficiency in third graders followed by improved math scores in middle school.

Gov. John Carney spearheaded the effort, designed to help English language learners and low-income students. Schools are allotted money based how many students qualify. The initiative awards $300 for a low-income student, $500 for an English learner and $800 for both.

Despite being a three-year program, the legislature must approve funding each year. Bunting told the Transcript things could always change but she felt confident given it was a huge initiative of the governor. Should it continue to be funded, 30 school districts and charter schools will benefit from the additional resources.