State panel recommends closure of Bryan Allen Stevenson School
A day after a state panel proposed closing the Bryan Allen Stevenson School of Excellence, school leaders said they hope to convince the state that problems have been resolved and the school should remain open.
The state Charter School Accountability Committee recommended Feb. 17 that the Georgetown school be closed due to enrollment, financial and organizational concerns.
Head of School Raushann Austin said Feb. 18 that the school’s enrollment, leadership and finances were stabilized in the months after her hiring in August, when she became the third person in a year to lead the school.
The school was saddled with debt from the start, Austin said, and there were continuing changes in leadership as enrollment declined in the first year after it opened in September 2024.
Bryan Allen Stevenson School of Excellence began with a $300,000 deficit, and enrollment dropped from 230 on opening day to 153 by the end of December 2024. The number of students fell to about 123 by the start of the next school year, shortly after Austin was hired, she said.
“That narrative that there has been a large decrease from the beginning of the school year to where we are now is not accurate,” she said. “Since the change in the organizational structure, we have maintained our enrollment.”
The school has plans to add a 10th grade next school year, according to the state.
Austin said there are plans to increase enrollment throughout the school by becoming more active at community events, increasing use of social media and encouraging families to send their children to the school.
A public hearing is scheduled for 5 p.m., Monday, March 9, at Delaware Technical Community College’s Owens Campus in Georgetown, at which public comments will be accepted as the state moves toward a final decision.
Department of Education Secretary Cindy Marten is scheduled to present her final decision at the Delaware Board of Education’s meeting Thursday, March 19, for the board’s assent.
Chantalle Ashford, a founding board member, became the first head of school before stepping down and taking a teaching position in the spring of 2025. She resumed a role on the leadership team in August when Austin was hired.
Ashford and Austin were among school representatives at the Feb. 17 meeting. Ashford said Feb. 18 that she found signs of hope, despite the recommendation to close.
“I could see they were struggling with the decision,” she said. “I could see there were members of the committee that wanted us to prevail … We know our community wants the school.”
Ashford and Austin said the staff, students and community members plan to attend the March 9 public hearing to appeal for the school to remain open.
After a one-year delay, Bryan Allen Stevenson School of Excellence opened in the 2024-25 school year at the former Howard T. Ennis School in space leased on the Delaware Tech campus.
The school receives per-pupil state aid and does not charge tuition.
If Marten decides to close the school, it would remain open until the end of the current academic year.
Students would be able to return to the schools in their home district or transfer to another district or charter school that is accepting students. The school’s closure would be considered “good cause” to allow students to apply after the school choice deadline, which was in January.
Marten placed the school on formal review in December, initiating a review to determine if it is violating the terms of its charter.
The school is named after Bryan Stevenson, who was born in Milton in 1959 and graduated from Cape Henlopen High School. He is a lawyer, professor at New York University School of Law, and founder and director of the Equal Justice Initiative.
Kevin Conlon came to the Cape Gazette with nearly 40 years of newspaper experience since graduating from St. Bonaventure University in New York with a bachelor's degree in mass communication. He reports on Sussex County government and other assignments as needed.
His career spans working as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers in upstate New York, including The Daily Gazette in Schenectady. He comes to the Cape Gazette from the Cortland Standard, where he was an editor for more than 25 years, and in recent years also contributed as a columnist and opinion page writer. He and his staff won regional and state writing awards.
Conlon was relocating to Lewes when he came across an advertisement for a reporter job at the Cape Gazette, and the decision to pursue it paid off. His new position gives him an opportunity to stay in a career that he loves, covering local news for an independently owned newspaper.
Conlon is the father of seven children and grandfather to two young boys. In his spare time, he trains for and competes in triathlons and other races. Now settling into the Cape Region, he is searching out hilly trails and roads with wide shoulders. He is a fan of St. Bonaventure sports, especially rugby and basketball, as well as following the Mets, Steelers and Celtics.
