Capital School District students take an accelerated journey from kindergarten onward, engaging with families as active partners alongside teachers in supporting children as they progress academically, socially, and emotionally.
District schools receive local, state, and federal funding sources. You can support them on DonorsChoose.org! In addition, this school district operates the Kent County Community School.
About the District
Capital School District provides education services to Dover and surrounding rural communities in Kent County. It has twelve schools: seven elementary (grades K-4), two middle schools (grades 5-6 and 7-8), and one high school (9-12).
This district pedagogy emphasizes holistic student education, including academic, social-emotional, and enrichment opportunities. Their educators are highly trained professionals who strive hard to make an impactful difference for every one of their pupils.
Over the past several years, teachers in our district have been encouraged to implement and enhance social-emotional learning opportunities for their students through employing social-emotional curricula and training on restorative practices. Furthermore, additional LCSWs, nurses, and school counselors have been hired to support students.
Due to these efforts, students in the district are making outstanding academic gains and are on track for college and career readiness. For instance, 45% of elementary students tested proficient or above on state math tests, which compares favorably to the national average of 31%.
This district excels above the national average regarding teacher-to-student ratio, with teachers serving an average of 13 years within this district and boasting a 98.0% total licensing rate – far surpassing the national average of 86.8%.
District schools boast an above-average percentage of schools rated highly, according to state and Niche rankings, which consider student test scores, graduation rates, teacher quality, and other considerations. Shabazz and Affiliated Alternatives schools, based in Dover, stand out among these high-rated ones with principals who were once classroom teachers and National Board Certified teachers on staff. Students attending these schools benefit from exposure to an array of experiences and perspectives, giving them greater chances at attending competitive colleges in their fields of interest. Furthermore, DonorsChoose — an online platform helping public school teachers locate resources for their students — funded 139 projects within this district’s teachers.
Strategic Plan
Students attending Capital School District come from diverse backgrounds, but this public school system works tirelessly to ensure all children can access high-quality education. Servicing both Dover and rural Central Kent County areas, Capital operates 12 schools: seven elementary grades K-4 schools, two middle schools, and a high school, and the Kent County Community School that caters to students who exhibit physical or sensory impairments or medically fragile needs.
The school district has implemented several strategic initiatives to assist all its students in reaching success. These include creating a linear streamlined section; meeting student needs holistically, and Senator Pride: this last initiative seeks to build a more positive image for our district while more effectively communicating with its communities.
To promote student success, the district has implemented a strategic plan aligned with its core values and vision for an equitable future. This plan will aim to enrich all aspects of life for all students while eliminating barriers to learning and moving toward a more equitable end.
As part of its planning efforts, the district held an Educational Summit in May 2018, featuring over 130 community members. They also collected thousands of responses for its budget survey and pre-summit feedback form; using this input, the board developed draft student outcomes and goals for its new Strategic Plan.
At their December 10, 2018, school board meeting, directors approved six Student Outcomes and laid out action items to support their implementation. These outcomes focused on broadened learning outcomes such as behavior management, social and emotional well-being, academic rigor and support, entrepreneurship, and increased motivation.
District staff have made strides to increase their use of data and research in making decisions, including working closely with Rowan University’s Partnership for Educational Equity and Research (PEER) program to examine its data through an equity lens and create an accurate picture of current and future successes and challenges faced by their district.
Policy 6010
Policy 6010 provides guidelines for using electronic communications such as email and text messaging to conduct District business. The goal is to maintain their inherent value while assuring they are used professionally – something especially critical in communicating with both members of the public and District employees and Commissioners. Furthermore, this policy strives to foster an environment where respectful interaction occurs within the workplace.
The Superintendent/designee will prepare and provide annual enrollment projections and school attendance area considerations to the Board, in addition to creating and proposing attendance area adjustment plans to ensure schools meet target utilization criteria. Lastly, should any circumstances warranting attendance area review arise, the Board shall initiate that review process immediately.
As part of the development process for an attendance area adjustment plan, the Superintendent/designee will consult with students, parents, staff, and community members regarding proposed scenarios. Furthermore, an advisory committee may assist him or her during this process.
An integral component of the Advisory Committee’s role is to ensure that proposed plans meet the criteria outlined in the policy, which may include meeting student educational needs and preferences while maintaining a safe learning environment, accommodating capacity constraints, and meeting state education requirements. Furthermore, this committee works towards creating plans that address community concerns in its proposals.
The Advisory Committee will make recommendations to the Superintendent/designee regarding various attendance area adjustment scenarios for consideration. Once this phase has concluded, he or she will present to the Board their proposed attendance area adjustment plan and wait for its approval.
When school attendance areas do not comply with Policy 6010, the Superintendent/designee will inform the Board. When this occurs, a boundary review process or plan will be initiated or submitted that includes data on each of the criteria found in Section III.B and consultation results provided by an Advisory Committee with community members, students, and families.
School Attendance Areas
School attendance areas determine which school a child attends based on where their home is. Our district uses an innovative student assignment system called Innovation Zones that enables children to move seamlessly through elementary, middle, and high schools together. Furthermore, attendance area maps are updated frequently in response to changes in population or housing development and can be found online for viewing.
To address overcrowding situations within the district, the district offers a public boundary change process as part of its response plan. Through this public participation effort, community members have an opportunity to identify the principles that should guide decision-making when developing and evaluating potential boundary scenarios – this may include minimizing the impact on existing schools/students while maintaining adequate enrollment levels to offer appropriate programs, accommodating growth while minimizing future changes to school boundaries, as well as optimizing busing efficiency.
When long-range enrollment projections signal the need for new school facilities, an extensive review process begins to ascertain an appropriate capacity at each site. This evaluation involves considering educational programs offered and facilities’ capacity (rooms for instruction). Also considered are portable classrooms, regional unique education rooms located nearby, and current and projected attendance figures.
Following completion of the review process, a decision will be made as to whether new facilities should open or existing schools need to close and consolidate. Before making such a decision, consultation will occur between staff at each school, parents, local governments, and any other stakeholders within the community, and also to inform stakeholders timely of proposals being considered by them.
School attendance area changes are a crucial component of our district’s dedication to quality education, so the section reviews these processes to ensure they meet students’ and families’ needs.
