Students Enjoy Trip to New York City

Douglass Students Participate in
2011 Christina Day of Kindness
To celebrate the Christina School District Day of Kindness, students from the Douglass School visited a local nursing home and presented t-shirts to the residents.  
View Day of Kindness Photo Gallery.  October 2011

Thanks to Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids, Students Harvest Crops to Enjoy
As part of the Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids initiative begun last year in the District by Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids founder and director, Dr. Thianda Manzara, on November 10, 6th grade students harvested scallions, 7th grade harvested arugula, and 8th grade harvested rainbow chard.  Students and staff had a great time making arugula salad with scallions, mandarin orange slices, with olive oil and lemon dressing.  The 6th-8th graders demolished the salad in no time!  Students also leaned the rainbow chard which was used to make a chard and garlic stir fry, which was also a big hit!  Students replenished the garden by planting more perennials donated by The Delaware Center for Horticulture.  November 2010

Douglass Students Participate in Field Trip to Barclays Bank
Student from Douglass Alternative School recently participated in a field trip to Barclays Bank on the Riverfront in Wilmington.  The purpose of the trip was to expose students to corporate America and show them the endless possibilities an education can bring.  During the tour, students visited the IT, Marketing, Credit Card and Program Management Departments.  They had the opportunity to speak with top officials about what their jobs entailed and how to achieve excellence.  Students also have the opportunity to meet a 1996 Olympic gold medalist, Anthuan Maybank.  April 2010

Douglass Students Get Inspired Through Dance
Every other month on the final Friday students and staff at Douglass Alternative School participate in “Foundation Friday.”  They select films, activities, or lessons that students can take part in to motivate them to do better and overcome odds.  In January, special guest Timothy Jones, a former coach of the UD and UPENN ballroom dance teams and the recipient of numerous awards, visited Douglass to share his expertise. This tied in with the viewing of the film “Take the Lead” starring Antonio Bandaras and Rob Brown. In the movie, a charismatic ballroom dance instructor takes on the job of trying to communicate and inspire his students through ballroom dance, which provides a different kind of dance experience building on foundations already established.  This movie was a great way to illustrate how we can use pre-existing experiences to motivate, encourage, and ultimately inspire young people to go beyond what they know and enjoy a different experience. The Foundation Friday event focused on three key words: inspire, enthusiasm, and diversity.  February 2010

Douglass Hosts Ronald McDonald Character Education Program
On October 27, Douglass School hosted the Ronald McDonald School Program.  The program was entitled “On the Inside.” The program emphasized the importance of good character, and utilized music, magic, state of the art puppets, and audience participation to promote positive character traits.  The group will be returning on February 18, 2010 to do a program on friendship, cooperation and anti-bullying. That program is entitled, ”A friendship adventure with Ronald McDonald.”  November 2009

District Clarifies That "Alternative School" Does Not Mean "Reform School"
One of the most negative aspects of the national media attention the Christina School District received this week was the characterization of its alternative placement program for young students as a “reform school.”  The District does not run a “reform school” and would never use such an outdated and inaccurate term to describe any of its programs. Unfortunately, the term “reform school” was an expression used by the media and others in conjunction with Christina in recent news reports and websites. 

Students in grades K-8 in Christina who are assigned to an alternative placement usually attend the Douglass Alternative School, which provides a more structured version of the regular school environment and offers additional services for students that may include counseling, academic support, and behavior support.  Douglass provides a learning environment that contributes to the holistic development of all students by use of literacy programming, academics, behavior modification and character/social skills development.  This collaborative effort between parents, students and staff helps students transition to a successful future. 

Douglass School principal Harold "Butch" Ingram includes the following statement on the school’s website:  “We teach students who are having difficulty in school how to succeed and that failure is not an option.  Students are taught to be productive contributors to family, community and school.  All understand that ‘Attitude determines Altitude!’  Student learning with high expectations in conjunction with social competence is paramount in the student's development and success.”  

In January, 2009, the Christina Board of Education recognized the Douglass Alternative School administration and staff for the school’s outstanding service to students.  The Wilmington News Journal will feature Douglass Alternative School in an article this weekend, and members of the community are also encouraged to learn more about Douglass Alternative School by visiting the school’s website -  www.christina.k12.de.us/Douglass  October 2009

The garden will be used to help students develop a sense of collaboration and community with a central focus on academics.  Core content lessons will provide an opportunity for students to connect with academics in a creative and innovative way. 

The most exciting part of the program is that students will be able to eat what is grown. Additionally, Douglass students will be taught valuable lessons about recycling and saving our planet.  Parents are encouraged to keep students engaged in this special project by asking their children weekly,  “What’s new in the garden?!”   September 2009

Douglass Hosts Career Day
Students and staff at Douglass School had an opportunity to learn about a variety of careers at the annual Career
Day event held at the school this month. Of special interest to students were demonstrations by the Wilmington Fire Department and Police K9 units, who demonstrated a variety of equipment and showed off the abilities of their canine companions who have received police and rescue training.  May 2009

Douglass Promotes Healthy Choices
Elementary students at Douglass School participated in a healthy choice activity early this month - making smoothies with fresh fruit and other tasty ingredients.  The students really enjoyed it and actively participated in the group discussion about the food triangle and healthy food choices.  April 2009

Students Win Medals in Essay Contest
Students at Douglass School were recently awarded medals for their winning entries in the City of Wilmington’s Fire Marshall Essay Contest.  Fourth grader Destiny Williams, who has returned to Bancroft School, won a First Place medal, fifth-grader Nanya Dantley won a Second Place medal, and fifth-grader Anthony Newman won a Third Place medal.  The awards were presented to the students by the Wilmington Fire Marshall.  December 2008

Students & Staff "MIX IT UP"
On Thursday November 13 Douglass students and staff participated in a “MIX IT UP” Lunch.  The purpose of the activity was to encourage students to interact with others who are “different” from them.  The focus was to help students recognize the vast diversity within their own school and to develop a tolerance for all persons.  The students participated in classroom activities focusing on personal uniqueness prior to the lunch.

It was estimated in 2007 that four million students nationwide participated in the “MIX IT UP” Lunch Day.  This is the first time that Douglass students and staff have participated, but it is hoped that this will become an annual event for the school.   December 2008

The Douglass staff hosted its third annual door-decorating contest this year, and it has brought wonderful creativity and imagination to the halls of Douglass School.  Doors throughout the school display full- blown,life-size artistic designs that are simply beautiful.  This year features themes such as a Gingerbread House, the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Sponge Bob Square Pants Christmas and ’Twas the Night Before Christmas. 

“The camaraderie and team spirit that is developed through this annual project is amazing,” said Douglass Principal Debra Pederson-Williams. “This, for us, is a great way of ringing in the spirit of the holiday season.” 

The students in each homeroom worked together to come up with the theme for their door.  They then spent a period each day working together on developing the various components for their door display.   The results are fascinating, beautiful hallway displays and a healthy team bonding spirit from excited and enthusiastic students and staff.  The winners are: 

Douglass Alternative School held a Family Night in February.  More than 50% of Douglass parents, along with siblings and grandparents, were in attendance.  The theme of the evening was “Families that Read Together, Succeed Together.”  Mrs. Neysa Smith, National Board Certified Teacher from McVey Elementary, facilitated a well-received presentation on reading relevance.  She gave the parents pointers and strategies they could use at home to help their children become fluent readers.  Harriett Tubman, aka Sondra Draper, a third grade teacher at Maclary Elementary, did an impersonation of the historic figure Harriett Tubman, and through her costume and storytelling the spirit of Harriett Tubman was definitely portrayed in the room. 

The seventh grade class, under the leadership of Douglass science teacher Mrs. Jenkins, performed a skit that emphasized the contributions Black Americans have made to society in the way of inventions.  She also had the seventh and eighth grade students present their scientific knowledge of genetics with a tri-fold display of information and self-made replica of a DNA double helix model.  The parents were given the task of judging the displays. Ms. Peak’s kindergarten, first, second and third grade homeroom eloquently stated the Douglass pledge using hand gestures, and took everyone there home with their final song. In addition, there were games, good food, and door prizes.  Each student received a book at their reading level, donated by Ms. Elliott; and parents received a food coupon to Chick Fil-A donated by the Chick Fil-A Corporation. Much thanks and appreciation to every staff member of Douglass for helping in so many ways to bring a spectacular evening to a great success.  April 2007