Delaware
First new school opens in Wilmington since desegregation busing in the 1970s
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This story was supported by a statehouse coverage grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Students will soon begin attending classes in the Maurice Pritchett Sr. Academy, the first new Wilmington school in 50 years.
A ribbon cutting and block party last week drew hundreds of people, with Christina School District staff, Gov. John Carney, U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, state lawmakers and the Pritchett family speaking to the crowd.
The $84 million building was named after longtime educator Maurice Pritchett, a student at the Bancroft School in the city’s East Side neighborhood who served as the school’s principal from 1975 to 2005. Pritchett died last year. Construction for the school that will serve students in grades one through eight was fully funded by the state.
Carney said he hopes the new facility will attract kids currently going to schools outside of the city.
“I firmly believe that this building will bring a lot of those families back to this neighborhood and into this beautiful school, and that’s part of what we’re trying to do,” he said.
Friday’s ribbon cutting was also a celebration of Pritchett and his life’s work of helping students learn. Some of the speakers shouted his name in a “call and response” rhythm with the crowd at the event.
Sen. Darius Brown was one of several who honored the former principal.
“He was not just the school principal, but he was one of us,” Brown said. “He was from the neighborhood because he grew up right here on Wilmington’s East Side. I see so many of the kids that grew up with me on the East Side here today, and it is a tribute to the legacy of Mr. Pritchett.”
Pritchett’s widow Juanita Pritchett said students will succeed if the new school is filled with love.
“Nothing happens unless there’s the love. As the children enter and receive love, they will leave. They will carry that love that they received from the Maurice Pritchett Sr. Academy. These children, as they leave, will heal the world because of the love given to them here.”
Bancroft has been one of the lowest performing schools in the state. Delaware Department of Education data from the 2022–2023 school year shows less than 7% of the school’s students were proficient in English and less than 4% were proficient in math.
Christina Interim Superintendent Bob Andrzejewski said it was possible with this new school to raise student performance.
“I just encourage all of you, the family, the friends, the community leaders and others to support the young people here and the staff and the leadership to make Maurice Academy the super special place that it is,” he said. “Because we don’t want just the new building. We want to be able to see our students do better and better.”
Delaware
Local police departments earn state accreditation
The Delaware Police Officer Standards and Training Commission recently announced that the Dewey Beach Police Department and Rehoboth Beach Police Department have both earned state accreditation from the Delaware Police Accreditation Commission.
As part of the rigorous process, a team of DPAC assessors ensured all accreditation standards were met by completing comprehensive, on-site inspections of each agency, reviewing their policies and procedures for compliance, and conducting interviews with department members.
“This milestone represents a significant step forward for public safety in Delaware. The initial state accreditation of these police agencies reflects a strong commitment to professionalism, accountability and excellence in law enforcement. I commend each department for their dedication to serving their communities with integrity and for upholding the highest standards,” said Joshua Bushweller, Department of Safety and Homeland Security secretary and DPAC chair.
Delaware
DDA inducts three Delaware Century Farms – 47abc
Dover, Del. – Three farms, one from each of Delaware’s counties, were inducted into the Century Farm Program by the state Department of Agriculture on Thursday at the Delaware Agricultural Museum.
Each of the family farms has been owned and operated for at least a century. Each received a sign for their farms, an engraved plate and legislative tributes.
In addition to Secretary of Agriculture, Don Clifton, and Deputy Secretary Jimmy Kroon, state Senators David Wilson (R – District 18) and Kyra Hoffner (D – District 14) were also in attendance.
Wright Family Farms are located in Harrington in Kent County. In 1919, the farm was purchased by William Wright. Over a century later, William’s grandson, Ronald, is the owner and his great-grandson, Greg, said he hopes to continue the family legacy by buying the farm from his father.
Although the event celebrated each family for their hard work and resilience, it also highlighted the challenges farmers have to surmount to stay in business today, let alone for a hundred years.
“The price of equipment, the price of fertilizer, the price of seed, everything is just gone up,” Greg said. “So, you know, everything’s going up that we gotta purchase just to stay in business.”
Clifton, Kroon and Wilson also echoed difficulties in balancing the need to preserve agricultural land with the need to develop housing and sustainable energy projects like solar power.
“I know housing is very important, and we want people to always have good housing, but at some point, I think you’re going to saturate the area with more houses than you have food to feed these people,” Wilson said.
Kroon also said there are difficulties in keeping future generations motivated to stay in farming.
“When you think about it in the context of multi-generational farm families, there’s a real long-term challenge where a new generation may think twice about whether they want to keep farming if it’s always a struggle,” he said.
Clifton said farming has always been a challenging way of life, but it has been so since time immemorial.
“These families, their experience shows that they have an appreciation for the way of life and perseverance and that’s to be honored and emulated to the greatest extent possible,” he said.
Greg said he hopes to pass down the way of life so that his family legacy can live on for another hundred years, as well as for other families.
“A hundred years as the same family tilling the land, that’s, you know, that’s an honor right there,” Greg said. “And I hope that more farmers who are close to 100 years old will be doing the same thing. You know, keep it in the family.”
Delaware
Investigation underway after man’s body pulled from Delaware River
An investigation is underway after police said a man’s body was pulled from the Delaware River in South Philadelphia.
According to police, around 9 a.m. on Friday, April 17, 2026, emergency responders pulled an unidentified man from the Delaware River, near the Navy Yard. Medic’s pronounced the man dead at 9:11 a.m.
Léelo en español aquí.
SkyForce10 flew above as police and other first responders were on the scene.
NBC10
NBC10
Police are working to determine the circumstances of the incident and identify the man.
This is a developing story; check back here for updates.
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