Associated Press

NEWARK, Del. (AP) — Nick Minicucci threw for four touchdowns and ran for two more as Delaware won its final home game as an FCS program, beating Campbell 41-22 on Saturday.

A member of the Football Champion Subdivision member since 1980, the Blue Hens earned 19 postseason appearances. Delaware (9-1, 6-1) will transition to the FBS and join Conference USA in 2025.

Minicucci took the Blue Hens on a seven-play, 68-yard first-quarter drive to take a 6-0 lead, scoring on a six-yard run, but Nate Reed’s PAT attempt was blocked. Minicucci then fired 33 yards to Phil Lutz to make it 12-0 after a two-point conversion attempt failed.

The pair combined again to start the second quarter with an eight-yard touchdown pass and Minicucci found Max Patterson for the two-point conversion to make it 20-6. Minicucci ran three-yards for his second rushing touchdown of the half to make it 27-13 and the Blue Hens led 27-16 at intermission.

Minicucci added a 17-yard touchdown pass to Jake Thaw and a 38-yard scoring pass to JoJo Bermudez to cap the scoring in the fourth quarter.

Minicucci completed 16 of 26 passes for 230 yards and was picked off once and ran 11 times for 78 yards. Marcus Yarns carried 17 times for 134 yards and Lutz caught four passes for 75 yards.

Mike Chandler was 16 of 31 passing for 267 yards and two touchdowns for the Camels (3-8, 1-6) but was intercepted twice. VJ Wilkins caught five passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns. Campbell was held to just 54 yards on 27 carries.

Delaware finished 7-0 at Delaware Stadium, the program’s 14th undefeated home slate since the facility opened in 1953.

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Advance Auto Parts is shuttering or leaving over 700 locations around the country by mid-2025.

The car parts store based in North Carolina announced the closures on Nov. 13. It is a part of a “restructuring” and “asset optimization plan” with the goal of increasing profits and streamlining the companies operations, according to a public filing. There will be a headcount reduction as a result.

It is closing 523 corporate stores and four distribution centers and exiting 204 independent locations. The locations of the closures have not been made public as of this writing.

 “We are charting a clear path forward and introducing a new three-year financial plan, with a focus on executing core retail fundamentals to improve the productivity of all our assets and to create shareholder value,” said CEO and president Shane O’Kelly in a statement on Nov. 14.

More: Advance Auto Parts to close hundreds of stores, slash jobs amid sluggish demand

How many Advance Auto Parts locations are in Delaware?

There are 19 locations in Delaware, with stores in all three counties. Which locations are closing, if any, has not been released to the public.

As of October, there were 4,781 locations total in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

3-minute read

It’s charter school renewal season once again and now is the perfect time to reflect on what this means for our schools.

Every five years, charter schools are required to renew their charters. The charter is the agreement between the school and their authorizer, the governing body which grants them specific rights, powers, and responsibilities. This is a rigorous process that ensures they are living up to the promises made to their authorizer, board, parents, students, and communities. The process places charter schools under a lot of scrutiny – a level of oversight not typically experienced by district schools, which do not face such renewal requirements. Yet, despite this, there is a common misconception that charter schools operate with less accountability and lower standards.

Charter schools operate with a unique blend of flexibility and accountability. Flexibility allows them to be innovative and creative, but it comes at a cost — strict accountability measures that seem to increase over time. Unfortunately, while the accountability requirements have remained stringent, the flexibility these schools need to thrive has been slowly taken away.

The reality of charter school accountability

During the renewal process, each charter school must prove to its authorizer that it’s providing the outcomes promised when its charter was granted. This comprehensive evaluation covers everything from academic performance, including growth and proficiency, to financial transparency and organizational health. In addition to annual independent financial audits, charter schools must also ensure that they comply with most if not all regulations and maintain a safe and healthy environment for students and staff.

This year, six Delaware charter schools are up for renewal. Each school must provide a wealth of detailed information during this process, including their curriculum, how they plan to support students with learning differences, their academic progress over the past five years, in-depth financial information, and organizational health information. This intense evaluation process pushes these schools to reflect on their achievements and shortcomings, ensuring they are prepared to meet future opportunities and challenges.

A comprehensive review process

While a large part of the process is the review of academic performance, materials utilized and staff employed to meet these outcomes, our schools must also undergo an all-encompassing review of both their financial and organizational performance. Analysis of these areas includes many aspects of both, but two key areas are governance and fiscal management.

Boards of charter schools must receive governance training every three years to maintain high standards of leadership, ensuring they provide proper oversight without overstepping into the management of the school. This governance structure is critical in distinguishing successful schools.

In the financial area, each charter school is required by law to undergo an independent financial audit every year, ensuring transparency and responsible fiscal management. These audits are not only assessed annually and posted publicly on their website but are used as part of the extensive five-year financial performance review. Reviewing these measures is designed to confirm that charter schools are safe and healthy, financially viable and guarantee administrative integrity and full regulatory compliance.

Of note, while district schools are held accountable in different ways, they are not required to renew their existence every five years.

Flexibility paired with responsibility

One of the reasons charter schools are often misjudged is due to the flexibility they are given in how they meet their educational goals. This flexibility is critical — it allows schools to innovate, respond to the needs of their students, and adopt methods that might differ from traditional public school models. Flexibility is not synonymous with a lack of accountability or lower standards. In fact, it often enhances accountability and standards, as schools must prove that their methods are working.

In the end, we must ask ourselves: is there room to offer more flexibility across the board, in exchange for heightened accountability? The goal is the same for both charter and district schools — to provide high-quality education for our children. Charter schools have shown that this can be done through innovation and accountability. After 28 years, maybe it’s time for Delaware to think about how this balance could benefit the broader public education landscape.

Kendall Massett is executive director of the Delaware Charter Schools Network.