Delaware

Wait, what’s a Metallica Scholar? $75,000 awarded to Delaware Tech: Education roundup

Published

2 years ago

July 29, 2024

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Wait, what’s a Metallica Scholar? ,000 awarded to Delaware Tech: Education roundup

Smells like teen spirit.

Wait wrong band. From teen support* to hard rock, Delaware outfits are landing new grants to support students.

TeenSHARP, the nonprofit based in downtown Wilmington, just landed new funding from WSFS Bank’s foundation. Delaware Tech just clinched a spot within the Metallica Scholars Initiative, further fueling support for workforce development. Yes, that Metallica.

In this weekly roundup, we’ll catch you up on these and other education updates you may have missed.

[Did we miss another good education story? Tell me about it: kepowers@gannett.com.]

TeenSHARP lands $300,000 grant to support Delaware students

One bank’s charitable arm just announced grants this summer.

The WSFS CARES Foundation selected two organizations in Delaware, totaling $500,000 in giving this quarter. One such organization is TeenSHARP, a national nonprofit based in Wilmington.

The program will receive $300,000 to continue providing high school students “assistance as they move to and through college, helping them navigate their professional careers to build leadership and decision-making skills, financial stability and independence,” WSFS Bank wrote in a July 15 announcement.

The bank’s foundation has long supported the program aimed at helping Black, Latino and lower-income students reach top schools – watching the program grow from just 10 students, to about 400. Founded in 2009, TeenSHARP supports such students through “intense academic preparation, support and advising,” according to its website, with various virtual programs available.

“The WSFS CARES Foundation continues to show up as a strong supporter of TeenSHARP for more than four years of our 15+ year run of opening the doors to opportunity and dynamic leadership for Black, Latino and low-income students across the Delaware Valley,” said Tamara Fentress, chief of staff at TeenSHARP, in a statement.

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Delaware Technical Community College joins Metallica Scholars initiative

Delaware Technical Community College just joined a new program connected to a famous rock band.

That’s the Metallica Scholars Initiative, and DelTech is one of 18 new colleges joining its ranks. The initiative was created by All Within My Hands, a non-profit created by both members and management of Metallica. Each school receives $75,000 to enhance workforce training programs, impacting some 8,000 students.

“When we launched the Metallica Scholars Initiative, it really spoke to me,” said James “Papa Het” Hetfield, Metallica guitarist and lead singer, in a press release. “A collective goal of breaking the stigma of trade skills. Trade skills are vital to society, and what’s even more important is to support the many folks who are trying to create a career by learning and using these skills. I am so proud — we all are — to see how this program is changing lives.”

The initiative offers workforce opportunities for students interested in gaining skills and training to find “meaningful and well-paying careers.” To date, All Within My Hands has invested more than $10.5 million in the workforce, according to the release.

“This generous funding will help us deliver on our mission of responding to the needs of Delaware’s employers through workforce training programs for our state’s high-demand jobs,” Delaware Tech President Mark T. Brainard said in a statement.

Rainy day at the beach? Shopping, shows, treats will keep you busy in Delaware

ICYMI: Lawmaker calls for ‘comprehensive audit’ in Delaware child counselor hiring after failures

State Sen. Brian Pettyjohn called on the Department of Education to conduct a “comprehensive audit” of the credential verification process for child counselors in public schools. It comes in the wake of one Brandywine School District employee arrested this month on rape charges, amid previous allegations of sexual misconduct, as previously reported.

That school therapist, John Arnold, used a “bogus degree” to land his position, Delaware Online/The News Journal has learned.

In addition, according to interviews and documents obtained by Delaware Online/The News Journal, a parent and employees at Nemours Children’s Hospital raised concerns to district officials months before his arrest.

Such issues centered on Arnold’s qualifications – recently determined to have been fabricated – his treatment of a 6-year-old child in his program who was under Nemours’ care, his history of practicing without a license and his behavior toward staff. The concerns were first raised in April and reiterated in early May, as previously reported.

The Republican senator made a formal request to Secretary of Education Mark Holodick, according to the caucus’ communications team, to conduct the audit.

“As a State Senator and a member of the Education Committee, I am deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of our children,” Sen. Pettyjohn said in a press release. “The reported case highlights a significant oversight in the credential verification process, which not only endangers our children but also erodes public trust in our education and child welfare systems.”

Police told Delaware Online/The News Journal there is no current indication that Arnold, who was recently working at Lombardy Elementary School, victimized his students.

He’s accused of assaulting a 5-year-old girl, with claims dating back to 2022, according to court documents.

Delaware schools: Nemours raised concerns months before arrest of Brandywine school therapist

Got a story? Kelly Powers covers race, culture and equity for Delaware Online/The News Journal and USA TODAY Network Northeast, with a focus on education. Contact her at kepowers@gannett.com or (231) 622-2191, and follow her on X @kpowers01.

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Delaware

Delaware Supreme Court upholds reforms to curb ‘DExit’ concerns

Published

10 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Delaware Supreme Court upholds reforms to curb ‘DExit’ concerns

Karl Baker
| Spotlight Delaware

This story was produced by Spotlight Delaware as part of a partnership with Delaware Online/The News Journal. For more about Spotlight Delaware, visit www.spotlightdelaware.org.

A Delaware law passed last year in the wake of escalating assaults on the state’s corporate brand shielded powerful company leaders from facing certain lawsuits brought by smaller investors.

What it didn’t do was violate the Delaware Constitution, the state Supreme Court ruled on Friday, Feb. 27.

More than three months after hearing arguments, the justices ruled that the corporate law reform – known as Senate Bill 21 – did not strip Delaware’s prominent Court of Chancery of its constitutional authority to decide when a business deal is fair.

“The General Assembly’s enactment of SB 21 falls within the ‘broad and ample sweep’ of its legislative power,” the justices stated.

The ruling ends a bruising fight in Delaware over when the state’s business court should allow small-time investors to interrogate insider deals struck within companies by founders or other business leaders.

The ruling also averts what could have been an embarrassment for the state’s legal and political establishment had the high court overturned the law.

More than a year ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk — the world’s richest person — was calling on business leaders to move their companies’ legal homes out of Delaware. Musk had launched the campaign, which became known as “DExit,” after a Delaware Chancery Court judge ruled that he could not accept a multibillion-dollar pay package from Tesla.

Just as the campaign appeared to be gaining a foothold, Gov. Matt Meyer, legislative leaders, and Delaware attorneys who represent corporations threw their collective heft behind SB 21.

They argued then that the legislation amounted to a “course correction” that would bring the state’s business courts back into alignment with rulings from a decade ago. Many also said the bill was needed to pacify executives who were considering following Musk’s calls to move their companies’ legal homes out of Delaware.

In response, a cadre of critics — which included national law professors, pension fund attorneys, and a handful of progressives within the Delaware legislature — derided SB 21 as a “billionaires bill.”

Some also argued that the legislation was the latest in a string of recent changes to Delaware corporate law that have shifted the state away from protecting shareholder rights and toward giving greater deference to powerful executives.

Meyer and others SB 21 supporters rejected those characterizations last year. And on Friday, he celebrated the Supreme Court’s ruling.

In a statement, he said the decision affirms that “Delaware is the gold standard locale for global companies to do business.” He also stated that the number of companies that maintain their legal home in Delaware had increased throughout 2025 despite the DExit campaign.

“In short, SB 21 is working, and I’m glad it will continue to be the law,” Meyer said.

The legal arguments for SB 21

When arguing against SB 21 in front of the Supreme Court last fall, one attorney asserted that the new law removed the Chancery Court’s time-honored and constitutional duty to say what is fair – or equitable – in a business dispute.

The attorney, Gregory Varallo, argued that by removing a shareholders’ ability to sue their company, the law reduced what he described as the immutable power of the Court of Chancery to oversee a “complete system of equity.”

During his arguments, Varallo also offered the justices an unusual acknowledgement, stating that he knew that his stance was unpopular — and that he understood “well the pressures on this court.”

The comments were a likely reference to the consensus of big business groups and the state’s political establishment that believed SB 21 was necessary for Delaware to remain the world’s preeminent corporate domicile.

Following Varallo, Washington, D.C.-based attorney Jonathan C. Bond defended SB 21, in part, by characterizing his opponents arguments as unprecedented. If adopted, he said they would imperil several existing Delaware laws that go back decades.

He also argued that changing the rules of corporate law – as SB 21 did – “is the same as wiping out jurisdiction merely because it makes some plaintiff’s claims harder.”

Also arguing in favor of SB 21 during the hearing was William Savitt, an attorney with the Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz – among the most prominent corporate law firms in the country.

Last spring, Meyer hired Savitt’s firm to represent the state in the legal defense of SB 21 for a budget rate of $100,000. By comparison, Wachtell Lipton charged Twitter $90 million in 2022 to ferry that company through its arduous, four-month-long acquisition by Elon Musk.

Wachtell’s client list also includes Mark Zuckerberg and other Meta executives and board members, who last summer settled a seven-year-long, multibillion-dollar shareholder lawsuit in the Delaware Chancery Court.

During his arguments on SB 21, Savitt said equity as determined by judges must follow the statutes created by the legislature, and “not displace the law.”

“No natural reading of the words (of the Delaware Constitution) support plaintiff’s position,” he said.

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Delaware

Police identify victim of Wilmington motorcycle crash

Published

22 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Police identify victim of Wilmington motorcycle crash

State police identified 29-year-old Brian Silva of New Castle as the victim of a fatal motorcycle crash in Wilmington.

Silva was riding a Harley-Davidson northbound on Dupont Highway approaching Millside Drive in Wilmington around 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 27 when it collided with the rear of a stopped Lexus at that intersection, police said. Silva was ejected from the motorcycle. He was taken to the hospital, where he died.

Delaware State Police are still investigating this incident, and anyone with information is encouraged to reach out to them or to Delaware Crime Stoppers.

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Delaware

When will Delaware warm up? After snow, ice Tuesday, temps will rise

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

When will Delaware warm up? After snow, ice Tuesday, temps will rise

Meteorological winter has ended and we’ve entered spring.

However, there’s still a last winter blast hitting Delaware early this week before a spring warm up hits at the end of the week.

Here’s a look at the Delaware forecast.

Will Delaware see more snow?

After a brisk Monday, March 2 with sunny skies and highs only reaching 35 degrees, there’s a chance of snow after 1 a.m. Tuesday, March 3 with freezing rain after 4 a.m. in New Castle County. Snow and freezing rain are expected before noon Tuesday, March 3. The county may receive less than a half inch of accumulation.

In Kent County and Sussex County, there’s a chance of snow and freezing rain after 1 a.m. Tuesday, March 3.

When will it warm up in Delaware?

It will start feeling like spring as warmer air moves into the First State on Tuesday evening, March 3, but wet weather is coming as well.

Rain is predicted from Tuesday, March 3 through Friday, March 5, but spring-like temperatures will make it bearable. In New Castle County temperatures will range from the mid-50s on Wednesday, March 3 to the 60s on Thursday, March 4 and Friday, March 5. Kent County should see temperatures in the 60s and Sussex County will see 70s during the mid- to later part of the week

What’s the weekend forecast?

Remember when you were daydreaming about warm weather during the polar vortex or blizzard? Well, it is coming next weekend.

The forecast is calling for sunny to partly sunny skies throughout Delaware on Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8. Highs will reach the upper 60s in the north to the low 70s in the south.

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