Dear Editor and my fellow Wilmington residents:
In September 2025, we will vote on a proposed new PreK–5th Grade Elementary School. We recognize that teacher representatives have played a significant role throughout this process—including the development of the educational plan that guided the building’s design, as well as participation in a fall 2024 survey where they expressed a strong preference for a PreK–5 model over PreK–K only or PreK–3 configurations.
As we approach this important vote, Parent-Guardian Advocates for Wilmington Schools (PAWS) wanted to ensure that the broader community could hear directly from educators. To foster open and honest input, we provided a space for teachers to share their anonymous feedback.
The survey followed ESOMAR’s global standards for research ethics and best practices. Results have a margin of error of 3–7 points at the 90% confidence level
Here is a summary of the results:
— 95% of WPS Staff say “Please vote Yes!”
— Most staff believe the attributes of this project will improve student success (91%) and cross-grade collaboration that will lead to stronger student outcomes (88%)
— Northside staff also believe the project will improve teacher productivity (93%), teacher’s ability to deliver multi-tiered instruction (91%) and the district’s ability to attract high-quality teachers (89%).
A WPS classroom teacher of 16 years states, “It is becoming increasingly difficult to teach over the distractions of an aging building. My classroom (just during this year alone) has had the heat break on one of the coldest days of winter, wasps and flies flying around because we don’t have screens on the windows, and mice eating my seeds that I use for a science unit on planting. It is difficult to keep up with the increasing demands of technology when some classrooms are only equipped with limited outlets. I have had countless classroom materials and books ruined when they have been left too close to the windows because when it rains or snows water comes in through the cracks in the windows. These are just some of the issues I deal with in my classroom. The building as a whole has even greater issues. These are issues that can’t continue to be fixed with ‘bandaids’. We need new buildings”
The North School Counselor shares her thoughts on the advantages of school consolidation, “As a counselor, I feel the building consolidation would greatly improve students learning experiences by significantly reducing transitions, increasing counselor to counselor and teacher to teacher collaboration/support for all students, provide healthy and safe learning environments with accessibility, attract and retain high quality teachers, allow for mixed age group volunteering opportunities, reduction in busing issues, improved security, etc.”
40 staff chose to share their thoughts or comments with Wilmington residents. You can view the full results here: tinyurl.com/PAWS-EducatorSurvey.
We believe these insights offer valuable perspective as the community considers its decision.
Respectfully,
The PAWS Planning Team
Parent-Guardian Advocates for Wilmington Schools (PAWS) was founded in 2021 with the mission of increasing awareness and engagement in district-level initiatives. Learn more at tinyurl.com/Wilmington-PAWS-FAQ.
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