Football games with 50 fans and an empty school
When Christiana High school hosted Conrad Schools of Science in football on a Friday afternoon in September, the scene was a microcosm of the state of affairs in the Christina School District.
Christiana, a National Blue Ribbon school in the 1980s, had just 25 players – less than half of a typical varsity team. And in the home stands, only about 50 people rooted on the Vikings.
By contrast, Conrad had a large team and band, and a couple of hundred fans. The visitors rolled over Christiana 34-0.
The lopsided score was more than a shellacking on the gridiron. It illustrates the exodus of students from the Christina district to others in New Castle County as well as charter schools.
A total of 8,700 students from the Christina district attend non-district schools. That’s 38 percent — far more than any other district.
Each year, there’s more empty seats at Christina schools, as parents are increasingly “choicing” into other districts, or picking charter or vo-tech schools, according to state and school district data analyzed by WHYY.
Click here for the full story from WHYY.