(Video) Parents, students with options vote with their feet in leaving Christina district

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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.

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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.

 

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