Greg Meece plans to retire as School Director of Newark Charter School.
In a letter the school community, Meese said he and his wife Rosemary plan to retire together.
Meese guided the school since its founding 18 years ago. The school now has more than 2,000 students in buildings at a business park near the Maryland line off Elkton Road.
The K-12 school ranks high in academic performance and has gained national recognition.
Dr. Franklin Newton praised the work of Meece in a letter to the community. A search for a new director will get underway.
“He has led us from trailers to the multi-campus, multi-building facility in which we currently work and learn with a charter renewed through summer 2029. He led our school to an amazing track record of success and an outstanding reputation in Delaware, regionally and nationally,” Perhaps most importantly, the legacy he has built is reflected in the incredible administrators, teachers, and staff he has brought to our school,” Newton wrote.
The school’s success has been accompanied by controversy, thanks to its use of a boundary and a lottery system. Critics claimed the system was unfair to students living in Bear, Wilmington and other areas.
Newark Charter has made no effort to replicate the model elsewhere in its home district of Christina.
Efforts to change the boundary have been unsuccessful and have led to claims that charter schools have contributed to a re-segregation of schools in Delaware.
Enrollment has dropped in the Christina School District, thanks to the growth of the charter school, parents moving elsewhere and issues related to academic performance.
Charter schools get money from the state that is equivalent to the dollar amount given to public schools. In return charter schools have to come up with start-up expenses. Thanks to the work of parents and Meece, as well as a location in a more affluent area, the school got off to a strong financial start.
Another successful charter is Wilmington Charter, got off to a strong start, thanks in part to start-up support from major employers in the area.
By contrast, some charter schools have struggled or gone out of business, after dealing with start-up issues and facilities or locations that do not attract enough students.
