Darley Road Elementary’s last hurrah

At Darley Road Elementary School’s monthly “Star Student” assemblies, students receive awards if they have followed “the rules of the road.”

This is the way the school rewards students for excellent citizenship and positive behavior.

Students receiving awards get what Principal James Grant calls a “peanut butter and jelly cheer,” which is relatively quiet, as well as a regular cheer. The students enthusiastically participate.

But this is the last year for peanut butter and jelly cheers at Darley Road. The 270-student school will soon suffer the same fate as other schools in Claymont. In the latest round of school consolidation to hit the blue collar town, Darley Road will close this year in response to district-wide declining enrollment.

Hanby Middle School is also slated to close this year. The closings will save the district $1.6 million per year, offsetting lost revenue associated with lower enrollments, and will allow the district to spend money on people and programs rather than buildings with excess space, Superintendent Dr. James R. Scanlon has said.

Yet it is still a sad thing, particularly for one as intimate as Darley Road, said teacher Robin Zinc.

“The principal and the staff know all the families, students and their needs,” she said. “We love our students. We love our families.”

Claymont resident Tara Brown’s son Shane is in his last year at Darley since he is a third-grader. But she would have liked her daughter, Shaylynn, to attend Darley -- right around the corner from her home.

“You feel like this is your second home, your other family members," Brown said.

Clifton Smith, of Claymont, is in a similar predicament. His twins, Candice and Cameron, are in kindergarten. He expects them to attend Claymont next year.

“We’re only maybe 30 seconds away so this is perfect,” Clifton said. “It’s pretty unfortunate it has to shut down.”

Ashbourne Hills resident Chosoni Atkins said she understands that with the tough economy, the district has to save money. Her third grade daughter, Janyiah Holden, has been at Darley Road since kindergarten.

“I like it here. The teachers are nice and the education is good,” Atkins said. “[But] if it’s necessary, I guess it has to be done.”

Guidance counselor Michelle Skelly said the small, intimate atmosphere at Darley has given parents a feeling of comfort and safety they will miss, as well as support like its after-school tutoring and YMCA childcare.

“We know our population,” Skelly said. “We know when families need beds or coats because it is a small community, and they feel safe to talk to us.”

But Skelly thinks the school district did all it could. From the outset, the Brandywine Space Consolidation Committee decided that schools that had not been renovated in at least a decade would be targeted.

The fact that Grant will become principal at Claymont Elementary next year will help the community deal with the loss of Darley Road, Skelly said. That is where three-fourths of Darley Road’s enrollment and much of the staff are headed.

“They know his top priority is the kids,” she said. “In that aspect, I think everything’s going to go very smoothly.”

Grant will become principal at Claymont July 1. Current Principal Betty Pinchin is retiring.

Grant said he is disappointed that the school he has been at for 13 years is closing, but he understands Scanlon’s logic of putting scarcer funds into people and programs. And, he is excited to continue the relationship he has built with Claymont for 22 years and is eager to oversee the new kindergarten to fifth grade configuration at Claymont, something occurring at all of Brandywine’s elementary schools.

“I know the Claymont community is once again hurt and disappointed,” Grant said. “But I plan to unify the new Claymont Elementary and incorporate some things that have worked very well here at Darley."