The High Road School of Delaware opened March 26, 2004 and serves a unique population of sixth through twelfth grade students. Our school has decisively and compassionately bridged the gap in education for students in Delaware presenting a range of impairments including: learning disabilities, emotional disturbance, autism, and Asperger’s Syndrome.

Our program has been successful in meeting the various needs of our students by incorporating highly structured academic and behavioral instruction, social skills training, and through building and nurturing healthy peer relationships.  We hold our students to a high level of accountability for their education and their behavior while exercising empathy through the assessment of our student’s personal strengths and weaknesses.  Students are taught in our tutorial-style method, in which students are instructed one-on-one with their teacher for at least one hour each morning in the core academic subjects of reading, mathematics, and writing.  Academic skills are further developed and reinforced using computer programs and a curriculum individualized to cater to each student’s specific learning style.

Our students’ curricula are created in conjunction with the state of Delaware’s academic standards, and are based upon each student’s current Individualized Education Plan or IEP.  IEPs provide the roadmap for our school to guide academic and behavioral progress for each student.  It is our program’s mission to develop lessons hand-tailored for each child.  Small class sizes, individualized instruction, and positive reinforcement all play a critical role guaranteeing the opportunity for success in students attending the High Road School.

Healthy student relationships and social skills are fostered in all components of our program.  We set a high priority on our students utilizing manners, eye contact when speaking, and taking turns during conversation.  While education and behavior modification constitute the framework of our program, social skills training and character development form the bedrock of the High Road model.  Small groups, staff modeling, and our transition program are additional positive, effective conduits for student improvement in the areas of social maturity, personal awareness, values clarification and effective communication.  In these settings, students can feel comfortable exploring the nuances of both peer and adult relationships.

We are all very excited to be involved in the beginning of a new school in Delaware, and look forward to continued growth in our program.  It is the aim of the High Road School to be as involved with our students, their families, and the community as necessary for the benefit of the children and adolescents we serve.  Some opportunities we are exploring to further our commitment to our students include a parent support group, extra-curricular activities for our students, and the chairing and sponsorship of “Walk F.A.A.R. for NAAR” in April of 2005 to support research for students with Autism and Autistic Spectrum Disorders.

More news and updates will follow regularly.  Please check back to our webpage for events, activities, and news about our school.  If you have questions about our program or would like to come for a visit, please feel free to contact us.

Grand Re-Opening in Delaware

Please join us for an open house on February 24, 2012 as we celebrate the grand re-opening of the High Road School of Delaware. Between 9:00am and 2:00pm, you will have the opportunity to get a tour of the newly renovated school building, hear about exciting program change, listen to student musical performances and more!

Please RSVP 302-575-1266

Guest Speaker and Performer

On October 5th, , actor, author and guitarist, Tony Robinson, came to High Road School of Delaware and spoke to students about taking their individual passions and exploring ways to turn them into careers. Mr. Robinson expressed the importance of setting goals and staying focused on achieving them.  He combined musical performance with motivational speech to capture the students attention and deliver lasting life lessons.

Read and Succeed

Ms. Carri Vandzura is excited to announce her new role for the 2011-12 school year. Ms. Carri has been teaching High Road students for almost 7 years now and has worked with students in Delaware, Elkton and Perryville.  This year she will continue working with our students, but in a different capacity. Ms. Carri will be assisting Ms. Nicole, the Maryland North region’s reading specialist, in offering several types of reading interventions, such as Wilson, Edmark, and READ 180. Ms. Carri stated “I am excited to be helping students and reinforcing reading goals that teachers are working on in the classroom. Students that have received reading specialist services in the past have demonstrated a greater sense of self- confidence when reading a loud and when completing independent work”

Service Learning Project

Students at the High Road School of Delaware were invited to participate in the construction of the new playground at the Clarence Fraim Boys and Girls club, which is located next door to the school. The students and staff utilize the club for athletic games, special events and gym class at times and were happy to give back to the facility. Thanks to the efforts of High Road and the other volunteers, the children who attend the boys and girls club now have a safe and fun place to play outdoors!

Athletic Teams

The High Road Schools and New Hope Academy are committed to providing services, programs and activities that provide opportunities for students to grow both inside and outside of the classroom. For several years, our schools have had an Inter-High Road School/ New Hope Academy Sports league.

The Maryland North region of schools including Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Delaware, Elkton, and Perryville compete throughout the school year in three sports.

Fall – Flag Football
Winter – Basketball
Spring – Volleyball

These teams provide an opportunity for our students to gain knowledge and skills in team sports and sportsmanship.  Only students (on green or blue level) that have demonstrated the ability to make sound decisions can participate in practices and games.  The league provides students a chance to interact with students from other regional schools and to show school pride for their own.

Each sport season has its own playoff and crown champions for that season.  In flag football, the playoffs are in a bowl format similar to the NCAA.  Naturally, we have our own form of March Madness to crown our Basketball Champions.  

Each year, all the schools get together for a Sports Banquet where the students are celebrated for their athletic performance and sportsmanship.  All participating students receive a participation award at the banquet.

For more information about our Sports League Programs, please contact your child’s school and ask for the team coach.

A Partnership with Opportunity Center Inc. (OCI) of Wilmington, Delaware

Our school has created a partnership with Opportunity Center Inc. (OCI) of Wilmington, Delaware. It is a non- profit organization whose mission is to provide individuals with disabilities an exceptional service delivery experience through innovative and valued employment, training, rehabilitation and support services. OCI offers many rehabilitation and employment services to people with disabilities. It also offers outsourcing job options to businesses and government agencies in a variety of fields, including packaging and assembly, food service, mail management, administrative services, warehousing, shipping and receiving, computer recycling, and logistics. We are excited to work with OCI in continuing to provide the best services possible for our students!     

School-to-Work Programs

We are proud to announce that at the High Road School of Delaware, 100% of the student body participates in the School-to-Work Program. Some school jobs that make up the program are menu collectors, cooks, servers, dishwashers, grocery shopping aides, stockers, and organizers. Other positions include trash collectors, cleaners, accountants, clothing designers, photographers, team managers, store clerks and managers, and mail couriers. As students work and earn money in their school accounts, they have the responsibility of monitoring their account balance. Some students have taken what they’ve learned from the School-to-Work Program and applied it to the real world! Several students have gained employment outside of school at local grocery stores, fast food restaurants and retail establishments.

One student, in particular, has made great strides within our program and serves as a role model to other students. Andrew M. maintains a positive work ethic and is now volunteering his time to an organization that is important to him. Andrew volunteers his free time to help take care of some animals at the local Pet Smart store as they await adoption. Andrew enjoys working with animals and prefers spending time with them outside of their cage, allowing them to run, play and love life!

College Visit

On September 25th, seniors from the High Road School of Delaware visited The Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades. This school, located in Pennsylvania, helps prepare deserving young men be productive, respected members of society by providing a free academic, trade, technical, moral and religious education to those individuals that qualify. The college offers 6 programs of study: carpentry, masonry, horticulture, machine tool technology, paint and coatings and power plant technology. Students live on campus while receiving their education and are able to participate on several different athletic teams.

During the visit, students watched a presentation about all aspects of life on the campus of Williamson and toured the buildings and facilities. Students learned about the required entrance exams and how to begin the application process. Ms. Rosemary, teacher at the High Road School of Delaware, accompanied the students on the visit and is excited to help them get ready for a new chapter in their life!

Transition Program

All of the programming that is designed to transition the student from school to work emphasizes preparation for productive employment after graduation. To make this employment as successful and fulfilling as possible, we help the student explore his or her interests and then build upon natural talents in choosing possible career paths. As students mature, we encourage them to gradually become more self reliant. Our Transitional Services staff aids in this process by giving the students just the right amount of independence and interaction with the wider community, while still providing the supports necessary for the students to feel secure and confident.

School-to-Work Program
Our School- to Work Program offers students the opportunity to participate in true- to- life jobs within the school setting. The end goal of the program is to develop the student’s employment skills and social skills in order to maximize their potential for success in the real world. As such, students seek to obtain jobs by first filling out an application and interviewing for the position they are interested in, as they would in real life. Once the student obtains a suitable position at school, they are held accountable for their attendance and performance, so we work with them on such aspects of employment as punctuality, responsibility, and working independently. Many of the jobs the students procure involve our student - run on the premises retail business. Students participating in the School-to-Work Program are trained to operate many of the state- of- the- art machines that make customized products for sale through this retail business.

Community Work
New Hope Academy affords students the opportunity to take their learning outside of the classroom and transfer it into the community. We work with our students to practice the proficiencies they have mastered in the School- to- Work Program, and then, when a student is ready, a job coach accompanies them to volunteer or paid job sites out in the community. We partner with a wide array of local- area businesses, including restaurants, hospitals, preschools, and retail shops, to expose the students to real - life work experience and social interactions. In this way, students can explore numerous career avenues and gain valuable work experience to list on their resumes.

Official Public School District Websites

www.apposchooldistrict.com

www.brandywineschools.org

www.christina.k12.de.us

www.colonial.k12.de.us

www.redclay.k12.de.us