Our Mission

We strive to inspire our students to realize their vision for the future and ensure that they are equipped with the resources to achieve it. EastSide Charter School will provide students with high expectations, critical thinking, responsive and engaging instruction and the character skills that are necessary to succeed in the world of tomorrow.

Our Vision

Our students will become strong leaders in their communities, living choice filled lives!

CEO Message

I am overjoyed to be working with such amazing students, staff, and families. We have ambitious goals for EastSide and for the future.  Every aspect of our goals are focused on how to empower our youth. This focus on empowerment is not simply shown through the children’s grades and standardized test scores; but rather by ensuring that our students can graduate from our schools and live successful and choice-filled lives in the future. 

To this end we are working to build supports for our students to carry them through high school and through their eventual college graduation.  We are also determined to partner with businesses and institutions to ensure that our students are able to have access to internships, which will better prepare them for engagement in career fields that will lead to meaningful futures.
 
EastSide Charter School has an been a staple in the community for over 20 years and has made a positive impact on our students, families and the community.  We are blessed to have incredible leadership and staff who are focused on seeing our students become the leaders of tomorrow.  We are equally blessed to have parents who love their children. We are thankful that you have made the choice to send your most precious assets - your children - to EastSide.
 
Our organization has benefited by learning from other schools in our state, as well as from those located across the nation; and we look forward to sharing all of that knowledge and programming with others.  Our hope is that through this exchange of knowledge and skills, the children of Delaware will have a brighter tomorrow.

-Aaron Bass, CEO

Our Values

Growth

We believe every member in our organization should be developed. Students should grow more in their application and synthesis. Staff should improve in their craft and have a better impact on the development of scholars. Leaders should grow in their abilities to manage in a positive direction. We constantly re-examine who we are and what we are doing to continue to grow and develop in every area of our organization. 

Teamwork

We know our school does better (is stronger) when we collaborate productively. Each member looks out for the best interest of the other and actively seeks to build them up. We do what we say we are going to do. We know students thrive in healthy environment where adults are aligned in their words and collective actions. 

Respect

We treat others as we wish to be treated. This should happen even when that person does not behave in the same manner. We ensure our actions show respect for ourselves. We show this through conducting ourselves positively and developing a strong self-image.

Responsibility

We show individual responsibility by caring for our belongings, planning ahead, and exhibiting self-control. We take ownership for our words and actions. We show collective responsibility through engaging in community service, activities impacting the world around us and making decisions in the best interest of others. 

Achievement

We believe that the impact of our work is only as strong as our results.  This is reflected in academic data, behavioral conduct, and progress towards individual goals.  We will put students first in everything we do, and we will achieve a level of academic performance that will prepare our students for success in high school, college and/or career of their choice.

Our History

In 1997, EastSide Charter Elementary School opened its doors for students enrolling in grades K-3. The School was founded upon the principles that all children, especially those living in low-income households:

  • Can perform consistently at or above grade level;

  • Can perform better in small classroom settings;

  • Would succeed when educated in a safe, caring and nurturing environment;

  • Would succeed when parents participated in all decisions involving their children;

  • Would learn self-control and a sense of discipline, because of the School’s structured classes and its conflict resolution program.​

In 2000, EastSide was the first elementary school in Delaware to receive a five year Charter; and its Charter was expanded to add grades 4-6. At that time, EastSide reported to the State Board of Education several important gains that supported its Charter renewal and expansion model which included:

  • 83% and 100% of their third graders met standards for math on the previous two year’s state tests; and

  • First and second graders tested at least six months ahead of their grade level.​

In 2006, EastSide moved from a community center to its current location, the former Martin Luther King Elementary School at 3000 North Claymont Street, in Wilmington, uniquely adjacent to a Wilmington Housing Authority development. The school also expanded to include 5th – 8th graders in 2006. At that time, it received its second five year charter renewal and also created a separate §501(c)(3) Foundation to own its property and enhance its fundraising capabilities. In 2016-2017 ESCS ranked last in Delaware among all school districts in student academic growth. In 2017-2018 ESCS ranked second in the state in academic growth among all state districts. 

Students participate in Interim Assessments 3 times per year, Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) assessments twice per year, and quarterly assessments in Math and ELA - all designed to assess student brain growth, and to determine where they are in their educational growth. All though a 7th grader may fail an SBAC test for 7th graders, if that student, over a semester, advanced from a 3rd to 5th grade reading level, s/he, though not achieving at a 7th grade level, has demonstrated significant growth that can, when known, be augmented and supported through careful subjective instruction. Such growth, over time, will lead to grade level proficiency, and higher SBAC scoring.

Parents choose schools based on how they expect the institution to prepare their children for their future. Test scores and grades are meaningless if they do not have a direct impact on a child’s life goals. Vision Academies is so committed to a child’s future that we want to begin preparing for it as early as Kindergarten. Every year each student in grades K-8 write a Vision Plan - in which students commit to their career goals and explain what impact they will have on their community and their family. We are firm believers that our youth will perish if they are not focused on a vision. Once a child is clear about his/her goals in life we want to ensure that they receive a strong education that can serve as a foundation to achieve that goal.
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Families are invited to meet with their student and teacher in a vision planning meeting two times a year. In these meetings we look at the career goal of the student, as well as their intended college; and we compare that to their current character and academics. Students reflect on their areas of accomplishments as well as their areas of growth. The team discusses how they can work together over the next trimester so that the student can make progress towards their vision.
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We believe that this collaborative approach - involving teacher, student and parents - is vital to the success of our students. The process enables students to see the long term impact of wise decisions they make, and there is accountability established throughout the year.