“I’m very happy to be here”: Celebrating the new Academy of Dover Charter School

DOVER, Del.- Side by side, the Founder of the Academy of Dover Charter School, Ruby Coppadge, and Head of School, Dr. Michele Marinucci, walked through the halls of their new upper school, Wednesday afternoon.

“I’m very happy to be here today with all the people who supported the Academy of Dover,” Coppadge said.

“We are super excited about the academic outcomes,” Dr. Marinucci said.

They cherished how far the Academy of Dover has come. It began in 2003 as a K through 5 school, since then they added more grade levels.

“Our enrollment was a lot less than what it is now, we are authorized for 410 students we are full,” Dr. Marinucci said.

As those student numbers grew, they needed to expand their learning environment, and Wednesday Delaware leaders and teachers came to celebrate that accomplishment.

“We are having our ribbon cutting and so excited to be an official K to 8 school and welcoming our 5th grade through 8th grade into our upper school building,” Dr. Marinucci said.

Students will get a world of opportunities from smaller classroom sizes to getting their hands on new technology.

“I will tell you one of the biggest things that the students needed was to have lockers,” Dr. Marinucci said. “We were able to add state of the art technology, we have touch screens smart panels in every classroom.”

And, for school leaders they tell me they’re excited to see how these experiences not only impact students but the community as a whole.

“I’m very blessed to say that I’m blessed to be 90-year-old person who had the vision for this school many many years ago and it’s still going on as it makes a tribute to the students in Dover,” Coppadge said.

“Being able to show our community and be a model for other schools around us of how to really build the relationships to meet the needs of our students,” Dr. Marinucci said.

We are told Thursday will be the first day of school for students in the new building.