The top reported proficiency rate is 28% in English language arts. The lowest is 19% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Wilmington Manor Elementary School
Wilmington Manor Elementary School sits on East Roosevelt Avenue in New Castle, Delaware, part of the Colonial School District. It is a regular public school serving kindergarten through eighth grade, a span that gives families a single continuous placement for most of a child's pre-high-school years. The enrollment is moderate for a combined elementary and middle configuration, which means class groupings can vary in size from grade to grade, and the upper grades here are particularly small, with only a handful of students in each of the middle-grade cohorts.
The student body reflects the surrounding area's mixed character. Black and White students each make up roughly a third of the population, and the share of Hispanic students is large enough to give the school a genuinely multiracial composition, with a small number of students identifying as Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, or two or more races. Several data points that parents often look for were not available in the provided material: free or reduced-price lunch rates, English-learner counts, and individualized education program counts were all missing. A parent may want to ask the school directly about these supports.
On state assessments, Wilmington Manor's results sit below the midpoint among schools and districts in New Castle County. In the most recent reported year, English language arts proficiency was in the upper twenties, math in the mid-twenties, and science lower still, with fewer than one in five tested students reaching proficiency. Social studies results were reported only for fourth grade, where the proficiency rate was around one in five; sixth and eighth grade results were suppressed, likely reflecting the very small cohort sizes in those upper grades. Trend data going back roughly a decade shows a long downward arc in both ELA and math. Proficiency was considerably higher in the mid-2010s, declined steadily through the late 2010s, and then fell sharply during the pandemic period. Results have recovered partially since then but remain well below where they stood several years ago. A parent considering this school may want to look into what academic recovery strategies are in place and how the school plans to rebuild proficiency.
Because Wilmington Manor does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report. The school also lacks reported data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, and staffing, so those dimensions cannot be characterized from the available material. Title I status was not reported either. Program offerings were not provided, so we cannot speak to extracurriculars, special programming, or before- and after-care.
New Castle itself is a small historic riverfront city a short distance south of Wilmington. The core of the city is a National Historic Landmark District with cobblestone streets, a colonial-era green, and historic buildings spanning the 17th through early 19th centuries. Heritage tourism and seasonal events shape the town's public life more than everyday commercial activity. Growth is limited by the historic-preservation character of the community, and no major new housing developments were identified in the available research. The surrounding New Castle County is the most populous and economically developed county in Delaware, so the broader area offers more in the way of employment and services than the small city itself. No major employers specific to New Castle were identified in the research.
The housing market in the school's zip code is moderately priced relative to the state. Typical home values sit below the Delaware statewide benchmark, and rents are in a range that keeps rent-to-income burden close to what most households would find manageable. Mortgage costs at current rates run higher than typical rents, a gap that may favor renting for families not yet ready to buy.
We looked for recent parent-relevant changes in the Colonial School District and found little that surfaced from the available search, so we left that out rather than guess. For families evaluating Wilmington Manor, the strongest takeaway is that this is a small, racially diverse K-through-8 community school in a historic Delaware town, with a long slide in assessment results that has only partially reversed. The questions worth bringing directly to the school concern academic recovery plans, student support services, and what the upper-grade experience looks like given the very small cohort sizes.
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