John C Dempsey Middle School

Woodward is an amazing school with wonderful and caring teachers and staff. There is no better elementary school in Delaware City.

The environment there is not the most welcoming. Administrators pick their favorites and it shows. They are more strict about dress code for certain students than others. If you are part of staff there, have connections, or lots of money, your kids will be treated with respect. If a situation/issue is brought up by a student that is not favored, they will be brushed off. There is also an issue with using slurs and cussing in the hallways and is not punished enough. They focus more on a girls skirt length than they are with a boys inappropriate language and bullying.

I have multiple children currently enrolled at St. Mary school. The current EDUCATIONAL staff are wonderful. Unfortunately, the parish staff that have ultimate say of the school (due to the chain of command in the catholic school system) are poor communicators and ineffective at managing an educational program. There has been a high turnover of administrative staff after the current priests posting apparently due to resignation and/or refusal to renew the contract (in the case of the current Principal Mrs. Ford). The priest seems not to care for the consideration of the educators or current families enrolled when making drastic organizational changes to the school. My children have never been more sickly than they have been since attending this school, which leads me to question the cleanliness of the environment and quality of the air supply. If you had asked me a year ago if this school was worth considering I would whole heartedly agree, I STRONGLY advise any families that value transparency from administrators, support from the hierarchy of the school system, consideration for consistency in educational modalities for their children to find a different educational home for their children.