Sports
Holiday
Juniors capture District 3 title
Bethany celebrates July 4th
Page 62
Page 44
JULY 7, 2023
THE LOCAL VOICE OF YOUR COMMUNITY.
Volume 20, Issue 27
FREE
Kells named mayor of Millsboro
A little bit of everything
By Susan Canfora Staff Reporter Millsboro Town Councilman James Kells was named mayor during the town council’s reorganizational meeting this week, succeeding mayor Faye Lingo, who lost a bid for re-election to the council last month but graciously thanked the council for the experience and presented Kells with a new gavel and base. Kells, nominated by Councilman John Thoroughgood and approved by unanimous vote, moved to his new seat in his unassuming way, as Thoroughgood said, “OK. We have a mayor. Jim, do you want to come up here and take your position?” and someone else reminded him to take his nameplate. Also by unanimous vote, Councilman Ron O’Neal was named mayor pro-tem, Councilwoman Kimberley Kaan was appointed council secretary and Councilman Bob Bryan was made council treasurer. Also at the Monday, July 3, meeting, O’Neal, who ran unopposed and who represents District 2, was sworn in, as were newly elected Councilmen Marty Presley, serving at-large, and Matt Davis, representing District 3. They vowed to support the constitutions of the United States and Delaware, and to See KELLS page 2
Coastal Point • Susan Lyons
A little replenishment equipment didn’t deter throngs of beachgoers in Bethany Beach on Tuesday, July 4. The delayed work project was the reason the Town couldn’t host its annual fireworks display on Tuesday, but, as you can plainly see, people still got out to enjoy the holiday.
Science of reading curriculum in full swing IRSD elementary schools taking on major shift to CKLA model By Mike Smith Staff Reporter The “Science of Reading” curriculum change, and the emphasis on phonics as a learning platform for early childhood education and reading from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade, is in full swing at the Indian River School District. Par-
ents are pleased with what they are seeing already from their early readers, IRSD officials said. Kelly Dorman, director of elementary education for the school system, and her team, including Marissa Hockman, within the department of instruction, is moving quickly to train teachers on the new Core Knowledge Language Arts program. The earlier English Language Arts, or ELA modules for reading, were used for eight years, so teachers are also excited to engage with the new learning process, she said. “We never stopped teaching phonics,
it is just more systematic and deliberative,” said Dorman. “There are certain things in early learning and pre-K that will help our students learn to read.” “The parents are excited in hearing what their kids were thinking and learning about already. Now that we are going district-wide, all our IRSD parents are very excited,” she said. “We will provide more information to parents on CKLA, and we just rolled out a new website,” said Dorman, for the district and parents. “The CKLA will be explained to parents clearly. It will go live in the next few weeks, before
school starts. It is on our District Live site already, and we are updating and getting the language arts section of the site updated.” She has redeployed the ELA instructional specialists, and, “Both myself and Marissa Hockman, and some of our math specialists,” are engaged in the training process. English Language Arts refers to the study and use of the English language in academic settings. The term is used in the United States and Canada. ELA See READING page 2