The Christina School District is a Delaware public school district located primarily in the Newark area and a non-contiguous portion of Wilmington. The district office is located in the Drew Educational Support Center in Wilmington, with Dan Shelton as the current superintendent. The district includes Newark, Brookside, central portions of Wilmington, most of Glasgow, about half of Bear, half of North Star, and parts of Pike Creek and Pike Creek Valley. History The district was created on July 1, 1981, from the New Castle County School District after legislation passed in 1980 permitted the State Board of Education to divide the New Castle County School District into smaller districts. At the time all students in grades 5 and 6 went to schools of those grade levels, all of them in the city of Wilmington, to satisfy a State of Delaware desegregation directive that came into place in 1978. From 1984 to 1988 its student population increased by 2,000 and it was the largest school district in Delaware. From 1987 to 1988 the student population increased by 500. Due to the growth, in 1988 two elementary schools were under construction, with completion scheduled in 1989, and the district enacted a $29.6 million program to build two additional schools and expand four. The district aimed to build capacity in Wilmington as it anticipated more grade 5-6 students enrolling. Additionally, it had one active school and one school not yet open south of Baltimore Pike despite having 1,877 students in grades Kindergarten through 3rd grade. Lillian M. Lowery served as Superintendent of the Christina School District from 2006 until her appointment as Secretary of the Delaware Department of Education in 2009, and was subsequently appointed as Superintendent of the Maryland State Department of Education in 2012. Schools High schools Christiana High School Glasgow High School (Glasgow address, not in the CDP) Newark High School (Newark) Middle schools Gauger-Cobbs Middle School (Brookside) Kirk (George V.) Middle School (Brookside) Shue-Medill (Wilmer E.) Middle School In 1988 Wilmer E. Shue Middle School fed into NHS, but it was physically located within the CHS attendance boundary. It adopted uniforms in the 1990s; in 1997 suspensions declined by 11%, and in 1998 they declined by 13. Elementary/middle schools The Bancroft School (Wilmington) The Bayard School (Wilmington) The original building opened in 1925. The current school opened in 1973. Elementary schools Brader (Henry M.) Elementary School Opened fall 1989