University of Delaware will change their policy regarding state-funded merit-based scholarships

I received an email last October from a parent whose child was attending the University of Delaware. The child was a freshman and in 2010 the student was awarded the Michael C Ferguson scholarship (a state-funded merit-based scholarship) in the amount of $1,000. The student wanted the scholarship to be split into two $500 increments for Fall and Spring semesters to cover books. The university’s policy was to include the Michael C Ferguson and Diamond State Scholarships when deciding how much need-based financial aid a Delaware student would receive. If the incoming Delaware student received one or both of these scholarships, that student’s need-based financial aid was reduced.

I reached out to the University of Delaware to see what could be done to change this policy. Over the last six months , we continued to have conversations around a possible solution.

Below, is a letter I received from the University of Delaware. I appreciate the university’s willingness to work with me to find a solution to this issue. Thank you to the parent who took the time to write to me. By writing to me, you brought an issue to my attention which was resolved. The resolution did not help this student, but it will help future Delaware students.

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Is Too Much Homework Counterproductive?

I have to say, my children sometimes came home with too much homework. I do not like the summer work that some schools hand out. Kids need down time. Kids volunteer their time during the summer months, they have summer jobs, their families go on vacation; and then they are saddled with all that summer work, not a big fan!

The below is a comment that was left on my Facebook page.

I’ll tell you one thing schoolboards need to look into is the amount of work given to high schoolers, especially in AP classes. It’s insane, and puts way too much stress on kids. I really think that my child has a larger work load than I had in Law School. And these poor kids don’t get 6 weeks off for winter break, they are worked through the holidays. It literally flies in the face of all the studies I’ve seen that say this level of homework is counterproductive.