From the Desk of Mr. Rafiq:

Dear Martin Luther School Students and Families,

I love the great start to this exciting school year, transportation issues aside! It is a pleasure to serve you in my second year as principal! While we continue to operate amid a pandemic, I want to assure you that we are committed to the highest safety standards and will continue our high-value virtual program when students and staff are required to quarantine.

I am very proud and excited to welcome our first cohort of high school students. A huge shout out to the class of 2025! Our 9th-grade student body has the opportunity to blaze the path that many students will travel after. We have exciting work to do as we embark on this journey together. I know that we will face each challenge ahead with the confidence and ambition necessary to build an extraordinary program.

I remain committed to focusing on academic rigor to ensure that we provide meaningful instruction to our students. We are in year two of our targeted approach to close the academic gap in the area of Mathematics with our highly rated Illustrative Mathematics (IM) program. According to EdReports, an independent nonprofit that reviews K–12 instructional materials, Illustrative Mathematics meets all expectations across all three gateways for focus, coherence, and rigor. This program exposes students to grade-level math content while structuring lessons to meet them at their current academic levels. We work in partnership with the University of Delaware with regular professional development and teacher coaching.

Our staff continues to build on our social, emotional learning program (SEL), which teaches our students how to regulate their emotions while interacting appropriately with peers and adults. We will be hosting another virtual back-to-school night for you, our families, and I look forward to seeing all of you then. I am excited for the future of Martin Luther School students and staff and look forward to another great year!

Respectfully,
Mr. Rafiq Williams

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Rafiq Williams| Principal, Martin Luther School

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