ABOUT US

Learn more about the origin and background of The Bryan Allen Stevenson School of Excellence.

BASSE ORIGIN

“Proximity is a pathway through which we learn the kind of things we need to know to make healthier communities.”

The Bryan Allen Stevenson School of Excellence is named in honor of Bryan Stevenson, a prolific social justice activist and lawyer from Milton, Delaware. Mr. Stevenson often talks about the notion of proximity in his work. “Proximity is a pathway through which we learn the kind of things we need to know to make healthier communities.” By “getting proximate,” or closer, to the needs of the community, we can see the problems for what they are and create sustainable solutions.

We know the path to a strong and healthy community is complex and requires deep collaboration at every point.

Therefore, we convened a small group of community members to determine what proximity means for our rural Sussex County community. The challenges of the rural ecosystem foster gaps in innovation, a lack of coordinated social services, and limited access to opportunities.

We want to ensure that a free public school is available in Sussex County that will provide countless opportunities for students to learn through a community-focused service-learning lens and academic rigor. Students will be provided work and service experiences that will bring students knowledge of their community needs and challenges, helping them to hopefully innovate in those spaces. Combined with a rigorous academic curriculum, BASSE will offer students a unique chance to explore, achieve, and positively impact their school and their community.

BRYAN A. STEVENSON

His principles of integrity, justice and excellence are foundational to foster success and leadership in our Delaware students.

Mr. Stevenson talked about “getting proximate” with the problem; we know that the injustices in our criminal justice system are directly related to the inequities in our education system.

Therefore, we must get proximate with the lack of educational opportunities in our Delaware community. We believe BASSE can help provide additional options for students in Delaware.