Community Education Building

06/01/2026

From first steps to first diplomas, May marked a milestone moment for the Community Education Building collaborative.

Last week, we had the honor of celebrating two graduations happening simultaneously across our campus: the inaugural Pre-K graduation of the YMCA Early Learning Academy inside the Youth Development Center (YDC) and Kuumba Academy’s Kindergarten graduation in the CEB Atrium.

Two locations. Two graduations. One shared vision.

These celebrations represented far more than academic milestones. They reflected the realization of what the CEB collaborative was designed to achieve: a cradle-to-career educational ecosystem where children and families can access opportunity, support, and excellence at every stage of their journey.

This year, several students who began their educational experience at the YMCA Early Learning Academy will matriculate directly into Kuumba Academy’s 2026–2027 Kindergarten class, creating a seamless pathway for learning, growth, and achievement within our collaborative.

As families, educators, community partners, and supporters gathered to celebrate these young scholars, we were reminded why collaborative models matter. When institutions work together with intention, students experience continuity, community, and care from their earliest years and throughout their educational journey.

Congratulations to every graduate, family member, educator, and partner who helped make these moments possible. Thank you and for your commitment to our city’s young scholars. The future isn’t something we’re waiting because it’s already taking shape right here in Wilmington.

StudentSuccess WilmingtonDE CommunityImpact YMCA KuumbaAcademy

05/22/2026

A bold and thoughtful leader, and a true friend to CEB, Mayor Purzycki was deeply committed to improving the lives of Wilmington residents. He understood the importance of creating safe, vibrant neighborhoods and expanding opportunities that help young people and families thrive.

Throughout his leadership, he consistently championed hope—not simply as an ideal, but as a call to action—by supporting investments in Wilmington’s neighborhoods, strengthening economic vitality, and advancing a vision of community well-being that closely reflects CEB’s mission and work.

He will be remembered not only for his dedication to the city, but also for his reputation as a steady, compassionate, and forward-looking public servant who believed in Wilmington’s potential and worked to help its people succeed.

Photo courtesy of

04/16/2026

We’re excited to welcome Delaware State University and Widener University Delaware Law School into the CEB Collaborative as part of The Bridge Project !

Our partnership-building model continues to remind us of something simple and true: we go further, faster when we build together.

When institutions align across stages, students don’t just move through systems, they move along real pathways, with clearer vision and stronger support.

By bringing together partners who are committed not only to their individual missions, but to a shared future for young people and community. This is how ecosystems grow.

We’re grateful to be building alongside institutions that believe in expanding access, deepening opportunity, and showing students what’s possible early and often.

Looking forward to the future this city.

Thank you to President of DSU Tony Allen and Dean of Delaware Law School Todd Clark for forwarding this vision with CEB.

What's unfolding a few blocks east of downtown Wilmington is so far unique to the nation - described as a "multi-institutional hub of education community impact and economic opportunity."

04/15/2026

For generations, finding an opportunity meant leaving home, leaving family, community, and everything we have loved in hopes of something better.

But what if the next generation doesn’t have to leave Wilmington to find it?

At yesterday’s press conference on the plans for CEB x The Bridge project, Dean Todd J. Clark of Widener University Delaware Law School, one of the newest higher education partnerships within the CEB Collaborative, shared a powerful vision for Wilmington’s future, one where education, opportunity, and economic growth are rooted right here at home.

Todd wrote an address he looks forward to sharing 10 years from now with those future law students, that are being cultivate for a bright future in CEB’s main building and Youth Development Center today.

He spoke about how this education corridor in Downtown Wilmington is building an environment where students can learn, thrive, and innovate within their community, supported by the cradle-to-career campus being created by the CEB and our collaborative of education and community program partners.

We are grateful to and for every school, every program partner and every student, for believing and building this reality with us. This is more than a city development plan. It’s a blueprint for what the future of education can look like, for Wilmington and for the nation.

04/03/2026

During her recent visit to the Community Education Building on the final day of Women’s History Month, we were grateful for the opportunity to capture Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester reflecting on the new Youth Development Center.

She spoke not just about the building but about the legacy it will provide for the young people of the community—and the excitement of seeing that vision realized.
During her visit to the CEB Campus, she spent time at the Youth Development Center, the YMCA Early Learning Academy, and the Kuumba School-Based Health Center, and connected with students preparing for graduation from Great Oaks Charter School Wilmington.

We are grateful for her continued leadership—and even more grateful for the time she spent with each young person, creating space for them to share their own dreams and aspirations and see what’s possible for their own futures.

Visuals courtesy of R7 Productions

04/03/2026

What does it look like when education moves beyond the classroom… and into legacy?

On April 2, Kuumba Academy Charter School’s 8th grade scholars departed for Ghana, stepping into a transformative cultural immersion experience as global cultural ambassadors.

Rooted in the Seven Principles (Nguzo Saba) Unity, Self-Determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith, this journey is designed to deepen identity, expand perspective, and cultivate leadership in real time.

Kuumba, a school community based within the Community Education Building, continues to demonstrate what’s possible when education is grounded in culture, purpose, and global connection.

Over the course of this experience, students will:

Stand at the Cape Coast Castle and confront the history of the African diaspora…
Engage in cultural exchange in the Volta Region…
Participate in a naming ceremony, service projects, and environmental stewardship…

They will also visit the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and the W.E.B. Du Bois Center, connecting history, identity, and purpose in ways no textbook ever could.

They will create.
They will serve.
They will reflect.
And they will return changed.

As Dr. Chestnut-Lee shared:

“These students are not just traveling, they are stepping into their purpose.”

This is what it looks like to invest in young people.
To affirm identity.
To expand what they believe is possible.

And to prepare the next generation not just to succeed, but to lead.

This is not a typical spring break vacation trip. This is a cultural immersion trip to West Africa.

04/01/2026

So grateful U.S. Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester sees the vision!

03/25/2026

One thing about he is going to make sure our students and families have access to fresh food ! Cheers to a true community leader!

03/20/2026

Last Thursday, we had the privilege of welcoming our Board of Directors, our donors, community collaborators, and elected officials for a First Glance at the new CEB Youth Development Center (YDC), and the energy in the room said everything.

More than a building, The YDC is a corridor leading towards access, opportunity, and a structure for our young people to maximize their potential within.

Seeing leaders from across sectors come together, engage, and envision what’s possible for our youth was both powerful and affirming.
This week, we welcomed the first students into the YDC and while we’re incredibly excited, it doesn’t compare to the joy on their faces.

Imagine being a child and realizing this entire space was built with you in mind.

We thank you all for doing your part to make this dream a reality for our young people.