Colonial New Hire Benefits
Newsletter for Full-Time Employees
Welcome to Colonial School District!
You have made an excellent decision! This is a great place to work and the benefits offered by Colonial School District are top-notch. Please remember that you have 30 days to complete your benefits elections.
Colonial School District offers full-time employees up to $160 per month to offset the cost of healthcare (which includes prescription) and up to $142.50 per month to offset the cost of local benefits (dental, vision and district life insurance). Yes, up to $302.50 per month to help you with your benefits premiums! Again, you made an EXCELLENT decision!
This newsletter includes an overview of each plan and enrollment forms. More detailed information will be provided your New Hire Benefits Meeting. Please plan to attend virtually!
*Side note: Some groups have different stipend amounts, please see chart below:
Attention: Transferring Employees
Employees who transfer from a Delaware school district/merit agency DIRECTLY to Colonial School District usually have uninterrupted benefits coverage. All transferring employees can verify if coverage will be interrupted by contacting your prior Benefits Representative.
It is important to note, that all school districts/merit agencies DO NOT have the same benefits. It is imperative that all transferring employees participate in the enrollment process. In addition, all transferring employees should complete all enrollment forms. By completing enrollment forms, this creates a "double check" mechanism to ensure that all benefits transfer correctly.
Healthcare Plans
As an employee of the State of Delaware (Colonial School District), you are able to choose one of the four options for healthcare:
- Highmark Delaware - First State Basic (PPO)
- Aetna - CDH Gold Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Plan (HMO)
- Highmark Delaware - Comprehensive Plan (PPO)
Please view the comparison chart to help assist you with making your healthcare plan election.
**Also, use the benefits contacts information to start your enrollment forms, contacts listed at the bottom.
COPY & PASTE - This information is required for enrollment!
Myeshia Jones-Christopher, Myeshia.JonesChristopher@colonial.k12.de.us
Darcel Porter, Darcel.Porter@colonial.k12.de.us
Healthcare Costs
In the past, there was a three month waiting period. As of January 1, 2024, the State of Delaware ended the three month waiting period requirement. As such, benefits will start on the first day of the month following your hire date, providing that you submit an enrollment form within 7 days for your hire date. Please take note, most plans are FREE due to the stipend Colonial School District provides! See the costs below which includes stipend reduction.
*Rates effective as of July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027
COPY & PASTE - This information is required for enrollment!
Myeshia Jones-Christopher, Myeshia.JonesChristopher@colonial.k12.de.us
Darcel Porter, Darcel.Porter@colonial.k12.de.us
Can I Add My Spouse?
Make sure you click the button below to review the Spousal Coordination of Benefits Video.
There are two important questions to consider before enrolling your spouse in a State of Delaware health plan with prescription coverage:
Is your spouse employed full-time or retired from an employer that offers health insurance?
Is your spouse responsible for 50% or less of the premium for the lowest active or retiree health plan available to them?
If you answered “Yes” to both of these questions, then your spouse is most likely required to enroll into their employer’s coverage. Please use the Spousal Coordination of Benefits link to help with the decision making process.
IMPORTANT: If you cover your spouse in one of the State of Delaware’s health plans, you MUST complete a Spousal COB Form during initial enrollment, EACH YEAR during Open Enrollment and anytime their employment or insurance status changes. Failure to complete the Spousal COB Form and/or provide additional documentation when required may result in a reduction of spousal benefits.
Local Benefits (Dental, Vision & District Life Insurance)
DENTAL PLAN
Cigna Dental Coverage, Group 3340873, Customer Service Telephone 1-800-345-4511
- Plan A
- Plan B
You also have the option to waive coverage as well. The dental plans and rates are listed below. Please click on the Dental Comparison Link below for plan summary.
*Rates effective as of July 1, 2026
VISION PLAN
VBA, Customer Service Telephone 800-432-4966
Rates effective as of 7/1/2026
COPY & PASTE - This information is required for enrollment!
Myeshia Jones-Christopher, Myeshia.JonesChristopher@colonial.k12.de.us
Darcel Porter, Darcel.Porter@colonial.k12.de.us
Life Insurance
Life Insurance
Beginning July 1, 2026, MetLife will be the administer for our District Term Life Insurance. Formerly administered by Prudential Insurance. The coverage is only for the employee. The benefit is paid to the designated beneficiary(ies) in the event the employee has deceased while insured. The insurance benefit amount is based on age, see chart below.
To calculate your cost, please follow these steps:
1. Multiply your salary by 2 (Example Salary $16,432.00 * 2 = $32,864.00)
2. Round to nearest 500 (Example $33,000)
3. Multiply by cost factor 0.00138 (Example $33,000 * 0.00126 = $41.58)
4. Divide by 24 for a per paycheck rate (Example 45.54/24 = $1.73)
If you enroll in District Life Insurance, please complete the Beneficiary Designation Form. See link below!
COPY & PASTE - This information is required for enrollment!
Myeshia Jones-Christopher, Myeshia.JonesChristopher@colonial.k12.de.us
Darcel Porter, Darcel.Porter@colonial.k12.de.us
Cost for Local Benefits (Dental, Vision and Life)
As mentioned above, Colonial School District provides each full-time employee with a $142.50 monthly stipend to offset the cost for local benefits.
For example, if an employee enrolled into employee only dental, vision and life insurance coverage, the benefits would be free ($67.00+$15.04+$1.90 = $77.05) The stipend amount ($142.50) would cover the costs of these benefits ($78.66). Therefore, benefits would be FREE in this example!
To calculate the cost for local benefits, follow the following steps:
1. Calculate your life insurance monthly cost
2. Select your vision benefits and its applicable cost
3. Select your dental benefits and its applicable cost
4. Add the monthly cost for life, vision and dental benefits
5. If the total amount is less than $142.50, the benefits will be FREE
6. If the total amount is more than $142.50 - subtract $142.50 from line 4 to determine the monthly cost.
Benefit Cards
Benefits Cards for Medical, Rx, Dental and Vision
Your medical cards should arrive in the mail shortly. If you do not have updated cards within two weeks, please contact the carrier (Highmark, Aetna or Cigna) for the status of your cards.
*Please note - VBA (Vision) will not send a card. Please use your Employee ID with three zeros in front as your member ID for services. For example: 000123456
Please take your benefits cards to your first visit. Colonial School District does not provide your SSN to the Dental and Vision carriers. Please do not give out your SSN, be prepared to provide your benefits card or your unique member number (Employee ID with three zeros in front 000123456).
If you need your employee ID number, please contact me directly.
Supplemental Benefits
Disability Plans
Disability insurance pays a portion of your monthly earnings if you cannot work because of a disabling illness or injury that occurred on or off the job.
Participants in the Delaware State Employees' Pension Plan (State Agencies, School Districts, Charter Schools, DTCC, DSU, UD and DSWA) are eligible for the DIP administered by the Hartford. Enrollment into the DIP is automatic for eligible employees hired on or after January 1, 2006.
State of Delaware Life Insurance - Securian
The State of Delaware has partnered with Securian Financial to provide GUL insurance benefits, a type of permanent life insurance with the option for tax-deferred cash accumulation. This coverage will help protect your family against the unexpected loss of your life and income. Additional lifestyle benefits include legal, financial and grief resources, legacy planning and travel assistance services.
Benefit-eligible active State of Delaware and Delaware Solid Waste Authority (DSWA) employees are eligible to enroll and make coverage changes for themselves, as well as their spouse and/or children, in the GUL plan anytime throughout the year. Employees have the option to take coverage with them when they leave or retire.
A new hire enrollment package will be mailed to all new hires within 30 days of hire day. If you are interested in this benefits, please follow the instructions in the mailing.
Accident and Critical Illness Supplement Insurance - Securian
The State of Delaware has partnered with Securian Financial to provide Accident and Critical Illness Insurance for State of Delaware and University of Delaware employees. It is difficult to anticipate the extra expenses a serious accident or illness may bring, but with Securian Financial you can be prepared.
Accident and Critical Illness Insurance provide lump sum cash payments if you, or a covered dependent, suffer an injury from an accident or are diagnosed with a condition covered under the policy.
Flexible Spending Accounts
ASIFlex offers two distinct flexible spending account (FSA) options for benefit-eligible State of Delaware employees:
Health Care FSA: Qualified expenses include medical, dental, vision and prescriptions for you & your dependents.
Dependent Care FSA: Qualified expenses include care for the protection and well-being of a child (under age 13) or elder dependent while you work. Examples include before and after school care, child daycare and camps, and elder care.
Benefit eligible employees may enroll after completing the initial waiting period of 90 days.
Eligible employees interested in participating should complete the FSA Enrollment Agreement
Enrollment forms should be sent by the first of the month preceding the date of eligibility to ensure timely enrollment. If you fail to enroll within the time period described above, then you may not elect to participate in the Plan until the next FSA Open Enrollment Period or until a qualifying event occurs that would allow a mid-year election change.
Employee Assistance Program - Health Advocate
Investment Accounts - 403b and 457b (Similar to a 401k plan)
Please note, the Benefits Representative cannot process enrollment request for the investment plan. You can enroll independently after you receive your first paycheck with the State of Delaware.
Here are pertinent information to help you with the enrollment process:
The information below provides the Plan, Verification and PIN numbers for each of the plans. Please make note of the numbers for the plan(s) in which you are enrolling. You are eligible to participate in both plans, you must enroll in each plan separately.
403(b) TSA Plan Number is 664095, Verification Pin is 122437, Personal PIN MMYY
457b Deferred Com Plan Number is 664093, Verification Pin is 122437, Personal Pin MMYY
*Your default PIN for enrollment is the two-digit month and year of your birth. For example, if you were born January 1975, your default PIN is 0175.
Once the enrollment process is complete for a plan, you will have the chance to review and confirm your entries before submitting your enrollment information. An email confirmation will be sent to the email address you provide during the enrollment process. In addition, a separate confirmation of your enrollment will be mailed to the postal address you provide.
If you prefer, you can call directly for personal services
- Delaware office is at 10 Corporate Circle Suite 205 in New Castle, DE 19720
- Office Line is 302-318-8840 and advisors can be reached directly at:
- Chris Mann 302-423-4065; cmann@voyafa.com
- Steve Mercer 302-270-2632; smercer@voyafa.com
- Marianne LaRock-McGuckin 302-540-4052; mlmcguckin@voyafa.com
- Richard O’Neil 302-900-1123; richard.oneill@voyafa.com
Employee Self Service
Having Trouble Accessing Employee Self Service?
HOW TO VIEW AND ACCESS YOUR PAYSTATEMENT AND PERSONAL CONTACT INFORMATION
All staff – (Part-Time, Full-Time, Casual/Seasonal, EPER & Student Workers) have access to Employee Self Service (ESS). This is where you will view your paycheck, access your personal information to update your contact information; home address, telephone and view your benefits. Access to ESS is through my.delaware.gov. ALL State of Delaware employees (Colonial School District staff) are required to setup their my.delaware.gov accounts. If you have not yet taken action to do this, please take a moment. There’s a video link below that will walk you through the step by step instructions on how to setup the account. This is a great tool for anyone who needs support with the process my.delaware.gov.
Link to Creating Your My.Delaware.Gov Account: https://youtu.be/4-Qm-b9edho
Link to My.Delaware.Gov: State of Delaware - Sign In
IMPORTANT TIPS:
- There is a 24-72 hour delay from when you complete the steps to setup and activate the account to when you will see the ESS tile appear within your my.delaware.gov account. If you are planning to attend and of the First Payday Workshops on Sept 9th, you MUST have taken action to setup and activate your account no later than Tuesday, Sept 6th
- If after the 24-72 hour wait timeframe you do not see the Employee Self Service tile/box, then message Shelley Vincent (michelle.vincent@colonial.k12.de.us) with the home email address you entered when registering for the account.
- You can also contact Dept. of Technology (DTI) directly at 1-866-751-7833 to request tech support. Please note Colonial School District Technology team is not responsible for my.delaware.gov – this is run through DTI.
- If you setup your account during the previous school year, OR you transferred to Colonial School District from another State of Delaware School District, Charter or Merit agency, then you will use the same information/account previously setup
NOTICES
Federal Required Forms
Section 1512 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the HIPAA Privacy rule require employers to send several notices to employees upon their hire and/or enrollment in a health plan in order to remain federally compliant.
Colonial School District Benefits Office
Contacts:
Myeshia Jones-Christopher, Benefits Specialist
Email: Myeshia.JonesChristopher@colonial.k12.de.us
Darcel Porter, Benefits Secretary
Email: Darcel.Porter@colonial.k12.de.us
Address: 318 East Basin Road, New Castle, DE 19720
Website: https://www.colonialschooldistrict.org/employees/benefits/
CSD
The Colonial School District shall not discriminate in its employment practices or its educational programs and activities of students on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, domicile, marital status, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any legally protected characteristic.