William Penn High School (Delaware)

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William Penn High School
Location
New Castle, Delaware
Information
Principal Jeffrey Menzer (Woody)
Enrollment

2330
Type Public
Grades 9 to 12
Campus Suburban
Athletics conference Blue Hen Flight A
Motto "Where excellence is the norm and the tradition."
Mascot Colonial
Color(s) Cherry & Black
Established 1921
Homepage Official website

William Penn High School, also known and referred to as William Penn or simply Penn is a four-year comprehensive, coeducational high school located in New Castle, Delaware, United States. The school is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and a member of the Colonial School District. It is the largest high school in the state of Delaware. The school mascot is the Colonial.

Contents

[edit] History

William Penn High School was established in 1849 and named after William Penn, who landed in the city of New Castle and founded the Province of Pennsylvania, which would later go on to become the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.

[edit] Student Demographics

[edit] Students

Ethnicity 2007-2008 for William Penn High School 2006-2007 for William Penn High School
White, not Hispanic 37.7% 34.5%
Black, not Hispanic 47.8% 50.6%
Hispanic 11.6% 12.1%
Asian/Pacific Islander 2.5% 2.5%
Native American/Alaskan Native .4% .3%
  • As of the 2006-2007 school year the student to teacher ratio was 17.5 to 1.
  • As of the 2006-2007 school year the percentage of students listed as "limited English proficient" was 5.0% (up from 4.2% the year before)
  • As of the 2006-2007 school year 39% of the student population was listed as "low income" (down from 40% the year before)
  • As of the 2006-2007 school year 13.0% of the student population was listed as "special education" (down from 13.9% from previous year)


[edit] Faculty

Ethnicity Percentage of staff Years of Teaching Experience Percentage of staff
White, not Hispanic 78.8% Less than 3 years 21.2%
Black, not Hispanic 19.2% 3 to 9 years 37.2%
Hispanic 1.3% 10 to 19 years 17.3%
Asian/Pacific Islander 0.0% 20 to 29 years 16.7%
Native American/Alaskan Native 0.6% 30 or more years 7.7%
  • As of the 2006-2007 school year 133 teachers were allocated for WPHS.
  • As of the 2006-2007 school year 45.5% of the Instructional Staff held a Masters Degree or higher.
  • As of the 2006-2007 school year five members of the Instructional Staff held NBPTS (National Board for Professional Teaching Standards) Certification.

[edit] William Penn AP Exam Scores

# of AP Courses Offered # Enrolled # of exams taken # of exams with a 3 or higher  % of Passing Scores
2004 5 98 83 38 46%
2005 8 128 89 48 54%
2006 8 120 104 66 64%

[edit] Departments

The school has a large selection of departments including those with classes mandatory for graduation as well as various elective courses. They are:

[edit] School Areas

William Penn has two libraries, gyms, cafeterias, and an auditorium that can seat approx. 500.

[edit] Athletics

The William Penn Colonials participate in the Blue Hen Flight A Conference in Delaware. Active sports include (with state titles noted) :

  • Baseball (1977, 1978, 1991)
  • Basketball-Boys (1994, 1999, 2001)
  • Basketball-Girls (1976, 1993, 1998)
  • Cheerleading
  • Cross Country
  • Field Hockey (1988, 1994)
  • Football (1982, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2002)
  • Golf
  • Lacrosse-Boys
  • Soccer-Boys
  • Soccer-Girls
  • Softball (1986, 1988, 1989)
  • Swimming-Boys
  • Swimming-Girls
  • Tennis-Boys
  • Tennis-Girls
  • Track & Field-Boys (1996)
  • Track & Field-Girls
  • Volleyball-Girls
  • Wrestling (1993, 1994, 1996, 2000)

(State title information not complete at this time)

William Penn also prides itself on sportsmanship. The school has won the DIAA State Sportsmanship Award an unprecedented 10 years in a row. They were also one of 8 schools in the country to receive the National Sportsmanship award. The WP athletic staff try to influence this by having school sportsmanship weeks, and writing prompts in English class.

[edit] Trivia

  • From end to end, the current William Penn High School building is a quarter of a mile long.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Delaware School Profile Information


[edit] External links