William Penn High School (Delaware)

William Penn High School
Location
New Castle, Delaware
Information
Type	Public
Motto	"Where excellence is the norm and the tradition."
Established	1921
Principal	Jeffrey Menzer
Grades	9 to 12
Enrollment	2330
Campus	Suburban
Color(s)	Cherry & Black
Athletics conference	Blue Hen Flight A
Mascot	Colonial
Website	Official website

William Penn High School, also known and referred to as William Penn or simply Penn is a four-year comprehensive, coeducational public 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.

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.

Student Demographics

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%	2.6%
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)

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.

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%

Departments

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

• Agriculture
• Art
• Business Education
• English
• Foreign Language
• Foreign Integration
• Math
• Music
• Physical Education
• Science
• Social Studies
• Special Education
• Technical Education
• JROTC

School Areas

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

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 (1996, 1999, 2001,2009)
• Basketball-Girls (1976, 1993, 1998)
• Cheerleading
• Cross Country
• Field Hockey (1988, 1994)
• Football (1982, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2006)
• 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 (1983, 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 12 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.

Notable alumni

• Devin Smith, professional basketball player
• Richard B. Weldon, Jr. - member, Maryland House of Delegates
• Tyler Ford, screenwriter, director, producer, creator of River Ridge (Web Series)
• Jeff Otah, professional football player, Carolina Panthers

See also

• List of high schools in Delaware
• Colonial School District (Delaware)
• William Penn

References

• Delaware School Profile Information

External links

• William Penn High School
• New Castle-William Penn Alumni Association
• William Penn Faculty Listing
• William Penn Athletics