Newark High School (Delaware)

Newark High School

Excellence is the Expectation
Location
Newark, Delaware
USA
Information
Type Public secondary
Established 1893
School district Christina School District
Principal Aaron Selekman
Grades 9–12
Enrollment 1,512
Campus Semi-urban (small city)
Color(s) Black and gold
Mascot Yellowjacket (named Buzz)
Yearbook Krawen
Athletics Blue Hen Conference - Flight A; 24 varsity sports (1 club sport)
Website http://www.newarkhigh.org/

Newark High School is a public high school in Newark, Delaware and is one of three high schools within the Christina School District. It is one of the oldest educational institutions in the state, graduating its first class of students in 1893. In 2009 it saw its 20,000th student graduate. Newark is the only remaining "downtown" non-charter public High School in New Castle County.

Newark has been named by Newsweek magazine as one of their "Top Schools in America." In 2006 Newark was ranked #521,[1] in 2007 it was #271,[1] and in 2008 it was #1041.[2] This list represents the top 5% of the schools in the nation based on the number of AP, IB, and Cambridge exams taken divided by students graduating. The school was also named a GRAMMY Signature School in 2010 by the GRAMMY Foundation[3] for its outstanding commitment to music education. Newark won the DIAA Sportsmanship Award in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006.

School history

1893-1897

Old Newark Comprehensive School building

The first incarnation of what became Newark High School was located on 83 East Main Street in downtown Newark. The building itself belonged to the Unified School District and was erected by the town in 1884 at the cost of $10,000. When it was built, students wishing to pursue an education past the eighth grade would have had to move to nearby Wilmington, Delaware or attend private schools, like the nearby Newark Academy.

Originally intended to instruct students through eighth grade, the building began college preparation (high school level) classes on the second floor of the building in the early 1890s. The first graduating class consisted of nine students in 1893, nearly matching the amount of faculty members at the time (five).

Slowly, as the town began to grow, conditions began to get cramped at 83 East Main Street. When the school (and its 185 students from first through twelfth grade) moved to a larger facility in 1898, 83 East Main Street remained the school district's primary school until the 1920s, served as part of the high school's vocational program until the 1950s, and became the headquarters for the Newark Special School District through 1981. When the Christina School District was created in 1981, the location was absorbed by the new district and continued to be used as the district headquarters until 2004.

The building is currently owned by the University of Delaware, which renovated the building in 2011 and currently serves as its primary bookstore.[4] This building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982 and as such the exterior of the building will remain intact.

1898-1924

Academy of Newark building

In 1898, the school population moved to the recently vacated Academy of Newark Building at the corner of Main and Academy Streets in Newark. The Newark Academy, which had previously occupied the building, had closed the previous year. The building itself was constructed in 1843 and was originally home to the Academy of Newark, a predecessor to the University of Delaware.

While at the Academy Building, the only prolonged educational interruption in Newark's history occurred. During October 1918, classes were suspended for three weeks due to the Spanish Flu, which was particularly bad in the Philadelphia metro area. No students or faculty members are believed to have died from the influenza pandemic in 1918. A total of 109 students attended Newark that year (28 of whom were seniors) under the direction of seven faculty members.

The daily routine at the Newark Public School (as it was called then) started at 8 am and ended at 4 pm. All sports games and practices were held behind Wolf Hall on the University of Delaware campus since they had the only available sports fields in the area at the time. Various traditions, most notably the first documented prom at Wolf Hall in 1923, began during this period in Newark's history.

As the school continued to grow, a report on Delaware schools conducted by Columbia University ended up spurring the local community to build a more modern facility. The report listed various problems, calling the building an "inadequate fire trap" with "narrow halls", "inaccessible" outhouses and a basement "deep in mud and water."

Currently, the Newark Academy Building belongs to the University of Delaware and is home to the Office of Public Relations. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976.

1924-1956

The third incarnation of what became known as Newark High School (housing grades one through twelve) was built in 1924 at a cost of $417,225 off of High Street (later renamed Academy Street).[5] Local philanthropist Pierre S. DuPont was one of the main benefactors of the district when it sought construction money for the building, donating $125,000.

A few blocks away on New London Road, the Newark Colored School was built for the African-American population of Newark for $36,250.[6] Over 50% of the cost, about $19,000, was donated once again by DuPont, making the Newark Colored School one of the most expensive one room schoolhouses in the country (although it still paled in comparison in terms of facilities and faculty).

While at the High Street address, Newark saw the birth of the school newspaper, The Yellowjacket Buzz, in 1936. The paper was originally produced monthly, and by the 1940s it was published twice a month. It was sold for 10 cents a copy. Originally starting as a supplement in the Buzz, the first yearbook (the Krawen) was published in 1941. The paper-covered book was 60 pages long and contained advertisements to help keep the cost to students down. Both the Buzz and Krawen are among the oldest continuously running student-run publications in Delaware.

The first documented senior class trip, which stayed in the Lafayette Hotel in Washington, D.C. after traveling by train, took place in 1938. The following year, the Class of 1939 traveled to New York City and visited the 1939 World's Fair. As a sign of the growing nature of NHS, 1939 was also the first year with split lunches.

When World War II arrived, many faculty members (and eventually several students) were either drafted or enlisted in the military. Several members of the Class of 1944 were called upon to teach classes due to a shortage of available teachers. Arthur Gribble, William Lehman, Anthony Gaskiewicz, Ollie Salminen, Oliver Suddard, and Eugene Campbell (Class of 1944); Frank Sanborn, Walter "Cueball" Martin, Howard Dean, "Ebbie" Lewis, "Alex" Zabenko, Robert Davis, Gerald Gilston, Lewis McCormick, Henry Hammond, Hugh McKinney, Herbert Murphy, Oscar Pickett and Thomas Runk (Class of 1945) all enlisted in the service prior to their graduations. Another long-term impact on student life at Newark began as Driver's Education became a class in 1944.

Following the war, an influx of families to the city of Newark (which only increased with the building of I-95 nearby) caused the student population to swell at a rate of nearly 15% a year between 1945 and 1960. Enrollment jumped at NHS from 586 in 1956 to 1096 in 1960. This growth eventually led to calls for a newer facility, which was completed in 1956.

The High Street building was transformed into Central Middle School following the move and continued to serve the Newark community until 1981. In 1983, it was sold to the University of Delaware, who rededicated the building in 1994 as Pearson Hall. It currently houses the Geography Department, the Communications Department, and SLTV (UD's student-run television network).

The site of the Newark Colored School was bought by the City of Newark following the integration of both populations in 1956. The building, now known as the George Wilson Center, is still used by the City of Newark for meetings and events.

1956-present

With an increasing population in the city and the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling, the current incarnation of Newark High School opened as an integrated school able to serve a student population of around 1,000. At a cost of $3,532,312.24, the facility at 750 East Delaware Avenue was completed in 1956. It was not quite ready for the first day of school, and split sessions were used to begin the year. In October 1956, the 10-12th graders came to the Academy Street address, collected their books and walked a half mile to the new school.

The school itself was later expanded in 1970 in order to accommodate additional growth, adding the three story E and D wings, a second cafeteria, a new library, and a second gym, which was among the largest in the area at the time. The only difference in the classrooms between the old wing and the new wing was the lack of a teacher office in the classroom. Christiana High School was also opened in 1963 to alleviate overcrowding concerns at Newark. With the expansion, ninth grade was added to the building.

1962 also saw the beginning of athletic excellence in cross country when the Yellowjackets won both the Blue Hen Conference and State Championships for the first time in school history. Led by a trio of phenoms, Jake Correll (the Machine), Sami Bandak (the Spark Plug) and Jonathan Owens (The Big O), Newark defeated Brandywine High School 23-32 for the Conference Crown and earned the State title by 76-77 over Salesianum.

Today, Newark features four classroom wings on three floors (103 classrooms in all), five administrative centers, two cafeterias, two gyms, a telecommunications studio (which started cable-casting in 1970), a distance learning lab, a Wellness Center (since 1994), nearly 800 computers available for student use, a library (with 20,000 books), and a 700-seat auditorium.

Despite its location within the city limits of Newark, by the 1970s Newark was known, at least in ag circles, as “the farm school” in the state of Delaware. At its height, NHS had five ag teachers at that time, owned and harvested crop fields, and had a working farm shop. The centerpiece of this program was (and still is) the greenhouse behind the school, which is the largest in the state.

The campus' athletic facilities include a 400-meter track and field with shot-put and discus throwing areas; long, triple, and high jump facilities and a pole-vaulting area; a soccer field that doubles as the baseball field's outfield; a football field that doubles as a soccer and lacrosse field; two softball fields and six tennis courts. The building was last renovated in 1998, although several capital improvements, such as central air for the entire building, were approved in a 2002 referendum and completed in 2006.

Newark hosted a Millennium Reunion in June 2000. The event was the brainchild of NHS 1978 grad the late Kay Cole Buglass, and welcomed alumni from all graduating years up till 2000. The event was hosted by many volunteer organizations including the then-active Army JROTC unit, the Key Club and many volunteer alumni. The event was a big success that was complemented by the book Buzzing through the Years, authored by Kay, who had written the book to complement the reunion and to provide a detailed history of Newark High School for its alumni. Two copies of this book were provided to the high school's library. The Millennium Reunion was instrumental in the reunion committee receiving an award from the Delaware House of Representatives for building better school spirit. It also revitalized the dormant NHS Alumni Association.

Current issues

Despite the school's large student population (the third largest in the state), the school currently occupies the smallest area of any high school in the state - a site which would be prohibited if the construction had taken place today (due to various land sales, expansions of the building, and the Christina Transportation lot "eating" away at the original area).[7] Many of the school's sports teams practice at nearby middle schools due to space limitations.

Parking is also extremely limited due to space limitations. Attempts to rectify the parking situation have placed Newark in the news during periods of high enrollment, most notably disagreements between the school's student population and local businesses in the College Square Shopping Center in 2004[8] and the failed 2006 referendum that included a proposal for building a $12 million parking garage on the site of the current parking lot. Due to redistricting and demographic changes (fewer students in the attendance area) in the late 2000s, this problem has largely disappeared as an issue amongst the student body.

In the spring of 2007 the lighting system for Hoffman Stadium was deemed unsafe by the school district. Due to financial restraints, the district was unwilling to pay for the repairs, instead turning to the school community to raise the funds. The football booster club[9] raised $67,000 through donations to repair the system, notably receiving checks from notable football alumni Kwame Harris and the National Football League.[10] Newark was one of the first high schools in the state to install stadium lighting in 1987 and Friday evening football has become a tradition at the school.[11] Similar renovations, largely made through donations from boosters and notable alumni, improved the baseball field in 2007, installed a new basketball court floor in the West Gym in 2010, and installed new sports bleachers in the West Gym in 2012.

District information

The Newark School District came into existence under the direction of the City of Newark in 1919. Following the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling, the Newark School District was placed into the jurisdiction of the State of Delaware.

However, the Delaware public school system was redistricted in 1981 following the 1978 U.S. Supreme Court ruling of Evans v. Buchanan (1978 US, 439 U.S. 1360), which found that inequalities still existed and that Delaware schools were not adequately desegregated. Newark High School at that time became part of the Christina School District, which it remains part of today.

Although Newark was desegregated prior to the ruling, with the creation of the Christina School District in 1981, students from the City of Wilmington were bussed to the school, increasing the minority representation in the school. A change in feeder patterns took place in the 2010-2011 school year as the Christina School District reorganized to meet Delaware's Neighborhood Schools Act.

Demographic information

Students

Ethnicity 2013-2014 2012-2013 2011-2012 2010-2011 2009-2010 2008-2009 2007-2008 2006-2007 2005-2006
White, not Hispanic 42.3% 46.3% 46.8% 47.2% 49.4% 49.3% 52.7% 53.6% 56.2%
Black, not Hispanic 36.0% 34.4% 34.0% 35.8% 35.8% 35.7% 33.0% 33.2% 31.8%
Hispanic 14.7% 12.2% 12.1% 10.6% 9.7% 9.8% 9.0% 8.0% 7.6%
Asian/Pacific Islander 5.8% 6.1% 6.6% 5.8% 5.0% 5.2% 5.1% 4.8% 4.0%
Native American/Alaskan Native/Hawaiian Native 0.2% 0.3% 0.2% 0.3% 0.1% 0.0% 0.1% 0.4% 0.4%

Faculty

Ethnicity Percentage of staff Years of teaching experience Percentage of staff
White, not Hispanic 81.1% Less than 4 years 24.0%
Black, not Hispanic 16.2% 5 to 9 years 21.0%
Hispanic 1.8% 10 to 19 years 35.0%
Asian American 0.0% 20 to 29 years 14.0%
Native American/Alaskan Native 0.9% 30 or more years 6.0%

Academics

Newark State Testing scores (10th grade)[13]

2014 score 2014 News Journal rank
Math 867 13/38 (was 17th in '13)
Reading 852 19/38 (was 14th in '13)
2014 score 2013 score 2012 score 2011 score 2010 score 2009 score 2008 score 2007 score 2006 score 2005 score 2004 score 2003 score 2002 score
Math 867 (69%) 859 (69%) 854 (63%) 838 (50%) 533 (54%) 531 (51%) 532 (54%) 523 (56%) 530 (54%) 531 (49%) 538 (55%) 536 (59%) 521 (43%)
Reading 852 (69%) 852 (72%) 833 (61%) 819 (51%) 507 (60%) 513 (62%) 514 (64%) 521 (72%) 511 (63%) 518 (67%) 522 (73%) 520 (73%) 511 (62%)

Newark SAT scores

Class of '12 Class of '11 Class of '10 Class of '09 Class of '08 Class of '07 Class of '06
Math n/a 479 504 499 502 516 521
Critical Reading n/a 487 510 496 501 505 507
Writing n/a 465 497 482 482 493 494
Combined n/a 1431 1511 1477 1485 1514 1522

Newark School Day SAT scores

2012 scores 2011 scores
Math n/a 451
Critical Reading n/a 442
Writing n/a 434
Combined n/a 1327

Newark AP Exam scores

# of AP courses offered # of students taking exams # of exams taken # of exams with a 3 or higher % of passing scores
2002 7 158 164 83 52%
2003 8 187 203 141 69%
2004 10 208 304 215 71%
2005 25 559 605 304 54%
2006 21 358 738 368 50%
2007 23 280 448 180 40%
2008 19 220 323 175 54%
2009 18 304 487 272 56%
2010 26 320 626 358 57%
2011 41 331 442 248 56%
2012 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

America's Top Schools Ranking (calculated by Newsweek and The Daily Beast)

National rank (top 5% schools) Rank within Delaware (35 possible) % graduating with a passing grade on the national exam
2006 521/1236 4/6 22.7%
2007 271/1351 2/9 27.9%
2008 1041/1358 7/9 21.3%

Athletics

State Championship Victories since 1942 (39 total) - Blue Hen Conference "Flight A" school [19]

Newark teams that have not won a state championship

Club sports

School organizations

Trivia

Notable alumni

References

  1. 1 2 America's Top Public High Schools | Newsweek Best High Schools | Newsweek.com
  2. ↑ America's Top Public High Schools
  3. ↑ GRAMMY Foundation
  4. ↑ http://www.udreview.com/web-updates/ud-bookstore-to-relocate-to-main-street-1.554077. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ Newark Public School
  6. ↑ Newark Colored School
  7. ↑ According to Delaware code (14 Del. C. 1953, § 2303)
  8. ↑ Besso, Michele. "With lots full, students bend rules." The News Journal 14 Nov. 2004: B1+.
  9. ↑ http://www.nhsjackets.com/
  10. ↑ Wilson, Lauren. "Football Tradition in danger at Newark High" ABC 6's Action News 31 July 2007: http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=5525797
  11. ↑ Finney, Mike. "Newark lags in fundraising to fix stadium's lights." The News Journal 20 July 2007: http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070720/SPORTS1431/707200379
  12. ↑ http://profiles.doe.k12.de.us/SchoolProfiles/School/Default.aspx?checkSchool=394&districtCode=33
  13. ↑ http://php.delawareonline.com/news/2014/school-test-scores/
  14. ↑ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12532678?s=500&np=13&sort=raa
  15. ↑ http://www.newsweek.com/id/39380/?s=DE
  16. ↑ http://highschools.newsweek.com/topschools_cdn/2008/rank/1/?s=delaware
  17. ↑ http://delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061218/NEWS/612180301
  18. ↑ http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070122/NEWS03/701220336/1008/NEWS03
  19. ↑ "Delaware High School State Team Champions: a searchable database of title winners since 1942". The News Journal. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  20. ↑ "Delaware High School Team State Champions: A searchable database of title winners since 1942". Football State Champion list. The News Journal. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  21. ↑ Collins, Don (2006-08-30). "Winningest football coach at 532 and not about to stop". See table at bottom of page. USA Today. Retrieved 8/20/2011 (Article printed 8/30/2006). Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  22. ↑ "Newark High Football Stats (since 2006-2007 school year)". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  23. ↑
  24. ↑ Pope, Kristian. "At last, Mayer gets call from Del. Hall" The News Journal 17 May 2007: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:tb9R0NoIJywJ:www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D/20070513/SPORTS07/705130357+%22duct+tape+is+the+lifeline%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us
  25. ↑ http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2205460
  26. ↑ http://www.nea.org/neatoday/0610/feature2.html?mode=print

Coordinates: 39°40′48″N 75°44′20″W / 39.68000°N 75.73889°W / 39.68000; -75.73889

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