Concord High School (Wilmington, Delaware)


Concord High School is a public secondary school located in Wilmington, Delaware, one of three high schools in the Brandywine School District. There were 1,217 students enrolled in the fall for the 2012–2013 school year.

Academics

Concord is a fully inclusive high school that is ranked ninth of 15 Delaware public high schools. It offers a range of levels, including AP, Honors, College Preparatory, Traditional, and Special Education, as well as a non-diploma track. Concord participates in DCAS.

Student organizations

Concord is a member of the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association. The Raiders compete in the Blue Hen Conference, and are currently assigned to Flight A based on the school’s enrollment size falling below the conference’s average. For those sports which the DIAA has split schools into divisions for playoffs or state championship meets based on enrollment size, Concord is assigned to Division I. Concord fields a full slate of teams in all three sports seasons:

Fall

Concord's current Athletic Director is Mr. Larry Jacobs.
Concord are partnered with ATI Physical Therapy to provide Sports Medicine Services.

Music & Arts

Choirs

The Concord Players typically put on a play in the fall and a musical in the spring. Previous performances include Singin' in the Rain, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Rumors, The Pajama Game, Charlotte's Web, Mame, You Could Die Laughing, Once Upon a Mattress, You Can't Take It with You, Anything Goes, Bone Chiller, Bye Bye Birdie, Meet Me In St. Louis, Legally Blonde, Shrek The Musical, Fools, Into the Woods, Noises Off, Disney's The Little Mermaid, You Can't Take It with You, The Music Man, You Can't Beat The House, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Play On!, and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

History

In the 1960s, the area north of Wilmington was growing rapidly. The school district was opening new schools as rapidly as possible. Soon, it became apparent that the one high school in the district, Brandywine High School, would not be able to handle the increase in students. The district decided to open a second high school rather than expand the existing one.
The student body for the new high school was developed slowly. At first, students from the existing two junior high schools were selected based on where they lived to attend the yet to be built high school. The first year, Concord High School was held at the then new Hanby Junior High and consisted of 9th and 10th graders. The students met in the top floor while elementary students attended classes in the lower floor while their school was being built. The following year, the student body was expanded to 9th, 10th and 11th grades and the elementary students were moved out to their new home.
During this period, the Concord High School building was under construction and planned to open in the fall of 1969. However, a worker strike and construction issues delayed its opening. Since the school was not completed, the student body now consisting of 10th through 12th grades was forced out of their temporary home at Hanby Junior High and into the Brandywine High School building on double sessions. Brandywine High School students attended their school in the morning, while the Concord students attended in the afternoon.
Concord High School finally opened in January 1970 and the first senior class graduated a few months later in June. Even though the school was open, construction was not completed in several areas including the gym, auditorium and swimming pool until the fall of 1970.
The first principal, Dr. William J. Bailey, promoted what was, at the time, a progressive environment that emphasized trust and responsibility among the students. Students were given then unheard of freedoms and responsibilities, which worked extremely well during the progressive periods of the late 1960s and early 1970s. For example, there was no dress code for students or teachers; there was a students' designated smoking area near the bus stops at the front of the building and a rotating schedule was in place with a free period which the students could use as they pleased, including listening to music in the cafeteria, reading in the library, or doing independent study in the classrooms. At one face-to-face between Dr. Bailey and the senior class Bailey was asked if there could be a "Senior Odd Day" at the school. Bailey paused, looked around the auditorium and jokingly said..."every day's senior odd day at this school." Some courses were offered on a non-graded basis, meaning students were placed depending on their abilities rather than their age. For example, English was offered in 5 levels of mastery and each level could have students from all three grades. Grading earned within each level was still the traditional A – F. Bailey left in the mid-1970s to become a professor of education at the University of Delaware.

Notable alumni