Newark High School (Delaware)


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, in 2007 it was #271, and in 2008 it was #1041. 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 for its outstanding commitment to music education. Newark won the DIAA Sportsmanship Award in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006.

School history

1893-1897

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 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.
Slowly, as the town began to grow, conditions began to get cramped at 83 East Main Street. When the school 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. 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

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 under the direction of seven faculty members.
The daily routine at the Newark Public School 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 was built in 1924 at a cost of $417,225 off of High Street. 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. 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.
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 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 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 ; 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 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 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.
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, Sami Bandak and Jonathan Owens, Newark defeated Brandywine High School 23-32 for the Conference Crown and earned the State title by 76-77 over Salesianum.
In 1995, a random spectator broke his watch when he punched the wall during a basketball game. His legacy lives on to this day. Today, Newark features four classroom wings on three floors, five administrative centers, two cafeterias, two gyms, a telecommunications studio, a distance learning lab, a Wellness Center, nearly 800 computers available for student use, a library, 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 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 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. 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 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 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 raised $67,000 through donations to repair the system, notably receiving checks from notable football alumni Kwame Harris and the National Football League. 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. 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, 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

Ethnicity2013-20142012-20132011-20122010-20112009-20102008-20092007-20082006-20072005-2006
White, not Hispanic42.3%46.3%46.8%47.2%49.4%49.3%52.7%53.6%56.2%
Black, not Hispanic36.0%34.4%34.0%35.8%35.8%35.7%33.0%33.2%31.8%
Hispanic14.7%12.2%12.1%10.6%9.7%9.8%9.0%8.0%7.6%
Asian/Pacific Islander5.8%6.1%6.6%5.8%5.0%5.2%5.1%4.8%4.0%
Native American/Alaskan Native/Hawaiian Native0.2%0.3%0.2%0.3%0.1%0.0%0.1%0.4%0.4%

EthnicityPercentage of staffYears of teaching experiencePercentage of staff
White, not Hispanic81.1%Less than 4 years24.0%
Black, not Hispanic16.2%5 to 9 years21.0%
Hispanic1.8%10 to 19 years35.0%
Asian American0.0%20 to 29 years14.0%
Native American/Alaskan Native0.9%30 or more years6.0%

Newark State Testing scores (10th grade)

2014 score2014 News Journal rank
Math86713/38
Reading85219/38

2014 score2013 score2012 score2011 score2010 score2009 score2008 score2007 score2006 score2005 score2004 score2003 score2002 score
Math867 859 854 838 533 531 532 523 530 531 538 536 521
Reading852 852 833 819 507 513 514 521 511 518 522 520 511

----

Newark SAT scores

Class of '12Class of '11Class of '10Class of '09Class of '08Class of '07Class of '06
Mathn/a479504499502516521
Critical Readingn/a487510496501505507
Writingn/a465497482482493494
Combinedn/a143115111477148515141522

2012 scores2011 scores
Mathn/a451
Critical Readingn/a442
Writingn/a434
Combinedn/a1327

----

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
200271581648352%
2003818720314169%
20041020830421571%
20052555960530454%
20062135873836850%
20072328044818040%
20081922032317554%
20091830448727256%
20102632062635857%
20114133144224856%
2012n/an/an/an/an/a

National rank Rank within Delaware % graduating with a passing grade on the national exam
2006521/12364/622.7%
2007271/13512/927.9%
20081041/13587/921.3%

State Championship Victories since 1942 - Blue Hen Conference "Flight A" school
Newark teams that have not won a state championship
Club sports