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Charter School of Wilmington

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Coordinates: 39°45′12″N 75°35′18″W / 39.75328°N 75.58832°W / 39.75328; -75.58832
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Charter School of Wilmington
Address
Map
100 N. DuPont Road

Wilmington
,
Delaware
19807

United States
Coordinates39°45′12″N 75°35′18″W / 39.75328°N 75.58832°W / 39.75328; -75.58832
Information
TypeCharter school
MottoExcellence Community Leadership
Established1996 (29 years ago) (1996)
School districtRed Clay Consolidated School District[1]
CEEB code080164
NCES School ID100000400012
PresidentMaura Treibenbacher (2025–present) (Acting)
Grades9–12
Number of students970 (2024–2025)
Capacity970
Campus typeHybrid
Color(s)Blue and white
  
AthleticsDelaware Interscholastic Athletic Association
Athletics conferenceDiamond State Athletic Conference
MascotThe Force Calculators
NicknameThe Force
National ranking209 in National Public Schools 51 in National Charter Schools [2]
NewspaperThe Force File
Websitecharterschool.org

The Charter School of Wilmington (CSW) is a college preparatory charter high school in Wilmington, Delaware.[3] It is Delaware's first independently operated public school whose curriculum emphasizes math and science.[4] It shares the former Wilmington High School building with Cab Calloway School of the Arts.[5]

History

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The Charter School of Wilmington was chartered by the Red Clay Consolidated School District to replace the Academy of Mathematics and Science magnet school and opened in 1996.[6] Today, the school is operated by a consortium of six companies: AstraZeneca, Verizon, Delmarva Power, DuPont, Hercules Incorporated, and Christiana Care Health System.[7] It is a member of the National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools, a group of around 100 high schools, as well as affiliates such as colleges and universities, summer programs, foundations, and corporations.[8][9]

Academics

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Students look over a UD MATH 243 problem after school.

In 2021,U.S. News & World Report ranked it #74 of nearly 18,000 high schools considered and Newsweek ranked it #94 of STEM schools nationwide.[3][10] In 2013, CSW was given a Recognition School award from the Delaware Department of Education for exceptional performance and in 2013 and 2019, the US Department of Education named them a National Blue Ribbon School.[11][12][13] In June 2014, CSW's Jefferson Awards Council was given the Outstanding Service for Jefferson Council Volunteer award.[14] In early May 2025, it was announced that CSW had won the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM competition,[15] that came with a $100k prize. [16]

Students also have the option of taking classes such as visual arts, drama, and music at Cab Calloway School of the Arts, who they share a building with.[17] They also have the opportunity to dual enroll at the University of Delaware.[18] During their sophomore and senior year, students must complete a research project for the science fair.[19] Freshmen take Introduction to Scientific Research to prepare for this annual event.[19] These research projects were chosen by Sophomores prior to the 2023-2024 school year.

Students

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The Charter Charger, named Lightning and known colloquially as the Force Horse."

Demographics

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In 2020, White students make large proportions of the student body and about 30% of the students were Asian American.[3] Fewer than 8% of the student bodies combined from this school and Cab Calloway School of the Arts reside in the City of Wilmington, and fewer than 3% are Wilmington residents who are black and/or Hispanic/Latino or multiracial.[20] Barrish and Eichmann wrote that an Asian American suburban student living in an "affluent" area "is a fairly typical Charter of Wilmington student."[20]

Extra-curriculars

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Students have the option of joining concert band and marching band, of which are associated with Cab Calloway School of the Arts.[17] Conversely, students that attend the Cab Calloway school have the ability to participate on Charter sports teams in void of having their own teams.

The Force File

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The school's newspaper, The Force File, is a digital-first newspaper owned and operated by CSW students.[21]

Administration

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On March 7th, 2025, CSW abruptly informed students, staff, and parents about the termination of former president of the school Reginald Johnson's employment. Currently, the school has not disclosed the reason as to why Johnson had been relieved of his position. In the interim, Maura Triebenbacher, former Vice President, has become acting president as the administration begins the process of choosing a new president.[22][23]

Potential Relocation

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In early March 2025, talks at the Red Clay Consolidated School District committee resulted proposals for a relocation of the school to alternative locations, such as the current campus of fellow Red Clay School Thomas McKean High School. These talks began as a result of dwindling enrollment in Red Clay Schools around Delaware. All three traditional public schools, A.I. Dupont, Dickinson, and McKean, were running at 46%, 88%, and 96% capacity, respectively, while Charter School of Wilmington's enrollment is consistent filled to the current max of 970 total students.

The talks concluded with twelve ideas that would potentially balance enrollment amongst the Red Clay Schools:

  • Repurposing one of the high schools into a Vo-Tech/Innovation Center, bringing the district down to two traditional high schools.
  • Creating the innovation center, but making it Grades 6-12
  • Moving Dickinson's middle school program to Skyline, increasing its high school capacity if it becomes one of the two high schools going forward
  • Creating an online school for Grades 6-12
  • Moving Charter School of Wilmington to an existing high school (McKean), allowing for old Wilmington High School to be used as part of the Redding Consortium's new spread of city students [20][24]
  • Expanding Dickinson to a Grade 6-12 IB magnet program
  • Merging A.I. duPont Middle School and A.I. duPont High School, similar to Delmar and Laurel downstate
  • Consolidating one middle school, going from 8 to 7
  • Making a Warner/Shortlidge Community School going from Grades K-8
  • Making a Warner Community School going from Grades K-12, effectively putting an 8th high school under the umbrella of Red Clay
  • Capping the Conrad and Cab magnet schools to lower enrollments
  • Choice busing for all students

The act of moving the CSW to the current McKean building would allow for the school to have total control of their facilities at McKean, unlike the current rental agreement that Charter is currently under within their current building. [25]

Media appearances

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The Charter School of Wilmington's founder, Ronald Russo, has been featured on TruTV's The Principal's Office.

Notable alumni

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Notable faculty and staff

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  • Chris Eddy (Athletic Director, 2009—present), former MLB pitcher

References

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  1. ^ Charter School of Wilmington. "Charter School of Wilmington: Quick Fact Sheet". Archived from the original on August 22, 2008. Retrieved September 13, 2008.
  2. ^ USNWR. ""National School Rankings"". Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "Charter School of Wilmington". U.S. News & World Report. 2021. Archived from the original on July 8, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  4. ^ "Class of 2021 profile" (PDF). The Charter School of Wilmington. 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  5. ^ "Cab Calloway School of the Arts". Delaware Today. December 16, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  6. ^ "The Charter School of Wilmington: A Proposal to Establish a Math/Science Charter School at Wilmington High School" (PDF). Red Clay Consolidated School District. October 30, 1995. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  7. ^ "Board of Directors". The Charter School of Wilmington. n.d. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  8. ^ "About". The National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools. n.d. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  9. ^ "Institutional Members". The National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools. n.d. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  10. ^ "Best STEM Schools". Newsweek. 2020. Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  11. ^ "CSW 2019 National Blue Ribbon School Video Released". The Charter School of Wilmington. 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  12. ^ "Delaware Names 2013 Reward and Recognition School Awards". Delaware.gov. October 15, 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  13. ^ "2013 National Blue Ribbon Schools All Public and Private" (PDF). US Department of Education. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 21, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  14. ^ "Delaware Department of Education: Charter School Annual Report" (PDF). Delaware Department of Education. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  15. ^ "Solve for Tomorrow | Investing in Students | Samsung US". Samsung Electronics America. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  16. ^ Rutz, Jarek (May 5, 2025). "Charter School of Wilmington wins national STEM Competition and $100K". Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  17. ^ a b Nagengast, Larry (September 22, 2017). "Cab Calloway School of the Arts celebrates 25th anniversary". Delaware Public Media. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  18. ^ Bothum, Peter (April 16, 2021). "LAB LEARNING". University of Delaware. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  19. ^ a b "Students Making Science". National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  20. ^ a b c Barrish, Cris; Eichmann, Mark (January 18, 2020). "Could bringing back Wilmington High help fix school inequities?". WHYY. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  21. ^ "Force File". Charter School of Wilmington. n.d. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  22. ^ "Client Challenge". www.charterschool.org. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  23. ^ "President - The Charter School of Wilmington at XpanseHR". xpansehr.breezy.hr. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  24. ^ "$60M investment will expand high school and college opportunities for Wilmington students". WHYY. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  25. ^ Greene, Sean (April 15, 2025). "Could McKean become the new home of the Charter School of Wilmington?". WDEL 101.7FM. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  26. ^ Tresolini, Kevin. "Gemmell set to swim for second U.S. Olympic berth". The News Journal. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  27. ^ Holveck, Brandon. "Harvard runner Kieran Tuntivate becomes second Delawarean to break four minutes in the mile". The News Journal. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  28. ^ "About Madinah". Madinah Wilson-Anton. n.d. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
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