Thomas McKean High School

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Thomas McKean High School
Address
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
301 McKennan's Church Rd.

Wilmington address
,
Delaware

United States
Information
TypePublic
MottoIt's a great day to be a highlander
Established1966
School districtRed Clay Consolidated School District
PrincipalBrian Mattix
Grades9–12
Enrollment759 (2016–17)[1]
Athletics conferenceBlue Hen Conference - Flight B
MascotHighlander
RivalDickinson
AccreditationMiddle States Association’s Commission on Secondary Schools
Websitehttps://www.redclayschools.com/mckean

Thomas McKean High School is a comprehensive public high school located on 301 McKennan's Church Road in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, with a Wilmington postal address.[2] It is a part of the Red Clay Consolidated School District. The school opened in December 1966, and its first class graduated in June 1967.

McKean serves, in addition to portions of Wilmington, Elsmere, and portions of Pike Creek and Hockessin. A sliver of Pike Creek Valley coincides with the McKean zone.[3]

Traditions[]

Having selected Thomas McKean, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, as its namesake, the school followed several traditions associated with the Scottish heritage of Thomas McKean. The mascot is a fierce Highlander, wearing a kilt made of the tartan of the Clan MacDonald. Among the dominant colors of the plaid are blue and green, the school's colors. In addition, the names of the school newspaper - Minstrel - and the yearbook - Talisman - reflect the culture of the Scottish Highlands.

Physical building[]

Originally designed as a model school for flexible scheduling, the building has several unique features and has proven adaptable to many situations. The school expanded in 1972, adding a new wing to the building as well as adding ninth grade to the student body. Thus, the class of 1976 was the first to spend four years at McKean.[4] The school is currently undergoing construction to update the labs and slowly upgrading the school's internal computer network. A new band room and several other new rooms are also being constructed.

Enrollment decline[]

According to the Delaware School Profiles,[when?] Thomas McKean High School is currently declining in enrollment. This may be due to a mix of changing area demographics, the Delaware school choice system, and increasing enrollment at charter and magnet schools across the state. It is, however, most likely due to the poor math, science and English attained by the students enrolled at the school.

In the year 2001, 1,354 students were enrolled at Thomas McKean High School. By the year 2007, 1,062 students were enrolled, a 19% drop.

During the 2013–14 school year, Thomas McKean High School was listed[5] as having 874 students, a slight increase of 11 over the previous school year.

Sports[]

McKean was known to be one of the top public powerhouse men's swimming teams. They consistently finished in the top three for States. Here are some of the team's accomplishments.[6]

Year Men's swimming season accomplishment
1980
  • Blue Hen Conference Champions
1996
  • Blue Hen Conference Champions
1997
  • State Runner-Up
  • Blue Hen Conference Champions
1998
  • Delaware State Champions
  • Blue Hen Conference Champions
1999
  • State Runner-Up
  • Blue Hen Conference Champions
2000
  • Blue Hen Conference Champions
2001
  • State Runner-Up
  • Blue Hen Conference Champions
2002
  • State Runner-Up
  • Blue Hen Conference Champions
2003
  • State Runner-Up
  • Blue Hen Conference Champions
2004
  • State Runner-Up
  • Blue Hen Conference Champions

Student body[]

In 2020 about 20% of the students lived in the City of Wilmington. Almost all of them were Hispanic/Latino and/or African-American. Cris Barrish and Mark Eichmann of WHYY stated that McKean is "A school that matches Wilmington’s demographics".[7]

Academic performance[]

Circa 2021 about 5% of the students and below 25% of the students were proficient in mathematics and English at grade level per Delaware state guidelines, respectively. Barrish and Eichmann wrote "McKean’s performance is the opposite of Cab and Charter."[7]

Points of pride[]

References[]

  1. ^ "McKean (Thomas) High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  2. ^ "Home". John Dickinson High School. Retrieved 2021-06-21. 301 McKennan's Church Road, Wilmington, DE 19808 - The school is not in the Wilmington city limits, as seen in a comparison with the zoning map as of February 2021.
  3. ^ "McKean_Sub_2016.pdf" (PDF). Red Clay Consolidated School District. Retrieved 2021-06-21. - For parts in Wilmington
  4. ^ http://www.k12.de.us/mckean/school/information/history.shtml. Retrieved January 25, 2007. Missing or empty |title= (help)[dead link]
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-06-30. Retrieved 2012-10-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2005-02-13. Retrieved 2007-01-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Barrish, Cris; Eichmann, Mark (2020-01-18). "Could bringing back Wilmington High help fix school inequities?". WHYY. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  8. ^ "Meet Delaware's Rock 'n' Roll Legends". 2 December 2016.

External links[]

Coordinates: 39°45′27″N 75°40′00″W / 39.7574°N 75.6668°W / 39.7574; -75.6668

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