John Dickinson High School is a comprehensive four-year high school located on a 67-acre campus near Wilmington, Delaware in New Castle County. Built in the Pike Creek Valley in 1959, the school takes its name from John Dickinson, one of colonial America's patriots. One of five high schools in the Red Clay Consolidated School District, JDHS currently has an enrollment of about 1000 students and a staff of about 75.
| John Dickinson High School | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1959 |
| Type | Public |
| Principal | Dr. Jeffrey A. Lawson |
| Asst. Principal | Valerie Martinez, Daniel Deppe, Christopher Kohan |
| Students | approx. 1,000 |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Location | 1801 Milltown Rd., Wilmington, Delaware, USA |
| District | Red Clay Consolidated School District |
| Colors | Columbia blue and White |
| Mascot | Ram |
Directions to the school can be found here. A full updated faculty list can be found here.
Contents |
Recent Awards and Accomplishments
Students from the Class of 2005 received local and national awards for art, automotive technology, business education, digital media, English, family and consumer science, graphic arts, instrumental music, Jobs for Delaware Graduates, mathematics, athletics, Physical Education, science, social studies, technology education, theater, world languages, citizenship, leadership, and community service. 41 students received the Principal’s Award for Educational Excellence and 61 students were inducted into the National Honor Society. Last year’s seniors received some of the following awards and scholarships: United States Marine Corps, Scholarship Excellence Award; Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Award; University of Delaware Merit-Based Aid; City of Wilmington Academic Scholarship; Delaware State University Academic Incentive Award; The William J. Laws Education Award Merit Scholarship from The Achievers, Inc.; AXA Achievement Scholarship (In Association with the U.S. News and World Report); The William Branch American Association of University Women and the Wilmington West Rotary Scholarship; Diamond State Scholarship; The Diamond State Classic Female Basketball Award; Legislative Essay Scholarship; The Air Force Math and Science Award; The American Association of University Women at the Trabant Center at the University of Delaware; and the Ciba Specialty Chemical Education Foundation Science Award.
Higher Level Courses
Students at John Dickinson High School are able to receive college credit for English, Calculus, Statistics, Economics, Government, U.S. History, Physics, Biology, and Chemistry and, starting in 2005, Psychology. Honors courses are offered at every level in core-curriculum. Those courses include English, algebra, geometry, pre-calculus, U.S. history, economics & government, world history, physical science, biology, chemistry and physics. Starting in 2006/07 John Dickinson High School will offer a Microsoft Computer Systems Engineering Program of study. The three year program will provide students with the following Microsoft A+ certification skills: • Brand neutral networking A+ certification
• Microsoft Windows networking
• Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol and Internet information server installation, management and troubleshooting
Sports
JDHS currently fields teams in cross country, soccer, basketball, indoor track, swimming, tennis, outdoor track & field, volleyball, field hockey, football, cheerleading, wrestling, baseball, golf, and softball. More about sports at Dickinson can be found at Rams Sports.com
Performing Arts
Dickinson High School has an extensive music program. The Instrumental Department includes marching, concert, and jazz bands. The Choral Department comprises a concert choir, a women’s choir, and the Dickinson Singers, a renaissance a capella group. Productions by the Drama department include a spring musical as well as fall and spring dramatic presentations. Support for JDHS Performing Arts Department activities comes from the Performing Arts Boosters. The JDHS marching band has long been accompanied by a colorguard, and the school has a new dance team. The bands are now under the direction of Matthew Hooper, and the choirs are under the direction of Sheila Cassidy.
School History
In the fall of 1994, a substantial portion of the school was damaged by fire, closing the school for several months. Students and teachers shared the space of nearby McKean High School, with McKean students attending classes from roughly six a.m. until noon and Dickinson students in class from roughly noon until six p.m. Fears that the graduating class of 1995 would not be able to hold their commencement at JDHS didn't come true, and the ceremony was held that year on the JDHS football field per tradition. U.S. Senator Joseph Biden was the speaker.
In 2006 many bomb threats had hit Dickinson High School. 3 had been announced in 1 day. Once in A lunch and once in C lunch.
As the school was renovating and building the new foreign language department to the school. One of the workers fell into a hole injuring his leg & forcing a medical helicopter to land in the school parking lot.
In October of 2006, there was a gas leak at the school that caused several students and faculty members to go to the hospital. It seemed to have been caused by a spicket being left on in one of the science labs and when the teacher returned she was greeted with a ploom full of gas. The school was evacuated for a period of time until the gas disapated.
