Charter School of Wilmington
The Charter School of Wilmington (CSW) is a college preparatory charter high school in Wilmington, Delaware. It is Delaware's first independently operated public school whose curriculum emphasizes math and science. It shares the former Wilmington High School building with Cab Calloway School of the Arts. History. 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. Today, the school is operated by a consortium of six companies: AstraZeneca, Verizon, Delmarva Power, DuPont, Hercules Incorporated, and Christiana Care  Health System. 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. Academics. CSW's curriculum focuses on math and science and is consistently ranked highly in publications such as "Newsweek" and "US News and World Report". In 2020/2021,"U.S. News & World Report" ranked it #74 of the 24,000 high schools considered and "Newsweek" ranked it #94 of STEM schools nationwide. 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. In June 2014, CSW's Jefferson Awards Council was given the Outstanding Service for Jefferson Council Volunteer award. CSW uses a modified block schedule with three rotating classes and one fixed class, including mandatory study hall, lasting about 80 minute each along with an "Activity Period" slot. To graduate, students must take 4.5 science credits, 4 math and English credits, 3.5 elective credits, 3 social science credits, 2 language credits, 1 credit of math/science/computer and physical education, and a half  credit of computer science, health, and their junior research project. The school offers nineteen AP courses and several post-AP classes. Some of the electives offered at CSW are software engineering; data structure; differential equations; digital electronics design; introduction to engineering, robotics, and data; forensics; advertising and marketing; programming and algorithms; research and publication in human and computer interaction; and nanotechnology. Incoming freshmen are also permitted to take placement tests so their time at CSW can be tailored to their existing scientific knowledge. 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. They also have the opportunity to dual enroll at the University of Delaware. During their junior year, students must complete a research project for the science fair. Sophomores take Introduction to Scientific Research to prepare for this annual event. Students. Demographics. In 2020 White students make large proportions of the student body and about 30% of the students were Asian American. 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. Barrish and Eichmann wrote that an Asian American suburban student living in an "affluent" area "is a fairly typical Charter of Wilmington student." Extra-curriculars. Music. CSW has a number of musical groups including a cappella club, clarinet choir, flute choir, and show choir. Students also have the option of joining concert band, jazz band, drum line, and marching band, all of which are associated with Cab Calloway School of the Arts. Sports. CSW offers the following sports: football, cheerleading, cross country, field hockey, soccer, volleyball, marching band, basketball , dance, swimming, indoor and outdoor track, wrestling, baseball, crew, golf, lacrosse, softball, and tennis. Fencing and skiing are both club sports. Since CCSA does not offer athletics, their students are permitted to join CSW teams. Newspaper / Force Media. The school's newspaper, "The Force File", is a digital-first newspaper owned and operated by CSW students. It is part of a larger organization known as Force Media, a group which consists of four Charter clubs: Newspaper Club, Photography Club, Ten Minutes Club (which runs a biweekly morning video show at the school, called "Ten Minutes") and Charter's chapter of  The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). Media appearances. The Charter School of Wilmington's founder, Ronald Russo, has been featured on TruTV's "The Principal's Office."