High school (grades 9-12) · New Castle, DE

Penn (William) High School

Federal NCES profile for Penn (William) High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 37/100.

2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 100023000209
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Compiled from official source data by .
0/100100/10037/100
👥 S:T ratio
33
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
48
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Penn (William) High School earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 85% of Delaware schools. It is also one of the largest schools in Delaware.

#3 of 14
public schools in New Castle · Resource Index
37
Resource Index · Typical
16.7:1
large classes for Delaware
2,069
students enrolled

Penn (William) High School has class sizes larger than 85% of Delaware schools. Computed live against every Delaware school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Penn (William) High School ranks #3 of 14 public schools in New Castle, DE.

School address

New Castle, DE 19720
District: Colonial School District · Delaware

NCES ID 100023000209 Verify on NCES CCD record →

CCD year-over-year · 2022-23 → 2023-24

-162 students YoY

Penn (William) High School shrank from 2,239 students in 2022-23 to 2,077 in 2023-24 (-7.2%).

Teacher FTE lost 124.0 → 119.0 across the same CCD years.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data public-school universe (2022-23, 2023-24).

Shrinking CCD campus

-162 students YoY 100023000209 · New Castle, DE High · LARGE · TRAD

2,069 enr · 16.7:1 · RII 37

Nearest enrollment peer: Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary (1,052 students)

Penn (William) High School shrank from 2,239 students in 2022-23 to 2,077 in 2023-24 (-7.2%). Teacher FTE lost 124.0 → 119.0 across the same CCD years. Read with this school → · District book → · Delaware schools → · Find another →

Penn (William) High School in the enrollment neighbourhood

Fall enrollment among this campus and nearest district peers

students

What this shows Penn (William) High School reports 2,069 students on the CCD universe file.

Source U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data (Public School Universe) As of 2024-25

How Penn (William) High School compares

Penn (William) High School is a shrinking campus on CCD: ratios and free-lunch share vs Delaware and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Delaware Delaware avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 16.7:1 ▲ 20% 13.9:1 15.7:1
Enrollment 2,069 top 1% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

16.7:1
Leaner classes than 33% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
2,069
Bigger than 98% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators methodology

Staffing depth
16.7:1
students per teacher - 20% above state mean
Top 85% in Delaware - lower ratio than 15% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Funding equity
$23,018
per pupil, district-wide - above Delaware avg of $18,304
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors8.0 FTE
Per 259 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
196
in-school suspensions + 332 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 9.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 25.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 31 expulsions.

Student demographics

African American 49.8%
Hispanic or Latino 23.3%
White 21.4%
Two or More 3.2%
Asian 1.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%

Largest group: African American at 49.8% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 65.1/100

Simpson diversity index - at 65.1, Penn (William) High School is more mixed than the Delaware school average of 61.3.

Programs

AP courses offered 19

District finance for Colonial School District reports $23,018 per pupil (NCES F-33) - open the district page for the full revenue mix.

How Penn (William) High School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary Smaller No free-lunch data Lower S:T ratio
Bedford (Gunning) Middle School Smaller No free-lunch data Similar S:T ratio
Southern Elementary School Smaller No free-lunch data Lower S:T ratio
Read (George) Middle School Smaller No free-lunch data Lower S:T ratio
Mccullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School Smaller No free-lunch data Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Penn (William) High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Colonial School District · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Nationwide high schools with similar size or staffing

Out-of-state peers matched by enrollment and by student-teacher ratio, not the same-city or same-district lists above.

Similar enrollment (~2,069 students)

Similar student-teacher ratio (~16.7:1)

Frequently asked questions about Penn (William) High School

How many students attend Penn (William) High School?

Penn (William) High School has 2,069 students enrolled. It is a high school in New Castle, DE. CCD year-over-year: 2,239 (2022-23) → 2,077 (2023-24), down 162.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Penn (William) High School?

The student-teacher ratio at Penn (William) High School is 16.7:1, which is 20% higher than the Delaware average of 13.9:1 and 6% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Penn (William) High School?

The largest demographic group at Penn (William) High School is African American at 49.8% of enrollment, in New Castle, DE. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 65.1/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Penn (William) High School?

Penn (William) High School has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, counselor availability. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Penn (William) High School rank among public schools in New Castle?

By Resource Investment Index, Penn (William) High School ranks #3 of 14 public schools in New Castle, DE. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in New Castle on the city page.

What other schools are in Colonial School District?

Besides Penn (William) High School, Colonial School District also operates Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary (1,052 students), Bedford (Gunning) Middle School (846 students), and Southern Elementary School (729 students). See the Colonial School District district page for the complete list.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2022-23) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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Compiled from official source data by .