Enrollment
2,069
Delaware · 2024-25 NCES data
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 52/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 100023000209
👥 S:T ratio 33
📚 AP courses 95
🌟 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 52/100 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
- 52
- Resource Index · Higher
- 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
District: Colonial School District · Delaware
NCES ID 100023000209 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
124.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.7:1
vs 13.9:1 Delaware avg
+20% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Penn (William) High School compares with Delaware and U.S. medians
What stands out at Penn (William) High School
Penn (William) High School is a large high school in New Castle, Delaware, enrolling 2,069 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 16.7:1 puts it in the larger third of Delaware schools by student-teacher ratio.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Delaware, bigger than 99% of state schools at 2,069 students.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 222 scored Delaware schools.
Its student body is led by African American (50%) and Hispanic or Latino (23%) (diversity index 65/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 19 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 259 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Discipline events run high: 528 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 2,069 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 31 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Colonial School District also operates Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary (1,052 students) and Bedford (Gunning) Middle School (846 students) alongside Penn (William) High School.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Penn (William) High School compares
Penn (William) High School on the metrics families compare, against 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 (what these measure)
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
$19,934
per pupil, district-wide
- above Delaware avg of $16,990
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.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
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
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Colonial School District, which includes Penn (William) High School.
$19,934
Per student
+17%
vs Delaware
Avg $16,990
+20%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 35.1%
State 53.5%
Federal 11.4%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
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
- Enrollment
- 1,052
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Resource Index
- 22/100
- Enrollment
- 846
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Resource Index
- 21/100
- Enrollment
- 729
- Students per teacher
- 11.8:1
- Resource Index
- 27/100
- Enrollment
- 662
- Students per teacher
- 13:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
- Enrollment
- 615
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Delaware, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~2,069 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~16.7:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Penn (William) High School's federal record.
- Compare Penn (William) High School against another school. Compare schools
- Colonial School District's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
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.
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 52/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, 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.
Is Penn (William) High School a good school?
Penn (William) High School earns 52/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 85% of Delaware schools. It is also one of the largest schools in Delaware. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
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.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.