Delaware State University has a surprisingly long history of providing high school education. Delawareans today are familiar with the Early College High School charter school founded in 2014, but this institution actually offered "preparatory" education as early as 1893.
The education program at the State College for Colored Students initially consisted of a normal school that prepared eight-grade graduates to be elementary school teachers. The normal course of study equipped them with an established system of “norms” or methods for instruction. After three years of pedagogy, the students were awarded a teaching certificate and given the option of pursuing a bachelor’s degree during a fourth year. The teaching candidates primarily learned how to instruct conventional disciplines, but they also explored challenges they would likely face in the field -- such as rural school management or issues of classroom heating and lighting.
Aside from the obvious need to have a source of pupils for the teaching candidates to practice with, college administrators also realized that students were generally under-prepared to start collegiate studies. The level of education offered to African American students in wider Delaware was deficient. This was something that Pierre S. DuPont also knew. As a result he funded the construction of numerous schools across Delaware, for both blacks and whites. In 1921 his generosity led to the creation of a two-room "laboratory school" on the State College for Colored Students campus.
The addition of the laboratory school drastically improved the education given to local youths and advanced the intellectual reach of students desiring to enter the SCCS. Consequently, by 1934 the college was able to bolster its admissions requirements and become a truly collegiate institution. At this time it also phased out the Normal Course in favor of a Bachelor’s of Education degree.
The Laboratory School persisted until 1952 when it permanently closed its doors. By this time William C. Jason High School had opened in Sussex county in addition to Howard High School in Wilmington.
Fast forward to 2011, Delaware State University resurrected the tradition of a preparatory high school education by drafting a Delaware Department of Education charter school application.The ECHS set out to offer the opportunity for Delaware students to attain up to 60 college credits before graduating high school. DSU also intended for the ECHS to encourage students to pursue STEM fields and targeted those who would potentially become first-generation college graduates for their families.
On August 25, 2014 the ECHS officially opened its doors to 132 ninth graders. Each year since, as the inaugural class moved up, one additional grade has been added and a new ninth grade cohort was welcomed. The 2017-2018 academic year marked the completion of the high school's growth such that all four grades, ninth through twelfth, were then represented.
The past four years have been full of a series of firsts - first homecoming, first band, first athletic teams, first prom, first graduates, and so much more. This exhibit seeks to highlight these exciting milestones in the history of the Early College High School and revel in their success. You are welcome to visit the exhibit in the archival gallery during the library's regular hours. See you soon!
