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Mount Pleasant High School (MPHS) is a public secondary school located in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, United States. MPHS was the first public high school in Delaware to offer the International Baccalaureate program.

As of the 2022–2023 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,107 students and 77.10 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.36.

History

After Delaware passed the Free School Act in 1829, the state began pulling together their first public school system; the first school in Mount Pleasant, located in School District #2, was built soon after. The original schoolhouse still stands today and is located on an acre of land now part of Bellevue State Park. The community continued to grow and required a larger school, so in 1865, a new building was built near Mount Pleasant Methodist Church. This new school taught grades one through eight and gradually added nine through twelve as the students aged.

In 1932, they required even more space; what is now Mount Pleasant Elementary School was built to accommodate the still-growing population and named the Mount Pleasant School. However, only grades one through nine were offered. By 1947, enough families had moved into the area that a separate four-year high school had become a necessity, so Mount Pleasant School transitioned into Mount Pleasant Senior High School and the lower grades were split between Silverside and Edgemoore Elementary Schools. Construction of a new high school building began in 1953 and, in September 1958, MPHS moved to its current location on Washington.

The school celebrated its 175th anniversary in a series of events during homecoming weekend, October 14 and 15, 2005, including the inaugural Mount Pleasant Hall of Fame.

Academics

In 2021, U.S. News & World Report ranked MPHS #2,885 of more than 24,000 high schools nationally.

MPHS' graduation rate for the 2018–2019 academic year was 90%.

Athletics

MPHS competes in the Blue Hen Conference, Flight A.

Activities

Mount Pleasant is home to WMPH 91.7 FM, which began broadcasting on October 1, 1969, and was Delaware's only public high school radio station until Thomas McKean High School began broadcasting at WHMS 88.1 FM in 1998.

In 2023, Mount Pleasants's theatre department won exclusive rights in Delaware to perform Frozen as performed on Broadway. This was a result of the "United States of Frozen" competition, which granted one high school in each state the materials to perform the show for the first time.

Notable alumni

• Dottie Leonard Miller (b. 1945), business executive specializing in Christian music
• Kathy Jennings (b. 1952), lawyer and the Attorney General of Delaware since 2019
• Patricia Blevins (b. 1954), former member and President pro tempore of the Delaware Senate
• Julie Schumacher (b. 1958), Thurber prize winning author of Dear Committee Members
• John Dossett (b. 1958), actor and singer
• John Kaplan (b. 1959), Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer
• Seth Van Neerden (b. 1968), former competitive swimmer and 1995 Pan American gold medalist
• Bang Bang (b. 1985), celebrity tattoo artist

References

1. ^ School data for Mount Pleasant High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed September 1, 2024.
2. "Home". Mount Pleasant High School. Retrieved 2021-06-21. 5201 Washington Street Extension Wilmington, DE 19809 - The school is not in the Wilmington city limits, as seen in a comparison with the zoning map as of February 2021.
3. Fuetsch, Michele (March 20, 2004). "International Baccalaureate program moves kids closer to college". www1.udel.edu. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
4. ^ "Mount Pleasant History". Brandywine School District. n.d. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
5. "Mount Pleasant School".
6. ^ "Mt. Pleasant dist. to vote on new school". The Evening Journal. 1931-07-08. p. 10. Retrieved 2021-07-11 – via newspapers.com.
7. "Mt. Pleasant School to be ready in January". The News Journal. 1932-08-25. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-07-11 – via newspapers.com.
8. "Mt. Pleasant board develops plans for 12-grade school". The News Journal. 1947-04-08. p. 15. Retrieved 2021-07-11 – via newspapers.com.
9. "School building to open Sept. 4". The Morning News. 1958-08-01. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-07-11 – via newspapers.com.
10. Dantinne, Clint (n.d.). "Mount Pleasant Schools". Clint Dantinne. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
11. ^ "Mount Pleasant High School". U.S. News & World Report. 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
12. Greene, Sean (2020-12-21). "Newark set to rejoin Flight A starting in 2021-22". Retrieved 2021-07-10.
13. "WMPH History and Documents".
14. Vitarelli, Alicia. "3 local schools win chance to perform Disney's Frozen: The Broadway Musical", WPVI-TV, March 9, 2023. Accessed March 26, 2023. "One high school in each state won 'The United States of Frozen: Love is an Open Door' competition. On Monday, our local winners from Mount Pleasant High School in Wilmington, Delaware; Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees, New Jersey; and North Penn High School in Lansdale, Pennsylvania all gathered on stage together at the Wilma Theater in Center City to show us just how they melted the judge's hearts."
15. "Wilmington native receives gospel award". The News Journal. Delaware, Wilmington. November 12, 2006. p. 30. Retrieved June 3, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Mt. Pleasant High School nominates six for its Hall of Fame". Hockessin Community News. 2011-10-20. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
17. "Former Senator Patricia M. Blevins (D)". Delaware General Assembly. n.d. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
18. "Julie Schumacher becomes first woman to win Thurber prize for humor writing | Books | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
19. "Super 91.7 WMPH Radio History". Mount Pleasant High School. n.d. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
20. "BSD alumni". Brandywine School District. n.d. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
21. Price, Betsy (2014-12-26). "His idea of a place to propose? BDub's parking lot". Delaware Online. Retrieved 2021-07-12.

External links

• Official website

• High schools in New Castle County, Delaware
• Educational institutions established in 1830
• Public high schools in Delaware
• 1830 establishments in Delaware
• Brandywine School District