Public school in Wilmington, Delaware, United States
Alexis I. duPont High School (AI) is a public high school located in Greenville, Delaware with a Wilmington postal address.[2] It is one of the three public high schools offering grades 9–12 in the Red Clay Consolidated School District.[3] 807 students were enrolled during the 2019–2020 school year.[4] Areas zoned to AI come from portions of Wilmington and several suburbs, including Greenville, most of Hockessin, a portion of North Star,[5][6] and Centreville, as well as nearby Breck's Mill.[7] In Wilmington, it serves the historic districts of Cool Spring Park,[8] Delaware Avenue,[9][10] and Wawaset Park.[11]
In 2020, the high school was the site of the first campaign event featuring Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris.[12]
History
Founded in 1893 under Principal A.R. Spade, Alexis I. duPont High School (AI) was originally a part of the Alexis I. duPont School District.[13][14][15] AI moved to its current location in 1966 from where Alexis I. duPont Middle School stands today.[13] Both schools left the AI School District in 1978 and were moved into the short-lived New Castle County School District, which split into the Red Clay Consolidated, Brandywine, Christiana, and Colonial school districts in August 1981.[16][17]
Academics
In 2021, U.S. News & World Report ranked AI #9,632 of more than 18,000 high schools nationally[18] and Niche ranked it #1 of 56 schools in the state of Delaware.[19]
AI's graduation rate for the 2018–2019 academic year was 88%.[18]
Athletics
AI is a member of the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) and as of 2017 participates in Flight B of the Blue Hen Conference.[20][21][22] The following sports are playing within the DIAA league: football, cross country, field hockey, soccer, volleyball, basketball, swimming, wrestling, baseball, golf, lacrosse, softball, tennis, and track & field.[23] The ice hockey team is a Division I school within the Delaware Scholastic Hockey Association, which is hosted at the Patriot Ice Center in Newark.[24][25]
Student activities
Music
They have marched in the inaugural parades for Jimmy Carter,[26] George H.W. Bush,[27] and Barack Obama.[28] They appeared in Pasadena's Tournament of Roses Parade in 1990, 1995, 1999, 2004, and 2008 and are one of three bands outside of California to take part five times.[29][30] Other notable appearances include: the Orange Bowl and Fiesta Bowl (2006, 2010); the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin, Ireland (1993, 1997, 2000, and 2003); the 2002 Queen's Golden Jubilee; New Year's Day parades in London (1989, 1992, 1996, 2005, 2009, 2012, and 2017) and the New Year's Parade at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican City (2007, 2012, and 2015).[29][30][31]
The Tiger Marching Band has attended the 6abc Dunkin' Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia since at least 1979, the Macy's Thanksgiving parade in New York City and the Latin American and Christmas Parades in Wilmington for many years.[32][33][34]
Vocal music at A.I. consists of several different ensembles, including a concert and a chamber choir, designed to meet the variety of needs, talents, and interests of high school vocalists.[35]
The band is a student-run organization in which students, specifically an executive board of seniors, make nearly all of the governing decisions.[36] Paul L. Parets, who had been the high school's band director since 1976, retired in the spring of 2012.[29] The band has since been directed by Richard F. Weaver III, who is a 1998 AI alumnus and joined the faculty in 2003.[36][37]
