School Profile 2022-2023
G.P.A., Advanced Courses, and Grading Scale
Grade Point Average is computed using major courses. Although all courses are college preparatory, some are considered advanced and, as a reflection of academic rigor, are weighted one point (e.g., A = 5, C+ = 3.3). Weighted courses in the current curriculum include*:
.5 weighting
101 School Road, Wilmington DE 19803
Phone 302.576.2900, Fax 302.576.2939
www.wilmingtonfriends.org
Founded in 1748, Wilmington Friends is a coeducational, Quaker day school, serving students from preschool through twelfth grade. Wilmington Friends is Delaware’s oldest school, the first in the state authorized to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and the first in the state to join the School Year Abroad Consortium.
Wilmington Friends School has joint accreditation by Middle States and the Association of Independent Maryland & DC Schools (AIMS). The School is also affiliated with the International Baccalaureate Organization, School Year Abroad, the National Association of Independent Schools, the Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools, the Delaware Association of Independent Schools, and the Friends Council on Education. Wilmington Friends is also part of the Malone Schools Online Network, a consortium of 27 schools nationwide providing 46 advanced classes to juniors and seniors. Present enrollment in the upper school is 281; the senior class numbers 60.
People of color comprise 34 percent of students at Wilmington Friends.* Fifty-three members of the teaching faculty hold advanced degrees. Twenty percent of the teaching faculty, including associate teachers, are people of color.** Fifty-five percent of students receive financial aid.
*Reporting does not include students who have identified themselves as white and Hispanic.
** Includes those who identify as Hispanic.
Diploma Requirements
4 credits in English
World Languages, Literatures and Cultures (through level 3 of one language, and at least two years of one language)
3 credits in mathematics
3 credits in science
3 credits in social science/history (including American History and Global Peace and Justice)
1 1/2 credits combined in performing arts and visual arts
1 course in Quakerism
Sports (at least one per year)
Human Dynamics & Development (one semester in 9th & 10th grade)
50 hours of community service 1/2 credit in computer science
Kathleen E. Martin Director of College Guidance302.576.2923
kmartin@wilmingtonfriends.org
Advanced 20th Century History
IB/SL Chinese, year 1
IB/SL Computer Science
IB/SL English
IB/SL French
IB/SL Spanish
IB/SL History (co-seated with Advanced 20th Century and HL History Europe year 2)
IB/TOK
Music Major
Visual Arts Major
1.0 weighting
Advanced Biology 2
Advanced Chemistry 2
Advanced Physics 2
Advanced Placement (AP) courses
All IB/HL courses
Calculus (only through 2021-22 school year)
IB Mathematical Analysis and Approaches SL, year 2 (only through 2021-22 school year)
IB Chinese SL, year 2
IB/SL Biology
IB/SL Physics
IB/SL Chemistry
IB/SL Music
*Please note, this list is subject to change each academic year
To review our curriculum, please visit our website at wilmingtonfriends.org and click on Our Programs> Upper School.
Grades Earned by the Class of 2023 in 2021-2022
Graduate Information 2021-2022 Students from the classes of 2021 & 2022 were accepted to the following colleges and universities. Bold type and number in parentheses denote matriculation.
Albright College
American University (3)
Amherst College (2)
Appalachian State University
Arcadia University
Arizona State University
Bard College
Barnard College
Bates College
Baylor University
Boston College
Boston University (3)
Bowdoin College
Bowie State University
Brandeis University
Brown University
Bryn Mawr College
Bucknell University (3)
Cabrini University
Caldwell University
California Lutheran University
California State University, Long
Beach
California State University, Northridge
Case Western Reserve University (2)
Catholic University of America
Christopher Newport University
Clark Atlanta University
Clark University
Clemson University (3)
Coastal Carolina University
Colby College
Colgate University
College of Charleston
College of the Atlantic College of the Holy Cross
Colorado College
Columbia University
Connecticut College
D’Youville College
Delaware State University
Delaware Technical Community College
Denison University
DePaul University
Dickinson College (3)
Drew University
Drexel University
Duquesne University
East Carolina University
Eckerd College
Elon University
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Emory University
Fairfield University
Florida Atlantic University
Florida State University
Fordham University (2)
Franklin & Marshall College
Furman University
George Mason University
George Washington University (5)
Georgetown University
Gettysburg College
Goucher College
Hampton University (3)
Hartwick College
Harvard University
High Point University
Hofstra University
Howard University (4)
Immaculata University
Indiana University
Iowa State University
Ithaca College (3)
James Madison University
Kenyon College
La Salle University
Lafayette College (2)
Lebanon Valley College
Lehigh University (3)
Lesley University
Lewis & Clark College
Long Island University
Louisiana State University
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola University Chicago
Loyola University Maryland
Lycoming College
Manhattan College
Marist College (2)
Marymount Manhattan College
Miami University, Oxford
Montclair State University
Moravian College
Morgan State University
Mount Holyoke College
Mount St. Mary’s University
Muhlenberg College
New York University (2)
North Carolina State University
Northeastern University (2)
Northern Arizona University
Northwestern University
Occidental College
Pace University, New York City
Pennsylvania State University (3)
Providence College
Radford University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rice University
Roanoke College
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rollins College
Rosemont College
Rowan University
Saint Augustine’s University
Saint Joseph’s University
San Diego State University
Santa Clara University
Sarah Lawrence College
Savannah College of Art and Design
Shenandoah University
Skidmore College
Spelman College
St. John’s University (New York)
St. Lawrence University
Stevenson University
Stockton University
Stony Brook University
Syracuse University
Temple University
The American University of Paris
The College of New Jersey
The College of William and Mary
The College of Wooster
The Ohio State University
The University of Tampa (2)
The University of Tennessee
Thomas Jefferson University
Towson University
Trinity College (3)
Tufts University
Tulane University of Louisiana (2)
Union College
University of Arizona
University of California, San Diego
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa
Cruz
University of Delaware (9)
University of Denver
University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign
University of Kentucky
University of La Verne
University of Lynchburg
University of Maine
Univeristy of Mary Washington
University of Maryland
University of Massachusetts
University of Miami (3)
University of New Hampshire
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
University of Notre Dame
University of Pittsburgh (3)
University of Richmond
University of Rochester
University of Scranton
University of South Carolina
University of South Florida
University of St. Andrews
University of the Sciences
University of Vermont
University of Virginia
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin
Ursinus College (2)
Vanderbilt University
Vassar College (2)
Villanova University (2)
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Wake Forest University
Washington & Jefferson College
Washington and Lee University
Washington College (2)
Washington University in St. Louis
Wells College
Wesleyan University
West Chester University of Pennsylvania
West Virginia University
Wheaton College
Whittier College
Widener University
Williams College (2)
Xavier University of Louisiana
Academic Philosophy
Wilmington Friends requires its students to demonstrate mastery of factual material and traditional skills, but also requires that they work at a high level as true thinkers, able and eager to move beyond what is presented to them, applying learning to new and real-world situations. Within a challenging yet caring community, students are evaluated based on course objectives and are supported in all areas of their growth, from physical, social, and spiritual to intellectual and cognitive. The IB is a natural fit with the philosophy and program at Friends, with an emphasis on high academic standards, global perspective, informed and engaged citizenship, respect for others, and the application of classroom experience to the world beyond.
Culture of the School
In our diverse school community, the typical Wilmington Friends students challenge themselves to pursue their personal best while recognizing their responsibility to the success and character of their communities - communities as small as the classroom and as large as the world. They understand the importance of their own voices while being open to difference, respecting the views, traditions, and unique identities of others. They are both honestly self-reflective and actively outward-focused, in the Quaker tradition.
Student Government
Upper School governance includes a Meeting for Business, which involves all students and staff. Modeled on the Quaker Meeting for Business, this organization and its committees, both standing and ad hoc, offer students distinctive opportunities for leadership and participation.
Senior Exploration
During the Senior Exploration in May, students are encouraged to integrate and apply skills and knowledge, with reflection on their growth as learners, through a real-world experience. Such experiences might include career internships, service projects, or a language/cultural immersion. Each student formulates a personal question as a guide to the exploration, works with an adult mentor, and makes a concluding presentation to a panel of faculty, students, parents, and others with relevant expertise.
Service Project
Students at Wilmington Friends are required to perform 50 hours of service during a 12-month period during their upper school years. The service must be outside the school community and represent steady involvement with one sponsor agency. Following completion of an approved service project, students must receive a satisfactory agency evaluation, complete a self-evaluation, and prepare an essay or presentation designed to extend the impact, and opportunity, of the service experience to others.
Mastery Program/Independent Study
During their Friends School careers, students are offered the opportunity to pursue a project (or projects) enabling them to attain and demonstrate an exceptionally high degree of mastery in a field of their choice. Students also have the opportunity to do independent study for credit by contract. In recent years, students have initiated mastery projects and independent study in fields such as laboratory methods in molecular genetics, documentary film-making, Euclidean geometry, vocal performance and recording production, and American Sign Language.
QUEST Program
The QUEST program supports service learning trips on an annual basis, including to El Paso (witnessing immigration issues), Acadia (sustainability), South Africa (social justice) and the Dominican Republic (literacy campaign). QUEST
Scholars are those who have completed more than 150 hours of service focused on an essential learning question related to social justice and equity during their years in upper school.
International Baccalaureate Program
Friends School offers the International Baccalaureate (IB) program to all students in their junior and senior years. Recognized for its rigor by colleges and universities around the world, the IB program also complements the School’s own commitment to a global and interdisciplinary curriculum. Any Friends student may elect to take the full IB diploma program or individual IB courses. In addition to courses offered in the five major academic areas (English, math, natural/computer sciences, history, world language) as well as the arts, all IB Diploma candidates must take a Theory of Knowledge course, complete the Extended Essay, and engage in athletic, service, and creative programs. Since WFS began offering the IB program in 2002, 90 percent of WFS juniors and seniors elected to take IB courses for either the diploma or certificates; 39 percent took the full Diploma program; and 88 percent of those candidates earned their IB diploma.
Honors & Awards
In the Quaker tradition, Wilmington Friends does not emphasize individual honors, and the awards we do present focus on character, leadership, and contribution to the class and to the School. In addition to commendations for service to the School (leadership in activities, athletics, publications, etc.), for which any faculty member may nominate a student, Wilmington Friends presents ten named awards each year:
• John Marshall Mendinhall II, Class of 1939, Memorial Award
• Charles W. Bush, Class of 1900, Award
• Howard W. Starkweather, Jr., Class of 1944, Community Service Award
• Eden Wales Freedman, Class of 1999, English Award
• The Upper School World Language Award
• Jordan Wales, Class of 1997, History Award
• Amanda Spackman Gehret, Class of 1951, Memorial Mathematics Award
• Wyeth Brothers Performing Arts Award
• Robert P. Hukill, Class of 1949, Science Award
• Wyeth Brothers Visual Arts Award
Suspensions and Expulsions
In accordance with Wilmington Friends School policy and best practices of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), we report all suspensions and expulsions to colleges.