Tower Hill School
Encyclopedia
Tower Hill School is a private
, college preparatory school
located at 2813 West 17th Street in Wilmington, Delaware
, offering instruction for pre-school through 12th grade. The school was founded in 1919 on the basis of commitment to progressive education methods. It has an excellent academic reputation and college placement record. Particularly strong are the English and History departments, as well as Mathematics, Science, Languages, and the Fine Arts.
The school competes in the Delaware Independent Conference for interscholastic sports. The boys' lacrosse team and girls' field hockey and tennis teams are some of the state's best.
The school motto is Multa bene facta or "Many Things Done Well," and the school prides itself on its application of this principle. Students not only excel academically, but must play at least 10 seasons of interscholastic sports. Students are also asked to complete 40 hours of community service, as well as a full credit of Fine Arts classes drawn from the music, theater, and art departments.
Prominent alumni include DuPont
CEO
Ellen J. Kullman, former Duke basketball player Carmen Wallace, Delaware Senator Chris Coons, U.S. Congressman Michael N. Castle
, Orlando Magic
Senior Vice President Pat Williams
, and noted cardiologist, TV host and author Dr. Mehmet Oz
.
Every Spring, near the end of the school year, Tower Hill students from Grades 1-8 participate in "Field Day," a competition between the Students and the Teachers. The event was created by first headmaster, Dr. John Davis Skilton, as a substitute for a graduation ceremony (since there was no graduating class) in the first year of the school's existence. The division of the two teams began in 1922. Students are placed onto a team, Green or White, when they arrive at Tower Hill based on first family history (all members of the same family must be on the same team), then last name match, hair color, and then by numbers. Students remain on the same team every year. Events include the hula hoop races, the jump-roping races, speed-stacking contests, the "Carry The Colors" relay race, and the Tower Tug (Tug o' War). In addition to the standard events including all students, each grade level has a "dash"— a foot race for which students must qualify; the top three finishers earn points for their teams.
In December 2007, the Wall Street Journal ranked Tower Hill 24th in the nation and first in Delaware, in percentage of students attending eight top colleges. This reflects that of Tower Hill's graduating class of 2007, 12.1% matriculated to Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Williams, Pomona, Swarthmore, the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins.
The school's tuition, $24,250 for the senior high school, has of late topped most other private Delaware day schools by a marginal percentage. Tower Hill offers need-based financial aid to approximately 5% of all students.
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
, college preparatory school
University-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
located at 2813 West 17th Street in Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
, offering instruction for pre-school through 12th grade. The school was founded in 1919 on the basis of commitment to progressive education methods. It has an excellent academic reputation and college placement record. Particularly strong are the English and History departments, as well as Mathematics, Science, Languages, and the Fine Arts.
The school competes in the Delaware Independent Conference for interscholastic sports. The boys' lacrosse team and girls' field hockey and tennis teams are some of the state's best.
The school motto is Multa bene facta or "Many Things Done Well," and the school prides itself on its application of this principle. Students not only excel academically, but must play at least 10 seasons of interscholastic sports. Students are also asked to complete 40 hours of community service, as well as a full credit of Fine Arts classes drawn from the music, theater, and art departments.
Prominent alumni include DuPont
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
Ellen J. Kullman, former Duke basketball player Carmen Wallace, Delaware Senator Chris Coons, U.S. Congressman Michael N. Castle
Michael N. Castle
Michael "Mike" Newbold Castle is a former Governor and former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1993 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party....
, Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...
Senior Vice President Pat Williams
Pat Williams (NBA)
Pat Williams is a senior vice president of the NBA’s Orlando Magic, a motivational speaker and former minor league baseball player. Williams--born May 3, 1940 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania--was raised in Wilmington, Delaware.-Baseball career:...
, and noted cardiologist, TV host and author Dr. Mehmet Oz
Mehmet Oz
Mehmet Cengiz Oz , also known as Dr. Oz, is a Turkish-American cardiothoracic surgeon, author, talk show host, and commentator for The Dr. Oz Show, a daily television program focusing on medical issues/personal health....
.
Every Spring, near the end of the school year, Tower Hill students from Grades 1-8 participate in "Field Day," a competition between the Students and the Teachers. The event was created by first headmaster, Dr. John Davis Skilton, as a substitute for a graduation ceremony (since there was no graduating class) in the first year of the school's existence. The division of the two teams began in 1922. Students are placed onto a team, Green or White, when they arrive at Tower Hill based on first family history (all members of the same family must be on the same team), then last name match, hair color, and then by numbers. Students remain on the same team every year. Events include the hula hoop races, the jump-roping races, speed-stacking contests, the "Carry The Colors" relay race, and the Tower Tug (Tug o' War). In addition to the standard events including all students, each grade level has a "dash"— a foot race for which students must qualify; the top three finishers earn points for their teams.
In December 2007, the Wall Street Journal ranked Tower Hill 24th in the nation and first in Delaware, in percentage of students attending eight top colleges. This reflects that of Tower Hill's graduating class of 2007, 12.1% matriculated to Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Williams, Pomona, Swarthmore, the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins.
The school's tuition, $24,250 for the senior high school, has of late topped most other private Delaware day schools by a marginal percentage. Tower Hill offers need-based financial aid to approximately 5% of all students.