Brennen School (The)

Newark · DE · Christina School District · Public · K-12 combined

Public 🏛 Christina School District →

Similar nearby schools

Most similar nearby schools

Delaware School for the Deaf → ASPIRA Delaware → Christiana High School → Newark High School → Meadowood Program → Towle Institute → Destiny Calling Academy → St Mark'S High School →

📋 At a glance

Programs & features

Academic signals

🎓 AP rigor: Bottom 18% of US high schools
🎓 4-yr grad rate: 10% (Bottom 1% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate)

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

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How Brennen School (The) compares for families

What families should know about Brennen School (The).

▸ LocallyDE sits right at the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math — local school quality will set your kid apart.
▸ vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Delaware School for the Deaf, ASPIRA Delaware, Christiana High School and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

For Parents

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SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21

SAT/ACT test-takers

11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test

Test-taking intensity

0.0

takers per 100 students in grades 9-12

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

🎓 4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts

What % of students graduate on time?

Bottom 1% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate

4-year graduation rate

10%

Single-point estimate

4-year cohort size

Students in the 9th-grade entry class tracked over 4 years

Compared against

17,988

US high schools reporting 4-year ACGR

Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.

👩‍🏫 Teacher workforce · federal CRDC

Teacher experience & reliability

% inexperienced teachers (1st-2nd yr)

7.1%

Strong: experienced corps. New teachers rotate through but most have ≥3 years in.

% chronic teacher absence (≥10 days/yr)

22.4%

Elevated. Teacher absence directly affects classroom continuity and student outcomes.

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.

Chronic absenteeism

Share of students absent 15+ days

7.2%

Below 10% — strong attendance culture. Chronic absence is a leading indicator of dropout and disengagement; a low rate signals families staying connected to the school.

Students absent 15+ days

Federal definition: absent (excused or unexcused) for at least 15 of ~180 school days — about 10% of the school year.

Why this matters to enrollment: A low chronic-absence rate is the cleanest school-level signal of strong family connection, classroom culture, and student engagement — all upstream drivers of enrollment stability. For school leaders: an Enrollment Trend Audit traces this dynamic forward →

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2024 total enrollment.

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor

419:1

Around the US median. Counselors are stretched but functional.

Counselor FTE

1.0

Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.

Teacher FTE

106

Full-time-equivalent classroom teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.

Enrollment trend & projection

Grade 12 went from 73 in 2021 to 59 in 2024 — over 3 years.

-19.2%

Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of +0.8%/year, projecting from 2024's 419 students:

2025

422

2027

429

2029

436

An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.

Revenue upside

At $31,746 per student in district revenue, the 17 students projected to be gained by 2029 represent ≈ $539,682/year in additional funding.

District total revenue ÷ enrollment, NCES F-33. Public funding largely follows enrollment, so a shrinking class is a recurring budget hit.

Nearby high schools — the local competition

The closest high schools families here also consider, and where their enrollment is heading.

School	Type	Miles	HS enrollment	Trend
Delaware School for the Deaf Newark	Public	0.2	40	—
ASPIRA Delaware Newark	Public · charter	1.0	373	+133.1%
Christiana High School Newark	Public	1.0	1,132	+28.2%
Newark High School Newark	Public	1.5	1,039	-4.8%
Meadowood Program Newark	Public	2.5	71	-2.7%
Towle Institute Hockessin	Private	2.7	48	—
Destiny Calling Academy Wilmington	Private	3.2	4	—
St Mark'S High School Wilmington	Private	3.3	716	+37.4%