Dupont School

Dupont School. Delaware State University. , From 1921 until 1952 this simple brick structure, named for its benefactor, Pierre S. Dupont, served as a laboratory-classroom for students enrolled in the teaching course at the State College for Colored Students (now DSU)., The educational program initially consisted of a normal school that prepared eighth-grade graduates to be elementary school teachers by equipping them with an established system of "norms" or methods for instruction. After three years of pedagogy, the students were awarded a teaching certificate and given the option of pursuing a bachelor's degree during a fourth year. The teaching candidates primarily learned how to instruct conventional disciplines, but they also explored challenges they would be likely to face in the field , such as rural school management or issues of classroom heating and lighting. In 1934 the normal course was phased out and replaced by a more collegiate Bachelor's of Education degree program., While initially serving as an elementary school, this laboratory-classroom became a high school for local black youths. Prior to this transition, Howard High School, located in Wilmington, was the only African American secondary school in Delaware. Until 1950, together Howard and this school remained the only high schools open to African Americans., In 1952 the school was closed and converted into a health center. Although academic classes no longer meet here, the DuPont school building stands as a time honored reminder of DSU's contribution to the education of Delaware's African American communities.