The Delaware Military Academy (DMA) is a publicly-funded charter high school in

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

New Castle County, Delaware and has a Wilmington postal address. The Academy was founded in 2003 by Charles Baldwin, a retired

Master Chief Petty Officer U.S. Coast Guardmaster chief petty officercollar device U.S. Coast Guardmaster chief petty officersleeve rating insignia United States Navymaster chief petty officer collar insignia United States Navymaster chief petty officershoulderb ...

from the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, and Jack Wintermantel, a retired Colonel from the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. All students are required to participate in the Naval

Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC -- commonly pronounced "JAY-rotsee") is a federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US military ...

, or NJROTC; DMA is the first successful all-JROTC military charter school in the US. DMA offers grades nine through twelve and has been designated a

Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

Organization

All DMA students are referred to as cadets and the school is organized to reflect that of the

US military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six Military branch, service branches: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States N ...

and JROTC standards. While there are typical academic teachers and administrators, a number of faculty are retired from the military, and there are seven Naval Science Instructors (NSIs), six of whom teach, who oversee the military aspect of the school. Students are divided into two

Regiments A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

(Alpha and Bravo) and each Regiment is divided into two

Battalions A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

with four

Companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

each. Ranks are given based on honor, seniority, and academic excellence, with the highest student rank being the Regimental Commander.

Academics

DMA is a college-preparatory school that offers honors, AP, and dual-enrollment classes through

Delaware Technical and Community College Delaware Technical Community College (previously Delaware Technical & Community College, also known as DTCC, Delaware Tech, or Del Tech) is a public community college in the U.S. state of Delaware. Delaware Tech is an open admission institution ...

. The State of Delaware gave DMA a "Superior" ranking for high scores on standardized testing and they were named a

in 2019.

Athletics

For much of its history, DMA has lacked sufficient athletics facilities and relied on nearby Banning Park and other high schools' facilities. In 2015, DMA purchased just under six additional acres of land with the intention of constructing a third building for this purpose and announced its plans for a gymnasium (called the "drill deck") in 2016. The Anthony N. Fusco, Sr. Athletic & Academic Center, a $6 million construction paid for by donors, opened in 2017. Shortly after, in 2019, a $2.5 million turf stadium was erected and named the Fusco Memorial Field. In 2010, the ice hockey team became the first DMA team to go undefeated (19-0) and won the school's first championship by defeating

Hodgson Vo-Tech High School Paul M. Hodgson Vocational Technical High School is a public high school in Glasgow, Delaware and is one of four vocational-technical school high schools within the New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District. Brief History The scho ...

in the Delaware Scholastic Hockey Association B Division Championship finals. Two years later, they won the school's first varsity championship by defeating

Alexis I. duPont High School Alexis I. duPont High School (AI) is a public high school located in Greenville, Delaware with a Wilmington postal address. It is one of the four schools offering grades 9–12 in the Red Clay Consolidated School District. 807 students were enro ...

and solidified their place in the A Division.

References

External links

* {{authority control Military high schools in the United States High schools in New Castle County, Delaware Educational institutions established in 2003 Charter schools in Delaware Public high schools in Delaware 2003 establishments in Delaware