The First State is about to be first again, says New Castle attorney Thomas Little, when it opens a Wilmington-based high school dedicated to preparing young men and women for front line careers in Homeland Security.

On March 12, Delaware Academy for Public Safety and Security organizers signed a contract with Innovative Schools Development Corporation, a nonprofit consultant that will help them get a charter, secure a facility and funding, and open their doors in Wilmington by 2010.

The first-responder high school is the brainchild of Little, Senate Minority Leader Charles Copeland (R-West Farms), House Speaker Terry Spence (RStratford), and a handful of others who brainstormed at the Kirkwood Highway Charcoal Pit a year ago about how to end school violence.

They came to the conclusion that the negative school culture problem was too big and complicated to solve through political means, said Little, 72, of New Castle, a former Marine hand to hand combat expert and Olympic Judo coach.

So, they decided to start a new school culture from scratch, one built on the premise that many children would rather be part of the solution than the problem of violence. And, given an education to prepare them academically, socially and vocationally, they will become the best-of-thebest first responders in the homeland security job sector, rather than succumb to apathy or crime.

The tone of the first responder high school will be that of a military or police academy, complete with uniforms and daily physical training during and after school.

Little, who spent 12 years in Africa teaching urban youth, says he knows kids from troubled neighborhoods often turn to violence because they lack relationships with leaders who will show them a better way and how to take it.

The vision for the school is to train kids from everywhere, not just troubled neighborhoods, however.

College-minded teens interested in bio-terrorism research, emergency room nursing, the FBI, private investigation, forensics, or structural engineering will find the curriculum as relevant as teens that plan to enter the workforce out of high school, Little said. Student cadets will study careers in SWAT, prison guarding, water rescue, paramedics, firefighting, professional demolition careers, in addition to the usual school subjects. They will learn Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish — any language of use in homeland security.

The team has already forged an array of partnerships with people and organizations representing the legal, corporate, medical and financial sectors, the court system, state and local police, forensics, higher education, ports and pilots.

Beyond academics and physical training, the program’s backbone will be its strong connection to families, industry experts and mentors, says Bill Ward, head of mentoring and community adult programs. Parents and faculty will meet monthly, and every cadet will have a mentor recruited from their preferred career path.

“There are so many advantages to being a mentored kid – better grades and social skills, less smoking, pregnancy, and behavior problems,” Ward says.

It’s a great strategy, says Steve Martelli, a former Marine and Wilmington policeman who will coordinate physical education.

“Mentors show kids wider options and help them make the most of opportunities,” Martelli says, and they do something else important but immaterial. “People may let themselves down but they don’t want to let their mentor down.”

Cadets will also mentor younger students, starting in their sophomore year.

The challenge students face learning to give back is the final link to becoming a leader in society, says Copeland. He saw it when he co-founded the Challenge Program in 1997 for troubled young adults to learn marketable construction skills.

“You could see the pride and self-esteem as these young guys would finish a renovation and it over to the homeowner. Knowing you are a participant in the success of society – seeing how you helped another human being take a step forward, there is no feeling like it.”

The time is right for this school concept, Copeland says: every corporation, port, city and state is in critical need of these services, and many, like Delaware, are having trouble filling positions with qualified applicants.

Only one other public school in the U.S. is known to have launched a similar full time program. Franklin Police and Fire High School in Phoenix, Arizona offers a law enforcement, firefighting and EMS program. The Wilmington school will do more, with pathways to intelligence, port and corporate security careers and more, Little says.