Kent County Today

DOVER – Capital School District board members approved designs for two new middle schools in place of the former Dover High School site on Patrick Lynn Drive during a recent board meeting.

The 234,538-square-foot facility will serve as two separate buildings connected on one campus and is expected to hold 1,600 students in grades six through eight. The project required a budget of $113 million that was approved during last spring’s referendum, as initially reported by Dover Post.

Architecture firm Becker Morgan Group will be primarily responsible for the construction of the two Capital School District middle schools set to start in April. Their presentation focused on safe traffic patterns during pick-up and drop-off times, adjustable classroom spaces and the potential future expansion helped persuade the board members during the Feb. 19 meeting.

The addition of the new middle schools will not cause William Henry Middle School’s name to change, as also revealed during the meeting. The school building being the new home of the Kent County ILC and Kent County Community School initially caused rumors of the alteration.

“The school has had several names since it was first occupied: William Henry Comprehensive High School, William Henry Middle School and [it] may one day change to William Henry School to go along with the shift in the district, but will not lose the historic prestige of being named after William W. M. Henry,” board member Sean Christiansen said during the meeting.

Initially a facility segregated by race, the school was named in honor of William Henry, the first black physician to operate in lower Delaware and a 1902 graduate of Delaware State College.  

Becker Morgan Group will additionally present to Dover’s planning commission in March before attending a public meeting with the district on April 1.

The new middle schools were part of a series of Capital School District projects the board unanimously approved on in the meeting.

The district’s final budget will include two amendments: a $40,000 transfer from contingency funds to buildings and grounds to complete Dover High School’s JV baseball and softball fields with a storage building, and the Board of Education’s budget line will be reduced by $10,000.

Dover High School will become the first Kent County school to offer the Advanced Place Capstone program, where high school juniors develop a diverse final research project for two years in two courses.

In addition, Dover High will introduce a Work-Based Learning Practicum for 12th grade students to receive work experience for one credit after completing one of the school’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. Students can experience internships, co-ops, clinicals, and other opportunities in a state-funded mentorship program.