The has been a lot of talk recently about the continued growth of the Cape Henlopen School District. In 2007, when this photograph was taken, the district’s population was 4,493. Over the next two decades, several major projects transformed the look of the district, including a new high school and a subsequent addition; new Rehoboth Elementary and H.O. Brittingham Elementary; renovations to Milton Elementary, the addition of Love Creek Elementary, Lewes Elementary and the Sussex Consortium; the demolition of several schools; and the construction of a third middle school, which is set to open in 2024. The changes don’t appear to be slowing, either, as officials are looking to move the district office from Kings Highway in Lewes to an undeveloped parcel near the intersection of Plantation Road and Cedar Grove Road in order to free up space to further expand the high school. As of September, the student population in the district has grown to nearly 6,600 students. When this photo was made in 2007, the high school population was 1,204 students. Today, 1,918 students walk the halls of the new school.
After Milton, Rehoboth and Lewes schools were consolidated into a single district, students attended high school in the former Lewes High School building on Savannah Road, which is now Lewes Elementary. Construction of the first Cape Henlopen High School building began in 1974, then opened to students in 1976. It stood until 2009; the site is now a parking lot for the new school, which was built where the parking lot is to the right in this photograph.