Host of names proposed for elementary school in Lewes

From Lewessential to Salt Wave, Lewesteem to Lewes Tidal Wave, the Cape community offered a host of ideas when asked to recommend a name for the school on Savannah Road being renovated to house current Shields Elementary students sometime in early 2022.

At the July 22 school board meeting, Superintendent Bob Fulton said a committee will discuss proposed names and he will offer a recommendation at the Aug. 19 school board meeting. The district sought ideas from the community through local advertisements, he said.

Other suggestions include Harmony, Breakwater, Beach Plum, Bayberry, The Flagship, Cape Crusader, The Anchor, Exceptional, and, simply, Lewes Elementary School, Fulton said.

Known most recently as the Lewes School, the building housed the Sussex Consortium until that new school building on Sweetbriar Road in Lewes opened to students in September 2020. 

The building has had many names over the years, Fulton said, including Lewes Public School, Lewes High School, Cape Henlopen High School, Lewes Junior High School, James A. Moore Building, Lewes Middle School, Ninth Grade Campus and Sussex Consortium.

Renovation of the century-old Lewes School into a new elementary school was overwhelmingly approved by 74 percent of voters as part of a March 2016 referendum that also approved new schools at H.O. Brittingham and Rehoboth elementaries, and renovations to Milton Elementary. 

Major upgrades at the Lewes School include air conditioning and new windows; historic elements such as the auditorium and gymnasium are being renovated.

The existing Shields building was built in 1966, with renovations and additions in 1987, 1994 and 2007. It will be demolished to make way for the district’s third middle school, which was approved by referendum in 2018.

Note: This article has been edited Aug. 3 to reflect that the school board meeting date has been changed to Thursday, Aug. 19.