Lewes Elementary opens to students
Richard A. Shields Elementary is no more, as the new 95,000-square-foot, $38 million Lewes Elementary opened to the former school’s students April 27.
Students poured into the building their first day, smiling, wide-eyed and rambunctious as they gathered in the cafeteria and auditorium before being led to their new classrooms.
A contingent of district administrators greeted students as they checked out their new school.
“This is why we do what we do,” said Superintendent Bob Fulton, grinning at excited children.
Just a few items remain to be completed, said Cape Director of Capital Projects Brian Bassett. Installing the gym will take a week or so, and for now, the auditorium will be used as a temporary gym. Auditorium seats will be installed after the gym opens, and remaining exterior metal panels will be finished this summer.
“The playground should be ready in about a week,” Bassett said. “We finished everything that we needed to finish in order to get occupancy.”
Renovation of the historic 1921 building on Savannah Road began in late spring 2020. Wings were added to the rear of the structure, while the original section, including classrooms, gym and auditorium, were renovated.
In 100 years, the building has had many names, including Lewes Public School, Lewes High School, Cape Henlopen High School, Lewes Junior High, James A. Moore Building and Lewes Middle. The Sussex Consortium had occupied the building until its new facility opened on Sweetbriar Road in 2020.
Tetra Tech architects designed Lewes Elementary and all other recent district elementary schools, and construction manager Richard Y. Johnson & Son has also overseen construction at all recent schools.
Next, asbestos removal will begin at Shields, and then the old building will be demolished to make way for construction of the district’s third middle school, which was approved by referendum in 2018.
With asbestos removal starting in May, the district was able to get a much better price than anticipated, Bassett said, but the May start for the middle school is mostly due to timeline, not asbestos cost.
“We need to start in May to have a chance of the middle school opening for the 2024 school year,” Bassett said.
