Capitol School District officials held a special tour of the nearly-completed Dover High School on Wednesday morning for Governor Jack Markell and other state officials.
The nearly $114 million, 300,000 square foot facility is divided into two main sections - a 3 story academic wing and a one story wing featuring athletic, arts, and career training facilities - all designed to be environmentally friendly through geothermal heating and cooling, energy efficient lighting and specially insulated windows.
The new school employs a host of unique features. The most noticeable is the amount of natural light the building lets in. About 60% of the classrooms in the current Dover High School do not have a source of natural light.
Capital School District superintendent Michael Thomas says that making natural light plentiful was a priority because it is not only aesthetically pleasing but can help the students perform better.
“There’s some educational research that says kids focus well if their senses are stimulated properly," said Thomas. "Natural light has a way of making those senses better."
Another unique feature is the placement of the lockers. Instead of the traditional locker placement along hallways, the new Dover High School places them in blocks around the school to help prevent hallway crowding.
The building layout also allows the expansion of Dover High's career based courses by including specialized classrooms for classes like HVAC, certified nursing assistant programs, culinary arts, and communication technology.
State Rep. Darryl Scott (D-Dover) says that he is pleased with the progress the school is making and thinks the new facility will be a great magnet for the community.
“People make decisions where they live based on schools," said Scott. "This will definitely have curb-appeal which people look at when they look at homes, but when you look at the inside and the programs that are available to their kids - the technology, the environment, the natural light in each of the classrooms - I think that makes it a very attractive asset to have in our community.”
Scott is also excited about the school’s new 900-seat auditorium that will play host to school and community events alike.
State Senator Brian Bushweller (D-Dover-Central Ken) echoed Scott's sentiments.
"It's obvious that an awful lot of thought went into this building," said Bushweller. "One of the things that impresses me the most is that there are some amenities that the tax payers knew were going to cost some extra money and yet the tax payers approved them because they too wanted this high school to be a proper symbol of the emphasis on education both the school district and the capital of our state put on education."
Capitol School District officials say that construction is on schedule and expect the building to be ready for the start of 2014-2015 school year.
