Delaware middle school condemned after taking damage from Tropical Storm Isaias

A mound of rubble rests at the end of a roundabout in front of William Henry Middle School that, in a typical year, would soon be filled with cars dropping off students. 

But 2020 is hardly a typical year.

The 68-year-old school, located on Carver Road in Dover, was one of several buildings damaged in Delaware's capital as Tropical Storm Isaias brought strong winds and dumped heavy rain on the First State on Tuesday.

It's one of two buildings Dover's Fire Marshal Office condemned Tuesday, joining Union Missionary Baptist Church on Lincoln Street. For officials in Dover's Capital School District, the destruction adds difficulty to the challenging questions of whether to bring back students for in-person instruction and how they would do so safely.

The historic nature of the school also brings an extra degree of sadness, they said. No injuries were reported.

"We certainly are very concerned about our staff and students – and the devastation in the community," said Slyvia Henderson, Capital School District's acting superintendent. "We’re going to do our best to preserve [the building]."

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The gymnasium, the entrance and a wing of classrooms attached to the entrance were most affected by the storm, Capital School District Chief Financial Officer Adewunmi Kuforiji said. The roof also sustained significant damage. The district hasn’t determined how it will approach repairing the building as the situation is still being assessed.

Gov. John Carney visited William Henry hours after he announced that Delaware schools can begin the academic year using a hybrid format involving a combination of in-person and online learning.

Capital School District has not made a decision on how it will approach the start of the year. It will present a revised calendar to the Board of Education for approval Thursday.

Officials declined to share details regarding the revised calendar because it is not finalized. The district also plans to meet again with its four reopening committees following Carney's announcement.

They must now also decide where to send William Henry's roughly 1,000 fifth and sixth grade students.

"It sure didn't help yesterday," Henderson said.

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When William Henry opened in 1952, it was the only high school in Dover for African Americans. The school closed after the 1965-66 school year, following the Supreme Court ruling to integrate schools, and reopened as a middle school in 1967.

The school is named after William W. M. Henry, a 1902 graduate of Delaware State College and the first Black physician to practice in lower Delaware.

The makeup of the school was already lined up to change roughly three years from now, as Capital School District expands.

In April 2019, Dover residents passed a referendum to enable the district to build two new middle schools, side by side, at the site of the former Dover High School. The new schools are slated to open in 2023.

Sixth grade students will attend the new middle schools when they open, and fifth grade students will remain in their elementary schools. The plan is to renovate William Henry so that it can be used by the Kent County Secondary Intensive Learning Center and the Kent County Community School. Both have been moved out of district schools and into leased space.

The district has promised that the updated facility will still bear the Henry name.

"This building means a lot to people in the community," Henderson said.

Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @holveck_brandon.