But students and teachers at Cape Henlopen School District’s new high school say their new building is spacious and bright – and they like the new technology. A new discipline policy that rewards positive behavior also appears to be taking root.

Principal John Yore said the school is still in transition, but student and teacher cooperation and flexibility have helped the school meet the challenges of moving into a new building on a tight schedule.

Senior Kaci Coveleski said the first weeks of school were hectic, but students are now settling into their schedules. 

“The whole summer, I was looking forward to coming to the new school,” she said. Assistant Principal Mike Dmiterchik said, despite good attendance at open houses, many students got turned around in the new building during the first weeks. 

“It’s a big building; people still get lost,” said Coveleski.  Still, she said, students like the new school.  “It’s nice having all the technology – that’s pretty cool,” she said.  It’s brighter than the other one, she said, and students like the windows.

Ninth-grader Maggie Robertson said students had a hard time navigating the hallways at first, but she said the likes the spacious classrooms and the chance to learn in a new facility.

World history teacher Kevin LeMaire said the new building is part of a Cape Renaissance.  “I’ve definitely noticed the morale has been very high with the teachers and students.  They’re excited about a new, positive atmosphere,” he said.

He said the new structure will help bring out the best in Cape. 

Yore said, “We really do appreciate community support in putting this place together.”  He said the school is meant to be a center of the community, and the district wants to make it as available to community members as possible.

Teacher Gail Mack said, “The best statement you can make is that no matter what the problems have been, the teachers and students here have been very flexible.”  She said parents, staff and teachers have been enthusiastic and upbeat about beginning a new year in the new building.

Guidance counselor Terry Sutton said the transition into the new building was quicker and easier than she expected.  “I’m amazed at how well everyone has done,” she said.

Technology arriving
Yore said technology continues to arrive.  Projectors were installed last week, and computers are being distributed, he said.  District technology staff are working to train teachers on their new machines and how to use them on the school network, he said.

Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps instructor Richard Hurt said staff members have helped each other solve issues where they have arisen.  He said the school’s positive-behavior support system, which rewards students for good behavior and participating in school functions, is already working. 

Sutton said the behavior system creates awareness and has helped foster a sense of community - and responsibility to that community among students.  At the end of each month, teachers and students are eligible for gift certificates, based on the number of positive referrals they have written or received and the number of school events in which they have participated. 

Sutton said she and teachers hear students using the catch phrases associated with behavior support, such as “Be attractive, not distractive,” amongst themselves and discussing the meaning behind them. 

The high school has a strip schedule on Mondays, when students attend abbreviated classes, and block schedules of longer courses through the rest of the week.  Dmiterchik said that gives teachers a chance to preview the week’s work with students on Monday.

Sutton said it fits in well with the new instructional system the school is using, which emphasizes previewing lessons.

Coveleski said, “We know what’s coming.  It makes it easier as a student.”