Cape Henlopen School District

Summary:

The Cape Henlopen School District is a high-performing district in Delaware, with 9 schools serving students from elementary through high school. The district is home to several standout schools, including Cape Henlopen High School, which ranks among the top 10-20 high schools in the state, and Beacon Middle School, which is among the top 5-8 middle schools in Delaware.

The district's top-performing schools, such as Love Creek Elementary School, which ranks among the top 15 elementary schools in the state, consistently outperform the state averages on academic assessments. However, there is a noticeable gap in performance between the district's highest-achieving schools and its lower-performing ones, suggesting potential inequities that may need to be addressed.

While the Cape Henlopen School District as a whole is a strong-performing district, it faces some challenges, including a high chronic absenteeism rate of 20.4% across all schools. Additionally, the district's alternative school, Sussex Consortium, has an extremely high per-student spending of $75,942, highlighting the specialized resources needed to support students with special needs.

District Detail

1270 Kings Hwy
Lewes, DE 19958

(302) 645-6686

SchoolDigger Rank:
2^nd of 32 Delaware districts

See the 2025 Delaware District rankings!

Grades served: PK, KG-12
Students: 6,654

Primary Schools: 5
Middle Schools: 3
High Schools: 1
Alternative Schools: 1

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				DeSSA Science (2025)				DeSSA Social Studies (2025)						SAT English Language Arts (2025)	SAT Mathematics (2025)	SAT Essay (2025)	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts (2025)						Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)						Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	DeSSA Science 5th Grade	DeSSA Science 8th Grade	DeSSA Science 9th Grade	DeSSA Science 10th Grade	DeSSA Social Studies 4th Grade	DeSSA Social Studies 5th Grade	DeSSA Social Studies 6th Grade	DeSSA Social Studies 7th Grade	DeSSA Social Studies 8th Grade	DeSSA Social Studies 11th Grade	SAT English Language Arts 11th Grade	SAT Mathematics 11th Grade	SAT Essay 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Total
Cape Henlopen High School	Public	9-12	1250 Kings Highway	Lewes	19958	Sussex County	Cape Henlopen School District	No	No	No	No	(302) 645-7711	1,889	125	15.1		1,181 (62.5%)	178 (9.4%)	394 (20.9%)	31 (1.6%)	11 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	93 (4.9%)	69.5	8^th of 41 public high schools	80.5%		67.8	11^th of 41 public high schools	73.2%	3			41.9	21.1						32.4	62.9	29.6	30.9													$19,808
H. O. Brittingham Elementary School	Public	K-5	402 Mulberry Street	Milton	19968	Sussex County	Cape Henlopen School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 684-8522	506	40	12.6		301 (59.5%)	46 (9.1%)	108 (21.3%)	7 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (8.7%)	69.2	30^th of 109 public elementary schools	72.5%		60.2	36^th of 106 public elementary schools	66.0%	6	43.5				31.7	69.4								42.7	48.8	52.8				43.3	54.8	47.2				$21,556
Mariner Middle School	Public	6-8	16391 Harbeson Rd	Milton	19968	Sussex County	Cape Henlopen School District	No	No	No	No	(302) 685-8516	552	47	11.7		302 (54.7%)	61 (11.1%)	151 (27.4%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	33 (6.0%)	57.4	20^th of 59 public middle schools	66.1%		62.2	17^th of 54 public middle schools	68.5%	3		27.7					42.9	57.8	28.5								37.7	46.0	39.8				30.4	43.9	45.8	$21,633
Rehoboth Elementary School	Public	K-5	500 Stockley Street	Rehoboth Beach	19971	Sussex County	Cape Henlopen School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 227-2571	557	41	13.5		368 (66.1%)	47 (8.4%)	97 (17.4%)	14 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (5.6%)	83.8	19^th of 109 public elementary schools	82.6%		89.8	8^th of 106 public elementary schools	92.5%	11	43.0				40.7	68.0								59.6	67.4	61.0				59.6	62.1	55.0				$21,021
Lewes Elementary School	Public	K-5	820 Savannah Road	Lewes	19958	Sussex County	Cape Henlopen School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 645-7748	620	44	14.0		427 (68.9%)	51 (8.2%)	98 (15.8%)	9 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (5.6%)	79.3	24^th of 109 public elementary schools	78.0%		86	14^th of 106 public elementary schools	86.8%	10	29.6				41.0	72.7								63.8	55.1	69.6				60.8	50.9	56.5				$18,607
Beacon Middle School	Public	6-8	19483 John J. Williams Highway	Lewes	19958	Sussex County	Cape Henlopen School District	No	No	No	No	(302) 645-6288	427	40	10.6		313 (73.3%)	26 (6.1%)	51 (11.9%)	8 (1.9%)	5 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (5.6%)	88.6	8^th of 59 public middle schools	86.4%		92	5^th of 54 public middle schools	90.7%	3		32.6					64.6	66.7	46.0								71.5	71.0	70.9				65.0	52.9	50.0	$26,240
Milton Elementary School	Public	K-5	512 Federal Street	Milton	19968	Sussex County	Cape Henlopen School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 684-2516	582	39	14.9		337 (57.9%)	42 (7.2%)	159 (27.3%)	10 (1.7%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (5.3%)	65.4	33^rd of 109 public elementary schools	69.7%		65.6	29^th of 106 public elementary schools	72.6%	4	30.5				25.3	64.8								60.0	42.3	48.1				54.7	58.8	43.8				$19,649
Sussex Consortium	Public, Alternative	PK, KG-12	17344 Sweetbriar Road	Lewes	19958	Sussex County	Cape Henlopen School District	No	No	No	No	(302) 645-7210	439	86	5.1		297 (67.7%)	49 (11.2%)	68 (15.5%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (4.8%)								(n/a)
Love Creek Elementary School	Public	K-5	19488 John J. Williams Hwy	Lewes	19958	Sussex County	Cape Henlopen School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 703-3456	631	42	15.0		443 (70.2%)	24 (3.8%)	84 (13.3%)	14 (2.2%)	4 (0.6%)	2 (0.3%)	60 (9.5%)	84.6	15^th of 109 public elementary schools	86.2%		87.7	11^th of 106 public elementary schools	89.6%	4	47.7				42.2	65.7								56.2	66.0	71.0				55.7	59.2	62.0				$19,701
Frederick D Thomas Middle School	Public	6-8	1270 Kings Highway	Lewes	19958	Sussex County	Cape Henlopen School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(302) 645-6686	451	27	16.7		304 (67.4%)	31 (6.9%)	66 (14.6%)	12 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	37 (8.2%)								(n/a)		39.1					55.2	63.2	45.7								66.9	63.1	71.2				51.8	55.7	52.6	$30,746

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Indian River School District	9.02 mi	17	10^th
Sussex Academy	12.53 mi	1
Bryan Allen Stevenson School of Excellence	14.7 mi	1
Milford School District	16.4 mi	8	22^nd
Sussex Technical School District	17.66 mi	1	7^th

See the top DE Delaware districts

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Delaware Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.