Delaware City Schools has finished a majority of its ongoing construction projects ahead of the 2021-2022 school year, meaning students will start the school year with new classrooms, new spaces and new playgrounds.
Delaware City Schools Director of Facilities and Transportation Jason Sherman said Thursday the district has completed its expansions to Schultz Elementary School and Dempsey Middle School, while also adding playground equipment at Conger, Smith and Schultz elementaries.
At Schultz, the new expansion added a wing of 10 classrooms to the school as well as several additional spaces like art rooms and multipurpose rooms. The project also reconfigured the front office to add additional offices and work space. Sherman said the school’s new production kitchen will be up and running at the start of school.
Additionally, the expansion at Schultz includes an extension of Penick Avenue to Cobblestone Drive, as well as a reworked bus loop. Sherman said the extended roadway will be completed before the start of the school year.
Schultz, Conger and Smith also received new playgrounds over the summer, and Sherman said they will be finished and ready for children next week. He added there will be some site work to finish around the playgrounds at Smith and Conger, but “nothing that will be a major impact on recess.”
Sherman said the district recently ordered more ADA equipment for all three playgrounds, which will be installed later this fall.
A poured rubber surface that will be used in conjunction with the new ADA equipment will not be available for installation until spring 2022.
“This surface will provide a higher degree of access for students with mobility issues,” Sherman said. “Similar ADA equipment will be installed at Carlisle (Elementary) and Woodward (Elementary), hopefully next summer.”
Sherman said there will also be some landscaping work to be finished at Schultz as the school year begins.
At Dempsey, work has been completed on a new wing that includes classrooms, a new School Aged Child Care (SACC) space, and an orchestra room.
“At Dempsey, teachers are moving into their new spaces this week, and all of the major work is complete,” Sherman said Thursday. “Marker boards and some furniture are on backorder and will be installed later in September. However, we have enough of this equipment on hand to get us started.”
A new concession stand, bathrooms, and a storage room were also added to the east side of Dempsey by the athletic fields.
Sherman said the new parking lots at Conger and Smith will be ready for use early next week.
The first day of school is Aug. 18.
