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Lewes, Delaware - 9 schools
An equity score of 43/100 ranks Cape Henlopen School District #19 of 40 districts in Delaware (state average 39). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $19,754 per pupil, Cape Henlopen School District ranks #10 of 42 Delaware districts by per-pupil spending (Delaware districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
6,336
Total Enrollment
9
Schools
$19,754
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Cape Henlopen School District operates 9 public schools serving 6,336 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Delaware. The school portfolio breaks down into 5 elementary, 2 middle, 1 high, 1 combined schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Sussex County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $19,754 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 42 Delaware districts by per-pupil spending. See how Delaware compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 41.8% local, 49.1% state, and 9.1% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 43/100, ranked #19 of 40 in Delaware against a state average of 39, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 9 schools offering Advanced Placement (16 AP courses district-wide), a 470.4:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 23.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 64.5% White, 19.0% Hispanic or Latino, 8.3% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Mariner Middle School, with a diversity index of 61.0/100.
Its largest campus is Cape Henlopen High School, enrolling 1,889 students (30% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Beacon Middle School, at 427 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Cape Henlopen High School accounts for 29.8% of all Cape Henlopen School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Cape Henlopen School District-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Cape Henlopen School District school enrollment varies 4.4× across entities
Cape Henlopen School District school enrollment ranges from 427 students (lowest) to 1,889 students (highest), a spread of 1,462 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Cape Henlopen School District student-counselor ratio is 470:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Cape Henlopen School District chronic absenteeism rate is 23.7% — near the typical range (US average ~28) — aligned with the national post-pandemic baseline of roughly 28% chronic absenteeism
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Variation between sub-units within Cape Henlopen School District is typically wider than the Cape Henlopen School District-aggregate figure suggests.
Comparisons are relative to Cape Henlopen School District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Delaware
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Cape Henlopen School District?
Cape Henlopen School District has 9 schools, including 1 high, 5 elementary, 2 middle, 1 combined. Total enrollment is 6,336 students.
How much does Cape Henlopen School District spend per student?
Cape Henlopen School District spends $19,754 per student. The district has an equity score of 43/100, ranking #19 in Delaware.
What is the demographic composition of Cape Henlopen School District?
Cape Henlopen School District students are 64.5% White, 19.0% Hispanic or Latino, 8.3% African American, 1.6% Asian, averaged across 9 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Cape Henlopen School District?
Cape Henlopen School District has an equity score of 43/100, ranking #19 out of 40 districts in Delaware.