The Saint Thomas More Preparatory School Story...

After the closing of Dover's Holy Cross High School in 1987, a dedicated group of lay men and women began almost immediately to formulate plans for the return of Catholic secondary education to Central Delaware. Calling upon their considerable skills, they saw to the establishment of "Thomas More Academy, Incorporated," and to the projection of a school program and budget. When, after some years, a gift of land provided the field for the dream, they commissioned a feasibility study, and embarked upon a fundraising campaign.


Fundraising efforts for the "private, independent" Catholic high school were rewarded with the generous response of individuals and foundations. More than $1.6 million were raised for the first of Thomas More Academy's buildings. It was not an easy task, and it required heroic gifts of time and energy on the part of a few wonderfully dedicated men and women. It also required powerful faith, especially when setbacks seemed to threaten the dream.


By the spring of 1997 it became clear to most that the enormous project of opening a high school of quality would require resources beyond those available to the Thomas More Academy founders. A delegation met with the Most Reverend Michael Saltarelli, Bishop of the Wilmington Diocese, and presented a report on the "state of the school," in the hope that the Bishop might find a way to be of help. The response was immediate, enthusiastic, and generous.


Today, the Academy has evolved into Saint Thomas More Preparatory School, and it is the second high school owned and operated by the Diocese of Wilmington Schools, Inc. Begun by the laity and adopted by a grateful bishop, St. Thomas More Preparatory provides a remarkable, perhaps even unprecedented, example of collaboration between a bishop and his flock. Acknowledging the work done by the followers of the Academy, Bishop Saltarelli has said: "I am grateful for the great gift they have made to the Church, making it possible for us to continue our holy mission to teach the Good News in such an important way."