Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Fla. Elementary School to Add Middle School Expansion

  • By Matt Jones
  • 03/14/22

The Polk County School Board in Davenport, Fla., recently approved funding to expand the campus of Bella Citta Elementary School to add a middle school. The $22-million addition will add classrooms for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students, as well as a new gymnasium, a cafeteria and a track. Construction is projected to be complete by June 2023, according to local news sources.

The current site of Bella Citta Elementary is 20 acres and can accommodate performance and fine arts classrooms. Local news reports that the facility also has space to expand because it is not obligated to build a retention pond for runoff water. “This site is bigger than a standard elementary school site,” said Angela Usher, assistant superintendent for facilities and operations.

Local news reports that combining the two facilities allows students to attend the same school from kindergarten through eighth grade. The move will reduce crowding at nearby schools and provide additional benefits to students’ behavioral and social issues within a tight-knit community.

The only dissenting vote came from school board member Kay Fields, who wondered whether the campus was big enough to fit an entire extra school. “I love the idea of a K–8 school. That’s not my concern,” said Fields at the meeting. “My concern is whether or not there’s enough space to accommodate that with all of the things that need to be in place for middle school students.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Opportunity by Design Framework

    Opportunity by Design

    Educational improvement efforts often focus on curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional development, and intervention systems while treating the physical school building as background. But school design is not a passive backdrop to learning — it is a structural lever for equity.

  • Embry-Riddle Completes Construction on Research, Lab Facility

    Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, Fla., recently announced the end of construction on a new research and lab facility on campus. The Center for Aerospace Engineering II (CAT II) will support aerospace research and technology development and broke ground last summer.

  • Chicago District Completes Construction on New Elementary School

    North Chicago School District 187 in North Chicago, Ill., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Forrestal Elementary School, according to a news release. The new school marks a major investment in military-connected students and families at Naval Station Great Lakes.

  • How Proactive Maintenance Can Transform Athletic Facilities into Strategic Assets for College Sports

    College athletics is entering one of the most transformative periods in its history. With NIL reshaping financial models and competitive expectations, athletic departments across the country are being asked to do more than ever with increasingly constrained resources.