Orange County District to Open 5 New Schools

Orange County Public Schools in Orange County, Fla., will open five new schools in August to accommodate rising enrollment figures, according to a news release.

The district plans to open three new elementary schools (Hamlin Elementary, Panther Lake Elementary and Stonewyck Elementary), one middle school (Hamlin Middle School) and one K–8 school (Kelly Park School). The five schools have combined total capacity of 5,000 students and bring the district’s total number of schools to 210, the ninth-largest in the U.S. The K–8 facility, Kelly Park, will absorb future growth in the area, the news release reports.

The construction project cost an estimated $156.2 million and created 1,155 jobs in the area. All schools were built according to Green Globes environmental construction standards, reports the news release.

The district will host a series of open houses before the schools open for the semester.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • University of Kentucky Integrates New Cleaning Technology

    The University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., recently installed a new cleaning system designed to improve cooling efficiency on campus, according to a news release. The Facilities Management’s Utilities and Energy Management Unit installed new chiller tubes into two of the chillers at the university’s Central Utility Plant.

  • Agualta STEAM Engine

    Outdoor Learning Spaces and Biophilic Design Create Community in East Los Angeles

    Griffith STEAM Magnet Middle School's Agualta STEAM Engine blends education, community, and nature through its adaptable design.

  • Key Considerations for Office-to-Higher-Education Facility Conversions

    Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, office-to-alternative-use conversions have become a recurring subject of urban development discourse. Office utilization rates across major U.S. cities remain below 50%, with vacancy rates exceeding 27% in San Francisco and 16% in New York. Higher education facilities present programmatic and spatial use cases that align readily with the typical characteristics of commercial office buildings.

  • Singlewire Software Report Reveals Gaps in K–12 School Entrance Security

    Single Software recently released its first-ever School Entrance Security Report based on more than 500 responses from U.S. school staff members. According to a news release, the findings highlight a gap between K–12 leaders’ wishes for school safety and how safe the schools actually are, as well as the challenges facing students and staff in that goal.

Digital Edition