Orange County Public Schools

And then there were 210
OCPS opens 5 new schools
By Lauren Roth

As workers in hard hats hoisted a new sign at the end of the street, students and parents got their first look inside the all-new Hamlin Middle School in early August. As the school began to buzz with life, the neighborhood around the school was only just beginning to take shape.

In 2022, Orange County Public Schools opened five new schools - three elementaries, one middle school and one K-8 - to add school capacity in some of Orange County’s fastest-growing areas. These projects total a $156.2 million investment in our students by taxpayers, developers and property owners.

In Horizon West alone, two elementary schools and a middle school opened August 10 - Hamlin ES, Hamlin MS and Panther Lake ES. The booming area is in the southwestern part of Orange County. In Apopka’s growing north, OCPS added the kindergarten through eighth-grade Kelly Park School. The district also opened Stonewyck ES in the Meadow Woods area, located in the south central part of Orange County near the Osceola County line.

At Panther Lake Elementary during the week before school, nine-year-old Seraiah, a fourth-grader, and her sister Rashell, 7, a second-grader, looked over the books in the new media center. Rashell sat down and bounced on the new furniture, which includes a soft bench that can be relocated and matched flexibly with other pieces. The girls and their mom, Sophie Pierre Victor, said they were pleased by what they saw.

At Hamlin Elementary, Beth Munley, grandmother to two Hamlin Huskies, was already working a PTO table selling school T-shirts in the lobby. Her grandchildren Anderson Weaver, 8, and Emory Weaver, 5, were all smiles as they posed with the Husky mascot.

At Stonewyck Elementary, 5-year-old kindergartner Lucille Diaz gave the new school rave reviews, especially the decor in the media center. Her mom liked it, too. “It’s great, it’s a beautiful school,” Elizabeth Diaz said.

And at Kelly Park School, parents and students lined up outside the doors before the Sneak Peek. Apopka HS cheerleaders waved pompoms to mark the occasion.

Xavier Lowery, 9, a fourth-grader, said his favorite areas were the gym and basketball court. His mother, Ana Lowery, was also pleased by what she saw. “I think it’s fabulous - very bright and cheerful. I can’t wait for him to start.”