The Orange County School Board voted unanimously Tuesday evening to convert Orange Center Elementary in downtown Orlando into a first-of-its-kind public-private charter school.
Orange Center parents voted to approve the change earlier this year and this vote by the school board gives the school the go-ahead to begin development.
Orange Center is currently a public Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) magnet school, but will begin the process of converting into a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) charter school.
Under the nonprofit Neighborhood Schools Initiative, Orange Center Elementary is working with OCPS and the nonprofit Lift Orlando to incorporate new approaches to education, according to the Lift Orlando website. The nonprofit says the process will include guidance and technical assistance from national partners at Purpose Built Communities and Harlem Children’s Zone.
The new school plans to phase in major instructional changes focused on STEAM pathways over the course of several years and must maintain state testing.
According to Lift Orlando, which has been working on the conversion in conjunction with OCPS, the goal is to continue to expand into a K-8 academy by the 2029-2030 school year. Orange Center Elementary is expected to open as a charter school in August.
Current students will be given priority enrollment and current staff will be offered positions if they wish to stay, according to Lift Orlando. Teachers who remain will be employees of the Neighborhood Schools Initiative instead of OCPS.
