District announces names of new K-8 schools

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The St. Johns County School District (SJCSD) announced earlier this week the names of the new K-8 schools currently under construction to meet the demand of the county’s growth.

The school in Nocatee previously known as “KK” will be called Palm Valley Academy, and the school in Saint Johns formerly known as “LL” will be called Freedom Crossing Academy. Both names were approved at the SJCSD School Board meeting held on Tuesday, March 13.

According to the district, principals Jessica Richardson and Allen Anderson, respectively, collected input from the public and provided the suggested names to school board members during their workshop held March 6. Both schools are scheduled to open for the 2018-2019 school year.

The new schools, said the district, will feature movable walls between two classroom teams as well as extended learning areas for collaboration opportunities. Each facility, the district continued, includes state-of-the-art technology and core facilities with a media center, cafetorium, playgrounds and physical education fields.

District officials said the design used for both K-8 schools is a modification of Patriot Oaks and Valley Ridge academies, with the addition of a third floor that will house eight classrooms, three science labs, ESE (Exceptional Student Education) classrooms, a technology lab, business lab, skills lab and a resource room. The planned capacity for these two schools is approximately 1,490 students per school.

Palm Valley Academy is located at 2135 Palm Valley Road in Ponte Vedra, and Freedom Crossing Academy is in Aberdeen located at 1365 Shetland Drive in Saint Johns.