Osceola district breaks ground on new Kindred K-8 school to open in '25

A new community deserves a new school. And with all the rooftops, driveways — and bedrooms — going into Kindred, a school there is a new necessity.

The School District of Osceola County broke ground on one Friday — a K-8 school — that fits its vision, and will fit into the neighborhood.

The school, located right off Cross Prairie Parkway and designed and constructed by Schenkel Shultz and Williams Company, will feature a three-story building with an administration suite, media center, fine arts wing, gymnasium, 400-meter running track with soccer infield, and three full-size exterior basketball courts and cafeteria.

Over 1,000 workers will be on site during the build. The school, slated to be ready for the 2025-26 school year in just 18 months, will accommodate 1,495 students, the School District said. Those already living in the growing Kindred neighborhood currently are zoned for Neptune Elementary and Middle schools.

The school will have a number of advanced-thinking specifications, including a pickup line queue that will be able to double stack 297 cars off of the main road.

School Superintendent Mark Shanoff acknowledged that Osceola County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the country, and its projects reflect that. “We have to keep up with the growth. We recognized that schools we build become hubs for our communities. When people decide they are going to relocate, schools are the first thing they decide on for where to live.”

New K-8 schools in Sunbridge and Knightsbridge communities will open in the fall, making “K-8 School AA” the third in two years to open. It’s a model Shanoff says works for students, families and administrators.

“We love the idea of students to learn and grow as a community for those nine years,” he said. “It allows flexibility in our school programs. And a lot of parents want their kids to go to the same school for as long as they can. It also allows us to build community, and that’s what we want in a new residential community going up. That’s the benefit of the K-8 model, and I think it strengthens the community and the learning experience.”

He said grades will be able to be stacked — K-2 on the first floor, 3-5 on the third floor and middle school on the top floors, so students of vastly different ages won’t be intermingling.

“We’ve got a fantastic design and construction team that will be working to make sure this project finishes within 18 months and is ready to welcome kids in fall of 2025,” Shanoff said.

District Facilities Officer Dave Sharma said the Kindred school will look much like the two that will open this year, and be functional for at least 50 years.

“We’re not building schools just because we want to,” he said. “The district has put trust in the facilities team, we’re overseeing a billion dollars of work.”