Nova Lakes High School Principal Dr. Nigel Pillay (pictured) says the school, the county’s first new high school in eight years, will be a place for students to find their place and grow. (Photo/Debbie Daniel)
When the doors of Nova Lakes High School in St. Cloud opened this week and the first school bell rang, students walked into Osceola’s ninth traditional public high school and first one built since Tohopekaliga High School opened in 2018.
The 46-acre campus east of St. Cloud is serving ninth through 11th grades in the 2026-27 school year and has a projected enrollment of 1,250. Designed to accommodate the rapid residential growth in east Osceola County, the school has a capacity of 2,500 students.
Leading the school is Principal Dr. Nigel Pillay, who comes to the Osceola County School District from St. Johns County. Pillay has spent 26 years in education, including 12 years as a principal. His vision for Nova Lakes centers on what the school calls the “AAA Experience”: emphasis on academics, arts, and athletics.
Pillay pointed out that some schools focus heavily on academics while students gifted in other areas receive less recognition.
“Students who are gifted and talented in other areas don’t necessarily get equal opportunity to shine and be celebrated,” he said. “So the idea behind the AAA Experience is to ensure that, whether your strengths are in academics, the arts—performing arts and fine arts, or athletics, we’re going to be intentional in making sure that we provide all students an opportunity to shine and be recognized in those areas.”
That philosophy is personal for Pillay, a father of six who has watched different strengths emerge in each of his children. One daughter began playing softball, he said, then discovered she excelled on the saxophone and quickly became first chair. “My proudest moments were just watching her find an area that she grew,” he said.
Nova Lakes will offer the major athletics programs: basketball, tennis, softball, baseball, lacrosse, soccer, football and various other sports. Construction on their swimming pool should begin in October, Pillay said. Performing arts will include chorus, band, theater, and dance. Academics will include Advanced Placement classes, dual enrollment, and Career Technical Education programs in culinary, biomedical, agricultural business, finance, early childhood education (with an on-site VPK program), applied engineering, applied cyber security, and entrepreneurship. Plans call for expanding next year with HVAC, digital multimedia, industrial robotics, and health science.
Such a wide range of academic, arts and athletic offerings is designed to meet students where their individual strengths and interests already lie, Pillay said. “It helps give our children a reason to come to school,” he said. “Not all of us see the value and appreciate just coming, sitting in a seat and learning. When you have other ways to celebrate them and help them feel involved and part of the school, and find their way and find their place, I’m all for that. It’s why we’re here in education: Helping all these young men and women find their place and grow.”
Opening a newly built school didn’t come without hiccups, however. The entrance from Nova Road to the school won’t be complete until December, so a temporary roadway was constructed behind the school through the Pine Grove community.
“There’s not a direct entrance open to us, so we have a back entrance,” he explained. “Families will come down Pine Grove and they will still get to the entrance of our school.”
The Pine Gove entrance will remain open after the Nova Road entrance is complete, providing two routes for parents to access the school, according to Dave Sharma, chief facilities officer for the Osceola School District.
“The project is a county project currently, the portion connecting Nova Road to the school,” Sharma said. “The school board built the turn lanes, and that portion of the project’s done and waiting for the connection.”
Despite the entrance issue, first-day dropoff went smoothly, Sharma said. “Our team was out there. We had our transportation folks and we had the Sheriff’s office help as well,” he said. “We were done by six minutes after the first bell. Tuesday morning was significantly better at 7:14. We’re seeing significant improvements.”
