Kids Community College Breaks Ground on New Middle School

The shovels used by directors, staff and children to break ground were strictly symbolic.

Behind them, bulldozers were already busy clearing the land on the site that will become a 50,000-square-foot Kids Community College on Mathog Road off Gibstonton Drive, just west of Lowe's Home Improvement Center.

Just weeks after receiving approval from the Hillsborough County School Board to create a new charter school, students, parents, staff and board members of Kids Community College gathered Friday, Jan. 20, to celebrate the school's ground breaking.

"It's a wonderful day for Kids Community College," said founder Timothy Kilpatrick. "This began in 2003 as a visionary effort to bring the highest quality of education to our students. And now we're breaking ground on a 50,000-square-foot facility for 636 students."

The new state-of-the-art facility will house Kids Community College's current elementary school, which will relocate from Lake St. Charles in Riverview, as well as a new middle school. The existing Lake St. Charles facility will continue to serve Kids Community College's preschool students.

Slated to be completed in time for the start of the 2012-13 school year, the new school will feature oversized classrooms offering smart boards, a 3,600-square-foot “cafetorium” and music, science and technology labs.

"It's amazing that we've been able to accomplish this during a difficult economy," said Karen Seder, director of middle school operations. "I remember in 2003 when we were crammed into a meeting room with parents to discuss starting this new school. Now, here we are today breaking ground on a middle school."

Parent Kim Aguilar attended that first meeting.

"We couldn't find a preschool in the area that we were comfortable with and decided to attend this informational meeting for Kids Community College. We loved what we heard. Our two children started in the preschool and have attended Kids Community College ever since."

Aguilar said it was the individualized instruction offered at Kids Community College that hooked her.

"I had one child who struggled and one who was a grade ahead so I've seen both sides," said Aguilar. "Kids Community College offers programs where kids can work ahead and excel or get the extra help they need."

Claire Fleischman also enrolled her two kids, now 10 and 8, in Kids Community College as preschoolers.

"They did so much math and reading to get our kids ready for school," said Fleischman. "We felt very comfortable continuing on at Kids community College.

In addition to building the new elementary and middle school, Kids Community College is building the area's first International Baccalaureate program for elementary students on Balm-Riverview Road. There are currently only two such elementary IB programs in Hillsborough County and 24 in the state, said Kilpatrick.

IB programs promote the education of the whole person, emphasizing intellectual, personal, emotional and social growth through all domains of knowledge.

"We plan to build a new 30,000-square-foot facility for the IB program but it won’t be ready until January 2013," said Kilpatrick. In the meantime, the new PYP (or elementary) IB program will be located temporarily at the Kid's Community College's existing middle school facility on U.S. 301 in Riverview.

The IB program, which will begin this fall, will open with 108 students. By the third year, Kid's Community College expects to have 348 students enrolled.

"We've been planning this expansion for about six years now," said Kilpatrick, "and we're really excited that it's now coming to fruition."

The new charter school off Gibsonton Drive will accommodate 636 students, said Kilpatrick.

"We kept the population small for individualized learning, although the classrooms are large," he said. "It's just the right thing to do for the students."

In addition, Kid's Community College is opening another campus in Orlando, said Kilpatrick.

The combined Riverview projects will create at least 30 new jobs and accommodate nearly 750 students.

“Expansions such as these not only offer new professional opportunities in a industry recently besieged by cutbacks and layoffs, but it also encourages economic stimulus in a local rural community that is experiencing its fair share of financial challenges,” said Kilpatrick. “Our public nonprofit charter schools are tuition free and were founded locally by residents of this community to serve this community, and that means a great deal to us.

Seder attributes the continued growth and success of Kids Community College to a continued focus on putting children first while addressing community needs and placing a high value on the associates of the company.

“Being able to work hand-in-hand with our board, students, parents and the Riverview community has allowed us all to grow and bring a long-term, high-quality educational vision into clearer focus," she said.

The new pre-kindergarten to eighth-grade facility anticipates 125 openings for the 2012 school year. 

Open enrollment for both campuses will begin this month for the August openings. Parents interested in enrolling are encouraged to apply early by visitingwww.kidscc.org/register or stopping by the Riverview elementary campus. Interested educators can apply online at www.kidscc.org/careers. Campus information, including artist renderings of the new campuses, can be found at www.kidscc.org/campuses.