ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Two more new schools are planned for St. Johns County as the student population in the area continues to grow.
The St. Johns County School District has started planning a designing two K-8 schools in the northern part of the county where much of the growth is focused.
One school is planned for the vast SilverLeaf development and another is planned for Nocatee. Both schools are set to open in time for the 2026-27 school year, according to a presentation shown to the school board on Tuesday. The district said it will seek financing for the two schools early next year.
Two more K-8s (NN, OO) are already set to open next school year in the Shearwater and Beacon Lake neighborhoods, respectively. Another K-8 is set to open in RiverTown in 2025.
The new schools come at a time when the county is continuing to see huge population growth that peaked during the pandemic.
According to the district, it now has more than 51,500 students, 2.8% more than last year.
Vanessa Summers, who moved to Nocatee from California two years ago. She said her daughter’s school had to add portables because of how many students are enrolled.
“I can’t say that we as parents with the education feel that we’re suffering because they have the portables, it’s just more than accommodating the growth. So it’s definitely needed,” Summers said.
Summers said she’s not concerned about the need to fill teacher positions and other jobs in the district.
“I feel like with tremendous growth comes tremendous opportunity for problem-solving. So it seems like they’ve gotten a handle on it. Like I mentioned, a lot of the teachers in my daughter’s school are younger, but there’s benefits to that, that we’re experiencing,” Summer said.
Jared Light is also a Nocatee resident with a child enrolled in St. John’s County schools. He moved from Atlanta three years ago. He said in that short amount of time he’s seen it grow tremendously.
“I really love it here, I would like it to maybe slow down just a little bit, you know, because it’s special. But I understand why there is so much growth, because this area is just a really special place to live,” Light said. “There’s a huge need for another K through eight. I know that Palm Valley Academy is full. Valley Ridge Academy is full Pine Island Academy, where when my daughter went to school is pretty much full capacity. So we definitely need more access for kids and families to be in a good, the best school environment in the state.”