Lake Eola Charter School prides itself on its community’s close-knit connection. As the school begins the process of expanding with a second building, the administration and community plan to carry that sense of belonging into the new space.

Lake Eola Charter School (LECS) stands out in the city as the only public school in Orlando’s downtown area. As a tuition-free public charter school, LECS provides families in the Central Florida area with a way to get their children from kindergarten through eighth grade a high-quality education and tight-knit community without the cost associated with a private education.

The familial feel and ability for teachers to individualize learning for different students and their learning styles have attracted many parents to the school, creating a higher demand for the school’s existing facilities and spaces. That prompted LECS’ administration to begin looking into the possibility of an expansion several years ago.

“We realized that we were getting to the point where we needed to either move and try to find a new location or expand in order to be able to offer everything that our students really deserved. Our population is changing, our schools are changing and we needed to adapt to try to keep up with that. So we spent about 18 months surveying our families, looking at options and pursuing purchasing new lots, new buildings, and converting those into a school,” says Joey Parrish, director of the school.

LECS was fortunate when it found out that 127 N. Magnolia Ave., the building next to the one that is currently in use, went up for sale in April of this year, with the school quickly beginning the process to purchase and convert it into a functioning school building.

This purchase allows the school not only to expand but also to stay entirely within the Downtown Orlando area, which the school’s 18 months of surveying parents found to be the most favorable solution to the growing school population because of all the benefits of having students in the area.

“Our parents were very adamant that they wanted to stay in Downtown Orlando. We’re very proud and our parents take a lot of pride being in Downtown Orlando because of everything it brings for our students. Being able to access the park, being able to access the arts and entertainment, our business partnerships, the library. We have a great relationship with the public library, and so we decided on staying here in Downtown Orlando. But we knew that we needed other options in order to continue to grow,” says Parrish.

The expansion will allow the school to double the number of classes in kindergarten through fifth grade, with the process beginning this year by doubling the kindergarten through second grade classes.

“We still have some spaces available right now. So if there are families that are looking for any grades, kindergarten through eighth, we would love to have them join us through this process,” says Parrish.

Not only does the expansion offer new classroom spaces and allow for more students, but it also allows students to have access to a play space and more elective classes than were previously possible to provide. While the school was previously limited to primarily just Spanish as far as electives, it now offers orchestra, band, chorus, robotics, engineering, STEAM and advanced art.

The expansion is an exciting development for both incoming students and those already attending the school, teachers and parents.

“It’s the introduction of something new, something to hope for. We joke that our school was originally a parking garage. It was built in the 1920s. Great things have come out of garages in the past, but it’s going to be really nice to have a new, modern facility for our youngest students, and be able to enhance our current building and make some much-needed repairs and upgrades that will help us rival any other new buildings opening around Orlando,” says Parrish.

The expansion will be taking place throughout the current academic year and through next summer, with plans to start the next school year with the building in operation by August 2027.

In order to bring the family feel of the school community to the new building, LECS held a dedication ceremony where families were invited to bring soil or dirt from their current homes or neighborhoods.

“We had a ceremony where everybody joined that dirt together as the new foundation of this new legacy for LECS. Everybody brought a little bit of their own story, a little bit of their own family, a little bit of their own home, to become part of this new addition to our family,” says Parrish.

Lake Eola Charter School
Orlando
(407) 246-0900
LECS.org