First-Of-Its Kind Magnet School Opens Next To New Starkey Theatre

ODESSA, FL — Some Pasco County students heading back to school Aug. 10 will have an opportunity to christen a first-of-its-kind magnet school for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Located at 2118 Lake Blanche Drive in Starkey Ranch, the $44 million Starkey Ranch K-8 School is a state-of-the-art educational facility offering three magnet programs: technical fine arts, computer science and world languages.

Students in lower grades will have the opportunity to explore all three programs before choosing a “mini major” in grades four and five.

Older students will be able to earn high school credit while indulging their interest of choice.

In the technical fine arts program, called the Academy of the Arts, students in kindergarten through third grade (the Artists) will explore and discover their strengths in dance, music and art. The Producers (grades four and five) will begin to explore individual fine arts talents in theater, orchestra and dance. Finally, the Directors (grades six to eight) will continue to hone their crafts in those subjects through deeper instruction and experiential learning.

Students in all levels of the Academy of the Arts will participate in and produce works of art, theater and dance on a regular basis.

The computer science program, dubbed the Institute of Innovation, will teach students in kindergarten through third grade (the Coders) the basics of computing, computer literacy and coding. Grades four and five (the Programmers) will continue to deepen their knowledge of coding and programming. And grades six to eight (the Analysts) will hone those skills to work on real-life problem-solving and analyzing human/computer interactions.

At all levels of the program, students will work with technology like 3-D printers and laser cutters, and they will have the opportunity to take industry certification exams to prove their practical skills.

By the time they complete eighth grade, students will have skills in programming (block and text), computational thinking, artificial intelligence, security, database systems, vision and graphics, numerical analysis, programming languages, software engineering, bioinformatics, mixed reality and computer literacy.

Meanwhile, students with an affinity for foreign languages are invited to explore the World Languages Conservatory. Explorers (kindergarten through grade) will begin to acquire Spanish through fun interactions including songs, puppets and role play. The Translators (grades four and five) will further develop their skills and cultural knowledge of the Spanish world. Finally, the Linguists (grades six to eight) will continue to develop and refine their verbal, written and speaking skills.

Students who spend all three years in middle school on this track will have the opportunity to take three Spanish high school-level courses.

The new school also features a modern gymnasium, athletic fields, cafeteria with a stage and sports courts, which will be open to students during the school day and available to the public after school, on weekends and during school breaks.

All students who live in the attendance boundary for Starkey Ranch K-8 may attend the new school. Students outside the boundary will need to apply to attend the school through the Pasco Pathways School Choice Application process.

The school, which can accommodate 1,500 students, will open with only grades kindergarten through seventh the first year.

“It's absolutely beautiful,” said the school's new principal, Cortney Gantt, adding that she's anxious to head up the innovative programs offered at the school.

"I’m sure Starkey K-8 will be the model for other K-8s we build in the district,” Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning said, adding that the district is already discussing building another K-8 school on the same site where the Kirkland Ranch Center for Innovation is under construction.

Browning said the school is unique from another angle as well. It was constructed in conjunction with the developers of Starkey Ranch on the same property as the newly opened Starkey Theater, Library and Cultural Center, giving the students access to those amenities.

"I am beyond excited that our students at Starkey Ranch K-8 will have access to all of these amazing and wonderful things," said teacher Stacie Faulkner Selover. "At our teacher retreat, all of us were looking around with our mouths hanging open in awe."

Connected to the community's nature preserves on two sides, the new cultural center, theater and library designed by Fleischman Garcia Architects invites the outdoors in with expansive windows, skylights, natural wood finishes, curved walls, even a plant wall covered in live greenery.

Officially opened to the public Monday, Aug. 2, the multifunctional venue features a library with an adult reading room and teen and youth reading rooms furnished with comfortable chairs that invite residents to sit and read, and a drive-up window to pick up and drop off books.

The 250-seat theater has a stage for performances as well as flexible space for community events and the cultural center features display and exhibit spaces as well as makerspace rooms including one equipped with two pottery wheels and a kiln. There's even a cafe and community recycling center.

The courtyard between the theater, library and cultural center and the Starkey K-8 School has a stage with an overhang equipped with lighting and backdrop for outdoor lectures, performances, outdoor movies, an outdoor classroom and story times.