As students, teachers, and staff prepare to get back into the familiarity of the classroom, one Lee County middle school is welcoming them all with some major upgrades, including a new location.
Drenched in crimson, gold, and silver, the new Lehigh Acres Middle School — or LAMS for short — ribbon-cutting ceremony is full from floor to ceiling with excitement as Principal Dr. Brian Gibson cuts the ceremonial cord with oversized gold scissors engraved with the words “The School District of Lee County.”
The location is modern, spacious, and thoughtfully designed with the purpose behind each classroom in mind. The STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) Magnet School was completed on July 15 with a total project cost of $54.2 million dollars.
Dr. Gibson said this means a fresh start for the students and community of Lehigh.
“Being able to have new technology, new everything, I think our kids deserve that. When you’re in a school, that could be sometimes tough, I think nonetheless we need to provide them with an environment that’s refreshing so that they could be refreshed as well,” said Dr. Gibson.
And by “new everything,” he means everything.
LAMS is also an AVID school. Avid stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. Classrooms are all fitted with Promethean boards — a big upgrade from a “Smartboard” that allows for easier tech integration into classes. Courses run the educational gamut from robotics, video game, and app development, to dance, theatre and CrossFit.
With three stories full of labs and classrooms and hallways close to 15-feet wide, it could be easy to lose your way on the first day of school.
12-year-old Julian Harris thinks his second year at LAMS is going to be an entirely new experience.
“It’s a big change, I gotta get used to it,” said Harris. “I just hope I don’t get lost on the first day.”
LAMS was one of the highest selected schools in Lee County school choice this year.
Gwynetta Gittens is on the Lee County School Board representing District 5. A former teacher at LAMS, Gittens wants the community to know that it’s not the shiny new building that makes LAMS the school students want to attend, it’s the kind of education they receive there.
“But the learning is the most important piece,” said Gittens. ”It’s what we send out from these halls into the world to be the best that they can be.”
As for the first day of school, Dr. Gibson is anxiously awaiting one thing…
“The smiles of the kids,” said Dr. Gibson. “Actually seeing smiles and faces of kids.”
