GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – Clay County’s newest school welcomed its first students to class Thursday morning with a grand entrance at Spring Park Elementary in Green Cove Springs.
More than 600 kindergarten through sixth grade students began the school year at the newly opened elementary school on County Road 315 and many families were thrilled to be part of the inaugural year.
“We have been waiting a long time for this,” said Diondrea Bratcher, whose daughter began her fifth grade year on Thursday. “We watched the school go from dirt to the building. To see all of this and everybody so excited is nice. It’s heartwarming.”
The school, which cost a little more than $40 million, broke ground on construction in May 2022 and opens at a time the district is forecasting between 7,000 and 10,000 more students over the next decade.
To address that expected increase Superintendent David Broskie, who toured several schools Thursday, including Spring Park Elementary, said the district has a 5-year, 10-year and even a 15-year plan for how it could handle that growth and the potential need for more schools.
“Growth continues to happen in Clay County. The school system adjusts to accommodate that growth and this is a perfect example of that,” Broskie said. “This school was built on budget, came on time and debt free.”
There are 48 classrooms on campus, the cafeteria and auditorium share a space, a few top-notch play areas and the school is equipped to be an emergency shelter if necessary.
Tiffany Outman, Spring Park Elementary’s first principal, isn’t new to leading schools in the district. She has spent 13 years as a principal in Clay County.
“Just to see the children coming in with such anticipation and excitement really does fill our hearts. That is why we are in this business,” Outman said.
Beau Outman, who is going into fifth grade, is among the first Spring Park Owls to walk the hallways.
“I get to be with a whole lot of wonderful people,” Beau said. “I get to learn with a lot of my friends and make new ones as well.”
Every single classroom in the school has state-of-the-art technology, including smart boards. They are adjustable. So teachers can set it to their height or get it to their students’ height.
“The ultimate goal of any education system is to produce literate, productive citizens of society,” Principal Outman said. “To do that in my world, I focus on two things: I focus on working hard and being kind. Those are the words that I live by and the way that I lead.”
Other technology keeps students safe while at school. Every classroom door locks as soon as it closes. They can only be opened from the inside where each door will have peepholes for the teachers and students.
“Just being able to provide this space for children in the area to really become a community school,” Principal Outman said. “The building is beautiful. The people who fill it are phenomenal. I cannot say enough about our teaching staff, our custodial staff.”
Terri Anne Dicks, a sixth-grade math teacher, has been an instructor for 25 years and said this opportunity is unique.
“I got chills,” Dicks said at the official opening last month. “I actually got chills all over and tears in my eyes at just the opportunity to impact this community in a positive way.”
Clay County’s Spring Park Elementary is not the only one in our area. In Duval County, Spring Park Elementary serves students in the Spring Park area, near San Marco.