Our Children’s Academy in Lake Wales is getting a brand-new, $1.2 million campus, and Tucker Paving Inc. has a nice role in the construction.

We’re looking forward to this project for a couple of reasons: One, we’re going to be working alongside colleagues with our sister company, Tucker Construction & Engineering Inc.; and, two, Our Children’s Academy is a very special school.

The charter ESE (exceptional student education) academy “is a place where children with special needs overcome daily challenges and enjoy success in learning and living.”

After more than five years of planning, the new campus for Our Children’s Academy is being built on 7.62 acres at 501 Burns Ave. That’s near High Point Church and not far from the academy’s current campus at 555 Burns Ave.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new campus was held April 19. With the selection of a modular building for the academy’s main structure, the campus should be ready for the August start of the 2016-17 school year.

Our Children’s Academy currently serves special-needs children from pre-kindergarten through the ninth grade. With recent approval of a new charter, academy officials can move ahead with plans to teach students through the 12th grade.

Recently on Tucker Paving’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/tuckerpaving), Janet McPhall-Randle posted a ringing endorsement of Our Children’s Academy:

“My 5-year-old daughter attends Our Children’s Academy and it has made an amazingly wonderful difference in her! She is autistic, and going to this school the last year has turned her into a whole new child and brought her out of her shell!”

We’re thankful for Janet’s post, and the Tucker Paving team is happy for her and her daughter.

For more about Our Children’s Academy, a truly wonderful center for learning, visit the website at www.ourchildrensacademy.org.