About 10 blog posts ago, we wrote about the start of our work on the brand-new, $1.2 million campus for Our Children’s Academy in Lake Wales. On this project, Tucker Paving team members worked alongside colleagues with our sister company, Tucker Construction & Engineering, Inc.
Well, construction is done — finished right on time for the start of the 2016-17 school year on Aug. 15.
The new campus was built on 7.62 acres at 501 Burns Ave., near High Point Church and not far from the academy’s previous location at 555 Burns Ave. The construction, which began with an April 19 groundbreaking ceremony, culminated more than five years of planning for the new campus.
If you didn’t see our original blog item, we noted the very special nature of Our Children’s Academy. 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.”
Our Children’s Academy currently serves special-needs children from prekindergarten through the ninth grade. Now, with the new campus completed, academy officials can move ahead full tilt with plans to add grades 10 through 12.
As we said on our Facebook page recently (facebook.com/tuckerpaving), we’ve completed work on dozens of schools through the years, but Our Children’s Academy stands out as being extra special to our team. For one reason, one of our team members has a child who attends this school, and we take great pride in the knowledge that we helped to make this new campus a reality for him and the other students. For another reason, it was a delight to visit with all of the students who came out weekly to check on the progress of our work. We will miss that.
For more about Our Children’s Academy and its important role in local education, visit the school’s website at www.ourchildrensacademy.org.
