ORLANDO, Fla. — The design phase of a new facility and campus renovations at the Orlando Gifted Academy has officially begun. Orange County School leaders shared updates on the process at a Monday night meeting.

What You Need To Know

  • Orange County Public Schools set aside $52.6 million for renovations to the Orlando Gifted Academy

  • The renovations will include new technology spaces, covered canopies in-between buildings, modern infrastructure and state-of-the-art science labs

  • The 9-acre site will have capacity for 800 students and will be opening in 2028. While the construction is taking place, students will relocate to the Orange Technical College Winter Park Campus this summer

  • According to OCPS, construction is set to begin in December 2026

Students, families and staff gathered at the school auditorium for a 10% Design Community Meeting regarding the renovation process and the temporary move to the Orange Technical College Winter Park campus.

Orange County Public Schools set aside $52.6 million for the project. The money comes from the half-penny sales tax approved by Orange County voters.

The goal of this renovation is to have a custom-design campus to meet the needs of gifted students.

“I think they’re taking a lot of care to make sure that it is the right environment with such a large budget going towards it. I feel that they’re doing their due diligence and really putting their best and brightest on the project. I’m very excited about that for the future,” parent of two students at Orlando Gifted Academy, Jamie Marshall, said.

The 9-acre site will have capacity for 800 students and will be opening in 2028.

School board member for District 6 Stephanie Vanos said the new facility will include sustainability features and a much-needed upgrade to the existing buildings at the former Fern Creek Elementary, which were built in 1948.

“This school, as you know, is an older facility,” Vanos said. “So, we’re so excited to be able to invest the money to build our gifted academy, a place that has high-quality facilities so that our students can learn better, our teachers are comfortable, and we’re just really looking forward to the upgrades that this facility will get.”

The renovations will include new technology spaces, covered canopies in-between buildings, modern infrastructure and state-of-the-art science labs.

While the construction is taking place, students will relocate to the Orange Technical College Winter Park Campus this summer.

Before the students move, OCPS will do some improvements at the OTC Winter Park campus, including a newly designed cafeteria space, a new media center and large multipurpose rooms.

The first opportunity for families to see the OTC Winter Park campus will be on August 7 for a “Meet the Teacher” event.

“When it comes to the transition. There’s always hiccups. There’s always things that don’t go quite right. We’re going to work through,” Sean Maguire, principal at Orlando Gifted Academy, said. “We’re going to listen to the community, both our parents and the surrounding community, and do what we can (…) to help make the whole situation better and keep the focus on the main thing our children.”

Some parents raised concerns about the timeline of the renovations. According to plans, it will take about three years to be completed due to some delays with contracts and supplies. 

“I was a little disappointed because my daughters both will be graduated from the school by the time they open the new campus,” Marshall said. “So, on our original timeline, we would have been able to participate in the new building. And on their current timeline, unfortunately, we’re going to just have to be one of those families that comes back to see the finished product.”

The project is currently on the design stage, and school leaders will host another meeting once they reach 30% design stage around October.

According to OCPS, construction is set to begin in December 2026, and it’s expected to be completed by summer 2028.