Lehigh Acres Middle School is inviting current fifth-graders and their parents to a school choice open house on Thursday, Dec. 13. The innovative program called Sixth-Grade Academy aims to promote a smoother transition to middle school and is the first of its kind in Lee County.

The open house, which targets incoming sixth-graders and their families, starts at 6 p.m. and will be held inside Lehigh Acres Middle School located at 104 Arthur Ave. in Lehigh Acres.

According to Principal Neketa Watson, the two-hour open house will be ran entirely by current Lehigh Acres Middle students, who will showcase the academics, extracurricular activities and teachers that have made the school a top choice for many families in Lehigh’s East Zone.

“We were the first middle school in Lee County to adopt a Sixth-Grade Academy, an innovative concept that promotes a smooth transition from elementary to middle school by supporting students through their physical, emotional, social and cognitive changes,” said Watson. “The Academy is a ‘school within a school’ with hallways and one lunch period reserved exclusively for sixth-graders.”

Lehigh Acres Middle is one of just two schools in Lee County to offer the rigorous Cambridge International Program for university-bound students. It’s being designated as a STEAM center, emphasizing Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics.

“Lehigh Acres Middle offers many programs for academically talented students such as a robust full-time gifted program, AVID, a college readiness program and the Advancement Via Individual Determination,” said Watson.

In July 2018, Lehigh Acres Middle School hosted a successful STEAM summer camp, where students were encouraged to become inventors, engineers, crime scene investigators, artists, chefs and entrepreneurs.

Presently the school offers an ongoing, wide-range of extracurricular activities including various sports teams, intramurals and academic clubs. Leadership programs include National Junior Honor Society, student council and Leader in Me, a popular leadership development program. Clubs include sustainable living, oceanography, sign language, cooking, origami, video games and more. Lehigh Acres Middle was the first school in Florida to be recognized as an official affiliate of CrossFit, a designation that reflects the school’s well-rounded physical training program.

“We truly do offer programs and clubs that appeal to every student,” said Watson. “Our goal is to create a safe learning environment where every student doesn’t just fit in, but also thrives academically and socially.”

Lee County’s student open enrollment period runs from Jan. 14 through March 1. During that period, parents of incoming kindergarten, sixth and ninth-graders must select their top choices for the 2019-20 school year. Lehigh Acres Middle is available to students living in the E-2 and E-3 subzones of the East Attendance Zone, generally east of Treeline Avenue in Fort Myers. All students attending Lehigh Acres Middle must wear school uniforms.

Lehigh Acres Middle School is a Title I magnet school and takes part in the 2017 Magnet Schools Assistance Program. Its STEAM program is the first of its kind in the East Zone for The School District of Lee County.

For more information about the school choice open house, please contact the school at 239-369-6108 or visit lhm.leeschools.net.