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The School District of Lee County held its groundbreaking ceremony for Amanecer Elementary School on Wednesday, April 20.

Members of the school district, and leaders of local agencies and organizations came out to participate in the ceremony and welcome Lee County’s first Hispanic named school – Amanecer, which means “sunrise” in Spanish. The new school is also located on Sunrise Boulevard – a street that bares its name.

Debbie Jordan, chair for The Lee County School Board, took the podium to recognize elected officials and ADG Architec-ture, which provided the design work for the state-of-the-art school, and talked briefly about the meaning behind its name.

“Amanecer, which means sunrise in Spanish, was a name chosen by our committee and was selected because it represents the area’s multicultural diversity and our Spanish-speaking families moving here to Lehigh,” Jordan said.

Gwynetta Gittens, representing District 5 for the Lee County School Board, later took the podium to give the audience a glimpse of her dream for the new elementary school.

“Can you see it, can you hear it, can you feel it. Come with me on my vision. The yellow buses are rolling in the gates. And we have plenty of drivers. Again, this is my vision. Cars are lining up, driven by anxious parents, scared kindergarteners and confident fifth graders, because they will be in charge as the top class. Excited teachers and admin will be there to greet students and confirm to parents not to worry…they have made the right choice to be part of the Amanecer family,” Gittens began.

District staff and its current Superintendent Dr. Ken Savage spoke about the district’s expansion effort and the growth seen within the past 2 years in Lee County’s East Zone.

“It’s great to break ground at another school here in the East Zone. This school will be a huge benefit to our students and families in Lehigh Acres. It marks the 18th elementary school in the East Zone, giving the zone at least three more elementary schools than either of our two other zones. Lehigh is where our student population is rapidly expanding,” Savage explained.

Owen-Ames-Kimball Company will manage the construction, which began in March of this year. The school is scheduled for completion in August of 2023, and once completed will open 972 student stations.

The construction project also includes a 200 student station addition to Lehigh Acres Middle School. Renderings of Amanecer Elementary and the addition to Lehigh Acres Middle are available.

Amanecer Elementary School is located at 641 Sunrise Blvd. in Lehigh Acres, next to the new Lehigh Acres Middle School.