The School District of Lee County is reopening the original Lehigh Acres Middle School on Arthur Avenue as a stand-alone middle school in August 2023. Students entering 6th, 7th and 8th grade in the fall may use the Jan. 17 to March 3 open enrollment period to select to attend the school.

To reopen the school, the District is in the process of appointing a principal, who will hire a team of administrators, teachers and support staff. Currently referred to as Middle School QQ, the new school also needs a new name and the community is asked to help.

In general, the School Board is looking for names that refer to at least one of the following:

• The history, culture, and people of Florida and especially of Southwest Florida;

• The natural environment and native plants and animals of Florida and especially of Southwest Florida;

• Notable events or achievements that are associated with Florida and especially with Southwest Florida;

• The neighborhood, community, or physical location of the school;

• Founders, leaders, heroes, symbols, and fundamental principles of our nation.

Anyone with an idea is asked to submit it through a short survey that can be found HERE. The deadline for submission is 5 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 26.

Once the survey is closed, an Ad Hoc committee will review the suggestions to determine which ones meet School Board Policy 9.1. A second survey will be taken in February with the top qualifying suggestions. The Ad Hoc committee will review the final survey results and present a recommendation to the School Board in March for approval at a meeting in April.

The original Lehigh Acres Middle School closed at the end of the 2020-2021 school year. The campus went through an $18.6 million renovation and remodeling project in 2022. New classrooms were created, new science and computer labs with state-of-the-art equipment added, as well as dedicated rooms for dance, music and art, an upgraded gym and a media center.

A new Lehigh Acres Middle School opened in August of 2021 on Sunrise Boulevard, with students and staff from the original school transferring to the new campus.