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Parrish elementary school will welcome middle schoolers, district says it's solution to population boom

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Updated  April 17, 2025 5:47pm EDT
Manatee County
FOX 13 News

Parrish elementary school will welcome middle schoolers

FOX 13's Kimberly Kuizon reports.

The Brief

    • An extension of Barbara A. Harvey Elementary School will soon welcome middle schoolers.
    • The new concept will allow students in Parrish to stay at the same school from K-8th grade.
    • Officials say the extension is needed as the area continues to grow.

PARRISH, Fla. - Officials with the Manatee County school district got to see the progress of the new Barbara A. Harvey 4th through 8th grade campus.

The backstory:

It's a new concept that will allow students to remain at one school from VPK to 8th grade.

"Everything is lined up. The air conditioning is on. We are starting to do flooring. You can see aluminum canopies going up. It’s really starting to look done," said Nathan Carr.

Nathan Carr is the Vice President and Project Executive with Willis Smith Construction. He’s been working on the extension of Barbara A. Harvey Elementary School.

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It’ll soon welcome middle schoolers and will be needed as the area grows.

What they're saying:

"They’re coming fast. You can see all around us, houses being built. Those children are coming. They will be here soon," said Carr.

For the past few years, Dr. Hayley Rio the Principal of Barbara A. Harvey Elementary School has seen growth continue.

"It is a booming, fast-growing area. I think it kind of caught all of us by surprise," said Dr. Rio.

Just a mile and a half down the road, Barbara A. Harvey Elementary School opened six years ago.

By the numbers:

The school first welcomed around 525 students; today more than 1,400 are enrolled.

"We needed to find more space. This middle school was being built, and the idea came about…what if we took our 4th graders, and we house them on this middle school campus. It started out as a temporary idea and a temporary fix and then came the idea of well that could actually be a really neat opportunity," said Dr. Rio.

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When the new campus opens 4th, 5th and a small group of 6th graders will start.

Each year those numbers will increase and grades up to 8th grade will be added.

When will the new concept open?

The school will open in August, just in time for the new school year, and they’ll be able to accept just over 1,200 students.

They’ll have the latest from an engineering space, innovation hub, a gym, agricultural program and medical academy.

All tools to follow students into high school.

"It’s really turned a challenge into just a really neat opportunity to all of us who have been blessed to be involved," said Dr. Rio.

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The Source: FOX 13's Kimberly Kuzion collected the information in this story.

Manatee CountyEducation