New Pasco County school to prepare students for jobs in cybersecurity, auto mechanics and more

WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. - On what was once a cattle ranch in Pasco County now stands a bridge to the future, rising in the form of a new high school.

June may seem a little early for a back to school story, but Kirkland Ranch Innovation Academy is no ordinary school. 

Everything from the school's architecture to its educational philosophy will be different from any school around.

"The students are seeing what it looks like, what they’ve pictured, and what they’ve imagined is a dream come true. It’s a reality," said Dee Dee Johnson, principal of the new public magnet school in Wesley Chapel. 

Kirkland Ranch High School under construction in Pasco County, June 2022

The cafeteria will look more like a food court. Along with traditional classrooms, there are huge instructional areas from subjects like cybersecurity, digital media, auto mechanics, and welding. 

Students can earn professional certifications which will qualify them for careers or give them a jump start on college. 

Kirkland Ranch High School under construction in Pasco County, June 2022

"And then use that to get a job, whether its part-time or full-time, while they put themselves through school," said Johnson. "College is expensive and no one wants to be paying back student loans." 

The school features state-of-the-art equipment, like computerized front end alignment and tire balancing equipment, car lifts, and mechanics' tools. It’s some of the same equipment students will find in a future workplace. 

Kirkland Ranch High School under construction in Pasco County, June 2022

Long before construction started on the school, back in fall 2020, Pasco County school officials toured innovative schools across the country to help them design Kirkland Ranch Innovation Academy.

What they came up with simulates a workplace and connects students with local companies that desperately need qualified employees. 

Kirkland Ranch High School under construction in Pasco County, June 2022

"Hopefully, when they’re seniors, they’ll do mock interviews with our students, so they can leave here with a job opportunity," Johnson said. 

One thing Kirkland Ranch will not have is athletics; students from anywhere in Pasco County can attend and play sports at their neighborhood high schools.

Still, incoming students, who were selected through a lottery, voted on a mascot. They chose The Navigators. 

"The Navigators is really, ‘You’re going to come to Kirkland Ranch and you’re going to navigate your path to your future,'" Johnson explained. 

Kirkland Ranch Innovation Academy cost $70 million to create and construct. Classes will begin August 10. The first students will be 9th- and 10th-graders. 

Johnson says hundreds of educators applied for positions, not just because it’s a new school, but also because it’s a new approach to education.