INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — For only the second time in the Indian River County School District’s recent history, a school will get a new name. Highlands Elementary will become Indian River Academy.
The elementary school has been deemed a “school of innovation” by the District, allowing it some flexibility in what it does to encourage and instruct students and connect to the community.
“Let the name speak for our transformation,” Principal Diane Fannin told the School Board Tuesday evening.
She said she, faculty, students and parents have helped come up with ways to improve the school – to give students hope of future college or career tech lessons.
“The community embraced us,” Principal Fannin said, noting specifically the Indian River Club, which is a next door neighbor – that’s how the school came up with “Indian River” for part of the name.
The other part – “Academy” – comes from a physical transformation the school wants at the campus – giving it more of an “academy” or university feel.
The new, digital marquee won’t be in place before the first day of school, which begins Monday, Aug. 18. Instead, it will likely arrive sometime in September and Indian River Academy will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate.
Whether or not the school’s current bear mascot will remain has yet to be determined.
Principal Fannin said after the meeting that the school didn’t want to get too far ahead of itself in the event the School Board didn’t approve the name change.
But now that they received the Board’s blessing, she and the faculty and parents can proceed with making such decisions.
Indian River Academy Bears? Indian River Academy Stars? Principal Fannin said they have some choices to make.
“We see a lot of powerful things happening at the school,” Schools Superintendent Dr. Fran Adams said during the Board meeting, adding that she is proud of the work the school is doing.
“I wish you much luck in your continued success,” School Board member Karen Disney-Brombach added.
School Board member Claudia Jimenez called the name change the “tip of the iceberg” in terms of the changes happening at the school, explaining that she could see a difference in the teachers, the enthusiasm and excitement around the school as other changes began to go into effect.
Prior to Highland Elementary’s renaming, the only other school to get a new name was Clemann Elementary, which was renamed Dodgertown Elementary.
