(This story has been updated with new information)
After months of planning, the private school proposed for part of the K-Park site in Wellington finally has a name: Wingrove Academy.
Developed by the education organization ElevateED, the 307,000 square-foot building is set to open in August 2028 on the 45-acre campus, in partnership with developer Related Ross.
K-Park, covering about 70 acres along Stribling Way just south of the Mall at Wellington Green, is the largest undeveloped parcel along Wellington’s State Road 7 corridor. It has had a variety of uses proposed for it through the years and most recently has been an organic farm.
“This particular site is so beautiful in a way that it’s blending in the village of Wellington,” said Marianne Rehn, ElevateED’s president. “It was just such a wonderful fit.”
Wingrove Academy to stress STEAM studies, connection to environment
The academy plans to offer a variety of programs: science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM), athletics and more, focusing on interdisciplinary studies that put equal weight on all areas of learning.
Wingrove Academy’s developer Karen Yung, who has more than two decades of building and operating schools, said the key elements of Wingrove are teaching goals and values. She said Wingrove Academy will stress hands-on learning, collaboration and critical thinking.
Though the name has been decided, there are still some operational elements to be worked out.
Tuition estimates are not set at this point, though they would be competitive with other independent schools, officials said. Likewise, Yung said class sizes are still being determined but would be tailored for the needs of their initial Pre-K-Grade 8 classes.
“One of the things that we are very conscious of is to ensure that we, in addition to the classes and the class sizes, are actually creating a lot of spaces that allow for interdisciplinary and project-based learning,” Yung said.
For ElevateED, that means the approach is hands-on and highly experiential. For example, sustainability and a connection to the environment are core values of Wingrove.
Wingrove’s campus will be “indoor-outdoor and has direct access to the outdoors,” Yung said. “So the design in itself is an extension of the classroom.”
The name, Wingrove, comes from some of those values, particularly ambition and community. “We want kids to aspire. We want them to soar to the highest that they can be,” Yung said.
Wingrove Academy scheduled to open in fall of 2028
Wingrove’s official website states that the academy will open in the fall of 2028. Applications will be accepted in January 2027.
It will start off as a Pre-K-Grade 8 school, adding a grade level every year to retain students. So, with the advancement of its first eighth-grade class, the program is expected to begin its ninth-grade program in 2029.
Yung hopes that Wingrove offers that to Wellington, along with the adaptability that comes with being a private school and the values she hopes to instill in students.
“What builds the excitement is that we can actually hit the ground running, looking at what’s already there,” Yung said. “You build a community that buys into that philosophy.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Private school at Wellington’s K-Park site to be known as Wingrove Academy
Reporting by Elise Catrion Gregg / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
