next summer after school and community leaders broke ground for the 33,100-square foot addition Thursday morning at Polaris Tech’s property on Grays Highway in Ridgeland.
“I think I am speaking for everyone who helped start Polaris Tech about five years ago when I say, we didn’t imagine we’d be opening up our elementary school addition this soon,” said Gen. Lloyd Newton, a school founder, Jasper County native and chair of the Polaris Tech board of directors.
“This is a dream come true, not just to Polaris Tech, but to families across the Lowcountry who are looking for an education option for their children. Starting next school year, Polaris Tech will serve kindergarten through graduation with our focus on career and college prep,” he said.
Joining Newton, the Polaris Tech board and school leaders at the groundbreaking were Barbara Clark, chair of the Jasper County Council; Ridgeland Mayor Joseph Malphrus, Tom Draffin of True North Companies, and Emilee Baker, deputy superintendent of the South Carolina Public Charter School District.
“What a momentous day! So much good work ahead and we are all thrilled to be a part of it,” said Kim Statler, executive director and one of the founders od Polaris Tech. “Many of us who helped start this school dreamed of this expansion, but most of us thought it would be a few more years down the road.
It is wonderful that we are moving forward now to meet the educational needs of Lowcountry families.”
When the expansion opens for the next school year, Polaris Tech will serve students from kindergarten through graduation, from across Jasper, Hampton, Colleton and Beaufort counties. The new addition will double the school’s size.
Information about enrolling at Polaris Tech for all grades is available at www.polaristech.org.
"True North Companies is excited to be an integral part of the Polaris Tech expansion into the elementary grades,” said Walt Gill, president of True North Companies. “We helped design their first school for the upper grades, and now bringing those same design elements, on the same property, to the K-4 building will make this an efficient and student-friendly design.”
The 33,100 square foot addition of finished space will stand in front of the existing facility that houses grades 5-12 on Grays Highway across from the Ridgeland-Claude Dean Airport. It will include classrooms, a gym and related facilities, and a dining area.
True North Companies is designing the school and working through the permitting. Construction is expected to start in coming weeks with completion by mid-summer, including delivery of classroom furniture and equipment.
Polaris Tech is a state-approved charter school serving fifth grade through high school students from Jasper County and the Lowcountry. It is a free school (no tuition), that focuses on preparing young people for successful work and college.
The Polaris Tech academic emphasis is on six career areas, starting with: Aerospace, Health Sciences and Business Management. Young people from Jasper, Colleton, Hampton and Beaufort counties attend and the second class of graduates earned Polaris Tech diplomas in June.
To keep updated about Polaris Tech Charter School, follow them on Facebook and at www.polaristech.org. For specific questions, email [email protected] or call 843-645-0605.
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