TRADITION, Fla. — The opening of St. Lucie County's new Tradition Lakes K-8 school has been postponed by one week, leaving hundreds of parents scrambling to find last-minute child care arrangements.
WATCH BELOW: 'This is not something we anticipated,' Superintendent Dr. Jon R. Prince tells WPTV's Cassandra Garcia
St. Lucie Public Schools announced Thursday that the first day of classes will be pushed from Aug. 10 to Aug. 17, affecting approximately 1,100 students enrolled at the new school.
Parents received notification of the delay just four days before the originally scheduled opening, sparking frustration among families who had already arranged work schedules and child care around the initial start date.
Parents express frustration over short notice
"I was honestly annoyed, because school starts on Monday, it was Thursday when we got that call. You could have told us a week ago," said Asia Shouford, a working mother of four children.
The timing of the announcement has created significant challenges for working families in the Port St. Lucie area. Shouford said the delay completely disrupted her carefully planned arrangements.
WATCH PREVIOUS COVERAGE: St. Lucie County schools open Aug. 10 | Superintendent preview
"Working mom, four kids, I have two little ones at home. I already had everything planned to start on Monday and now I don't know what we're going to do," Shouford explained.
Parent Taylor Atkins echoed similar concerns about the limited options available on such short notice.
"It's just put us all in a tough situation and I think that we all needed more time," Atkins said. "It's hard because he can't go back to summer camp. It's closed it's another school, you know, they're going to be starting."
Construction concerns prompt superintendent's decision
Ongoing construction activity at the Tradition Lakes K-8 campus remained visible in the days leading up to the originally scheduled opening, raising questions among parents about the school's readiness.
"It still looks like it's under construction," Atkins observed. "They definitely should have known this sooner, we should have known this sooner," Shouford added.
St. Lucie Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Jon R. Prince said the decision to delay the opening was made after personally inspecting the school site and consulting with teachers and staff. Prince explained that he did not want students to navigate what essentially remained a construction zone on their first day.
"That's not the first impression that I wanted to make where you're kind of walking and you're kind of part of a construction zone and I just didn't think it was fair," Prince said.
District addresses safety and timeline concerns
Prince acknowledged that construction often continues up to a school's opening day but said the conditions at Tradition Lakes K-8 warranted additional time to ensure student safety and a proper learning environment.
"This is not something we anticipated," Prince said. "After kind of seeing things for myself, I was really worried that when people rush they make mistakes and I just felt like it was in our best interest to take a pause."
The superintendent assured parents that the one-week delay will not impact overall instructional time, and the school's academic calendar will remain unchanged.
Child care support offered to affected families
To help working families manage the unexpected delay, the district is coordinating with local organizations to provide temporary child care solutions. Prince said the district is working with the Boys and Girls Club and the YMCA to offer affordable child care options during the interim week.
Despite these assurances, some parents remain concerned about whether the revised opening date will hold.
"I'm almost concerned that they're not going to be done by the 17th," Shouford said.
The school district has confirmed that Tradition Lakes K-8 will be ready to welcome students on Monday, Aug. 17.
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St. Lucie Public Schools delays Tradition Lakes K-8 first day of school
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