St. Stephens announces Ranch campus

LAKEWOOD RANCH — St. Stephen’s Episcopal School announced Tuesday it’s gaining a foothold in East County, opening a kindergarten and first grade private school campus in Lakewood Ranch for the 2015-16 academic school year.

The west Bradenton-based school will occupy two classrooms at Harvest United Methodist Church, located just off Lorraine Road at 14305 Covenant Way, Bradenton.

Citing an influx in enrollment from Lakewood Ranch-based students, St. Stephen’s Head of School Dr. Jan Pullen said the move is the next logical step for a private faith-based school that currently has more than 675 students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.

“We have seen a surge in students from Lakewood Ranch over the past two years and have been looking at expanding our academic offerings over the last several years, especially for kindergarten and first grade students,” said Pullen, in a news release. “Lakewood Ranch is the perfect fit. St. Stephen’s currently has multiple bus stops throughout Lakewood Ranch but now we will also have a permanent presence in the Lakewood Ranch community.”

Pullen told the East County Observer that the school’s main campus at 315 41st St. W. has approximately 120 East County students that travel west to attend the school.

Asked if St. Stephen’s eventually plans to grow the new campus with additional grades, Pullen said, “We will let this new idea begin and see where it goes, but the plan is to transfer second-graders to the main campus.”

Pullen said the school’s research has shown that families with young children prefer to have their kindergartners and first-graders close to home.

Those two East County classes will also hold field trips to the west campus to get those students acclimated to the main campus.

The new East County campus is called St. Stephen’s East Campus K/1 School.

Harvest United Methodist Church Rev. Catherine Fluck Price, co-pastor at Harvest, called it a great addition that pairs well with Harvest’s Sprouts Child Development Center.

“Our son attends St. Stephen’s, so we have experienced firsthand what a wonderful, caring community it is,” Fluck Price said. “We think St. Stephen’s is going to be a great addition to the Lakewood Ranch community.”

St. Stephen’s will rent space from Harvest for two classrooms in the church’s Sprouts Child Development Center building that will host 14 students apiece in the kindergarten and first grade classrooms.

Pullen said while there’s not an academic partnership in place with Harvest, the church’s Sprouts Center, which hosts 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds, has the pre-kindergarten program in place to transition those students to St. Stephen’s.

“Harvest’s faith-based program aligns with ours, and we are hopeful Sprout children and families will see the convenience of us being out there and make the transition,” Pullen said. “We’re two separate programs working together in the same building to teach our curriculums.”

The new campus will continue to provide the same St. Stephen’s diverse curriculum to all students, which includes daily physical education and secondary language classes.

Ten years ago, St. Stephen’s opened a preschool called the St. Stephen’s Fledgling Falcons that is no longer in operation in East County.

“There are too many preschools out there and that’s why we think this approach works better,” Pullen said.

On its main, campus, meanwhile, St. Stephen’s continues to grow, completing a multi-million dollar sports complex most recently in 2013.

“Our board of trustees has been looking at options and possibilities for us to have a presence in Lakewood Ranch for the past four years, knowing there is so much growth out there,” Pullen said. “We believe the time is right and this is the perfect fit for us.”

As Schroeder-Manatee Ranch CEO Rex Jensen prepares for more homes, traffic and growth, he says it’s the perfect time to prepare by bringing more schools to the area.

“There is a significant benefit to continuing to offer school alternatives,” said Jensen, in a prepared statement. “St. Stephen’s is one of the best schools in the region, so we are very happy to hear about their expansion plans in Lakewood Ranch.”

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].

Open Enrollment
St. Stephen’s East Campus K/1 School began taking applications Tuesday. Those interested in applying can reach St. Stephen’s Director of Admissions Linda Lutz at 746-2121, Ext. 1568 or get an application at Harvest United Methodist Church, 14305 Covenant Way, Bradenton.

Tuition rates for the two new classes are the same as St. Stephen’s main campus.