ORLANDO, Fla. — Parents from Orange Center Elementary School were asked if they wanted to see their public STEM school transition into a public-private charter, and when the votes were counted Thursday, the answer was an overwhelming “yes.”

“I think this vote is really just a vote for belief, a belief in our students, our staff and our community,” said Orange Center Elementary School Principal Dr. Erin Albert.

What You Need To Know

 Orange Center Elementary School parents took part in the democratic process to decide if their STEM magnet school will become a public-private charter school.

 82% of the parents voted in favor of the pilot program for the charter school.

Lift Orlando still has to get their charter application approved by the state and then have the acquisition approved by the OCPS board.

If all things goes as planned, they hope to have control of the school as a charter by July and kick off the school year in fall 2026.

Albert said the number of participants was staggering: Of the 318 eligible parents, 71% of them cast a vote. And out of the 225 responses, 82% of them voted in favor of the pilot program. It is a number Albert was not surprised to see.

And with the majority voting in favor of the plan, parent Nadia Bellande explained why she is happy to see the change.

“I think the main thing that I really love about this conversion is that they said that it will continue to be a community school, and that it’s not going to be taken away from us,” Bellande said. “And that is big for me. Along with the education, I want our kids to continue to get the perfect education that they were getting.”

The pilot plan originated with the local nonprofit Lift Orlando, and Mark Shamley, the organization’s vice president of community impact, said the outcome is humbling.

“What they’re saying to us is that, ‘We believe your vision and your ability and commitment to work with us, and we understand that it comes with great responsibility,'” Shamley said.

Lift Orlando will now work with Orange County Public Schools to turn Orange Center into a charter school that provides early learning, after-school programs, and even housing and health care for students and their families.

“It won’t just be myself, or Lift or OCPS, but we all come together as partners with parents and with teachers and our different task forces to truly start the design process along with our national partners,” Albert said.

OSPC officials say the results at Orange Center Elementary School may also impact the way the district goes about addressing school consolidation moving forward.

“If this is another way for us to lift up our community, then yes, we’re going to look towards that,” OCPS Superintendent Dr. Maria Vazquez said. “And we hope to have other partners step up.”

And while plans still have to evolve in the coming months, Vazquez said OCPS will be working closely with Lift Orlando as the new program is implemented.

“Lift has some incredible oversight about the board that includes representation from the district, and we will continue to monitor the data, their outcomes and we want to be able to partner with them,” she said.

Lift Orlando still has to get its charter application approved by the state and then have the acquisition approved by the Orange County School Board. From there, they will create their task force and boards under the umbrella of the Neighborhood Schools Initiative.

And if all things goes as planned, they hope to have control of the school as a charter by July and kick off the school year in fall 2026.

According to information from Lift Orlando, students currently zoned for Orange Center Elementary School would receive “priority enrollment” for the pilot school. Teachers and staff, likewise, “will be prioritized for employment at the pilot school if they wish to continue working there.”