Unprecedented Turnout For Explorer's 'Sneak Peek'

It was sort of like waiting in line for a new ride at a theme park.

The wait required patience, but for many, it was worth it.

Thursday evening, more than 2,000 curious residents showed up for a "sneak peek" grand opening of Spring Hill's Explorer K-8, Hernando County's newest school.

Despite minimal publicity, people came in droves, filling the school's parking lot and spilling over onto medians, grass and along the sides of the entranceway off Northcliffe Boulevard.

They then joined a massive line on foot, snaking around the outside of the building as dozens of the school's teachers led continuous group tours through classrooms, down hallways and into the school's cafeteria for live entertainment and catered food.

"Some people had to wait for about an hour, but nobody complained," said the school's principal, Dominick Ferello.

Set to become the district's largest school when it opens this fall, the school will download an unprecedented number of students previously zoned for other schools, including 1,560 from Westside, Deltona and Spring Hill elementary schools, J.D. Floyd K-8 and Powell and Fox Chapel Middle Schools.

But as word spreads, student and parent interest is increasing daily. As of Friday, the school's enrollment had hit 1,759 students - and was showing no signs of letting up.

"I don't have a crystal ball, but I do think that the way things are looking, we're going to jump even more," Ferello said. "I think we're going to be bursting at the seams."

During the past several weeks, school officials have seen an average of 30 new students registering for the school per day.

"I don't know if it's new people moving into the (zoned area) or kids that were homeschooled, but they've been registering," Ferello said. "We've even brought in other employees from the district to help put them into the computer system."

That number does not take into account dozens of additional high-IQ students who previously received gifted services at other schools, and have not yet decided whether to switch to Explorer's new centralized gifted program. They can opt to join the program at any time, he said.

Administrators are predicting that the school may reach 1,900 kindergarten through eighth-grade students by fall. They are already starting to plan for team teaching, with two teachers in classrooms of 30 or 32 students.

While school officials have been told maximum capacity at Explorer is 2,100, Ferello said the actual number is lower than that, due to reduced class sizes in certain classes, particularly exceptional student education.

At the school's grand opening, Ferello said he had expected a turnout of 1,700 people at the most, but was pleased with the number of curious prospective students and local residents, including a large group from Timber Pines.

"We had people there saying, 'I'm not a parent, but I'm here to see the school,'" Ferello said. "We had people looking and taking it in."

Explorer's gifted program currently has 230 students enrolled, 188 of whom were initially counted in the school's enrollment numbers. With the conclusion of additional testing, officials predict the program will have 260 students by the time school starts.

While the two-story school was built with a roof that could be removed for the addition of another wing, Ferello said he doubts the district would move to expand the school anytime soon.

"Right now, I don't think anyone wants to see it bigger," he said. "If we get too overcrowded, they'd probably just adjust the zoning."

Currently, admission to the school is based on living within specific district-drawn boundaries. Parents are required to verify their child's residency when registering by bringing a copy of a utility bill, sent to their home address.

Admission to the school's gifted program is not based on zoning, and is instead determined based on a minimum IQ score.

The district already has plans to start building a new high school and adjacent K-8 school on U.S. 19 north of Hexam Road, to open in fall 2010.

All together, district officials expect to have about 22,800 students enrolled in the district's 22 public schools in the fall.