Lesson in priorities

Having risen from a field of dirt to a completed school in a mere seven months, class is now in session at the second Babcock Neighborhood School to be opened in as many years in Babcock Ranch. On Aug. 8, Syd Kitson, developer of the new town that straddles Lee and Charlotte counties off State Road 31, was joined by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to celebrate the school opening.

The new, 43,000-square-foot, 25-classroom facility replaces the original Babcock Neighborhood School, already mothballed after opening only a year ago with eight classrooms in 11,000 square feet. A victim of its own success, the project-based learning charter school was at capacity on opening day, even before the first home was occupied in Babcock Ranch.