Dr. John Prince, superintendent of St. Lucie Public Schools, told the City Commission on Oct. 13 that the district earned its first-ever A rating and is launching a K–12 workforce initiative called Classrooms to Careers aimed at linking schools with local employers.

Prince said the district’s scorecard shows year-over-year gains in reading, math, science and social studies and emphasized that the district is expanding accelerated coursework and college enrollment programs. “The district earned its first ever A rating this year,” Prince said. He added a guiding philosophy: “All children are capable of success. No exceptions.”

The new Classrooms to Careers program is intended to expose students to local industries starting in kindergarten and to culminate in high school pre-apprenticeships and career fairs where students can interview with employers and receive job offers. “Starting in kindergarten with Play With Purpose, we’re creating an awareness of local industries and job opportunities for elementary children,” Prince said. He described middle-school career fairs and high school programs that include forklift operator, diesel mechanics and other trade training tied directly to local employers such as Amazon and Cheney Brothers.

Why it matters: The program is designed to create a pipeline from local schools to local jobs, keeping students in the county and supplying employers with trained workers. Prince said the district had 51 paid internships last summer and hopes to grow that number to 500 over several years.

Key details and local investments
- Westwood: Prince said voters approved a half-penny renewal sales tax by nearly 70 percent and that the Westwood school is on track to open in December 2025 “on time, on budget.” He described a local investment of roughly $90,000,000 tied to Westwood projects.
- Fort Pierce K–8: Prince said the district plans to combine Dan McCarty, Lawnwood and St. Lucie Elementary into a new K–8 adjacent to Dan McCarty, with a target to break ground in 2026 and open in 2028. He described that project as “a $60,000,000 project for local contractors, local workers.”
- Acceleration and enrollment: Prince reported growth in accelerated elementary program enrollment (AMP) and cited an acceleration enrollment figure of about 1,250 elementary students for 2024–25; he also described sizeable increases in proficiency on the district scorecard.
- Internships and career pathways: District officials said programs now include college-course enrollment opportunities and career academies such as a new dental assistant academy at Legacy High School, and partnerships with Indian River State College (IRSC) through pipeline programs.

Commission discussion and next steps
Commissioners asked how the district will reach parents of struggling fifth-graders and how the system will manage the transportation and infrastructure impacts of new schools. Prince said parents should contact their schools for available before- and after-school tutoring and transportation for students staying after school, and he estimated roughly 4,000 students per grade band countywide (an approximate figure derived by dividing about 50,000 district students across 12 grades).

On the K–8 location, Prince said the site was chosen to avoid major transportation adjustments because the schools feeding the new campus already sit within about a one-mile corridor; he reiterated the district’s plan to accelerate the schedule to open the new K–8 in 2028.

Prince and commissioners also discussed broader goals for housing and infrastructure to support new workforce and school growth in the western corridor of Fort Pierce.

Sources and attribution
The reporting above is based on Dr. John Prince’s presentation and the ensuing questions from Mayor Linda Hudson and Commissioners Shane Gaines and Anthony Johnson during the Oct. 13 City Commission meeting in Fort Pierce. Direct quotations are attributed to Prince when he spoke in the meeting.

Ending
Prince closed by thanking city leaders and staff for the partnership with St. Lucie Public Schools and fielded additional questions from commissioners about student engagement and local hiring partnerships.