Orange County plans School of Arts and Entertainment at historic Cherokee site

Orange County Public Schools officials and volunteer Jose Fernandez detailed a proposal on Nov. 6, 2025 to renovate the historic Cherokee School into a new School of Arts and Entertainment for grades 9–12. The presentation occurred at a board work session; no board vote was taken and the public was not permitted to comment at the meeting.

District leaders described the school as an immersive, interdisciplinary high school with three concentrations — cinematic arts, sound design and emerging media — intended to connect students directly to Orlando’s creative and modeling/simulation industries. "This will be a first of its kind public high school, immersive, interdisciplinary, and future focused," Dr. Harold Border, the district presenter, told the board during the session.

Why it matters: presenters framed the school as a workforce pipeline and cultural asset for downtown Orlando. The district projects the campus would be surrounded by industry and cultural institutions — including Creative Village and the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts — offering mentorships, internships and local employment pathways. Jose Fernandez, the Foundation volunteer leading fundraising outreach, called the plan a national model: "there's nothing like this...there is none. So we are creating the model."

Facilities and program: conceptual renderings shown to the board preserve Cherokee’s historic architecture while…