Palm Beach County’s new school named Dr. Joaquín García

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. – Palm Beach County’s newest high school will be named after a leader in the Hispanic education community.

School board members voted unanimously Wednesday to name the west Lake Worth school, Dr. Joaquín García.

The property is located on Lyons Street, north of Lantana Street, right next to Woodlands High School. The school is scheduled to open in August 2023.

More than a dozen political leaders, community activists and residents spoke at Wednesday’s Palm Beach County School Board meeting in favor of naming the school after Garcia.

Garcia, a local businessman of Cuban descent, was a founding member of the Hispanic Education Coalition of Palm Beach County, where he served as chairman for more than 12 years.

“A fierce advocate for education and a strong supporter of dual language programs in Palm Beach County schools, his commitment to educational equity for all students set a powerful example and created a legacy of service that HEC is committed to continue,” School District. of Palm Beach County wrote in a news release.

Palm Beach County School District

Garcia died in November 2021 and was posthumously honored with a proclamation by the Palm Beach County School Board a month later.

The doctor, who received his medical degree from Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, was involved with the Homeless Coalition of Palm Beach County, Compass Community Center, International AIDS Education Foundation, Cycle for the Cause, Sheriff’s Health of Palm Beach County Education and more.

According to the school district, Dr. Joaquín García will have space for 2,600 students and will have business information technology and medical sciences programs.

PGAL architecture

The school is expected to ease overcrowding at some Palm Beach County high schools.

According to recent enrollment statistics from the School District of Palm Beach County, at least eight high schools are currently at or over capacity, with Forest Hill Community High School being the largest overcapacity at 129% utilization.

The school district’s Boundary Advisory Committee still needs to determine boundaries for the new high school to determine which students will go there and which students can be rezoned to other zoned schools.

To learn more about high school Dr. Joaquín García, Click here.