BRADENTON, FLA. -- School officials in Bradenton are breaking ground on a new campus Friday.
- Groundbreaking set today for new middle school in Bradenton
- The Doctor Mona Jain Middle School to open in Aug. 2019
- New middle school to relieve overcrowding
The Doctor Mona Jain Middle School is scheduled to open in August of 2019. The school will house 1,100 students.
The new middle school will help relieve overcrowding at other East manatee County middle schools, such as Haile, Nolan, Buffalo Creek, and Braden River middle.
The project is expected to cost $45 million and is being funded with bond proceeds.
The new school is being named after Dr. Mona Jain, a medical doctor and an educator. Born in India, she came to America in 1964 and taught at Bayshore Middle School and Bayshore High School in Manatee County.
As an educator, she was a strong advocate for inspiring young women to be interested in science and math.
Florida Governor Lawton Chiles appointed her to serve on the Florida Commission on the Status of Women and after leaving education, she served as the Director of Family Health Services for Manatee County’s Head Start program. Dr. Jain is a Fulbright scholar and a winner of the University of South Florida’s Distinguished Alumna Award.
Dr. Mona Jain Middle will be the first new middle school opened by the School District of Manatee County since Buffalo Creek Middle opened in 2007.