Join in the first-ever Pine Hills community parade tomorrow, Saturday, January 21, to commemorate the dedication of the new Evans High School. With more than 60 organizations and clubs participating, the parade will kick off at 10:00 a.m. at the intersection of Powers Drive and Silver Star Road and continue eastward along Silver Star Road to the new Home of the Trojans. A Dedication Ceremony will follow at the Evans High School Stadium, is slated to get underway at 12:00 noon.
Some 2,200 students returned to the new school on January 3, which boasts a new performing arts center with a state-of-the art lighting and sound system and which seats 900 people. There’s also a new gym with a seating capacity for 2,300 and a new floor that has earned the moniker “Snake Pit,” an administrative suite that looks out on a large atrium, three-story class room buildings with windows that let in the natural light and equipped with audio enhancements, Smart-boards, tablets and slates to assist teachers with instruction and to help kids with learning and development.
“It has been a long time coming,” says Dr. David Christiansen, principal of Evans High School, in an earlier interview with West Orlando News. “At one point Evans was going to close, at one point we were going to change location. We’ve been living on a 9th grade center with kind of sub-par facilities.”
Christiansen adds, with the new school, it represents something special and something meaningful, and kind of a rebirth.
“It’s like it’s a new day at Evans and in Pine Hills, and I think it’s symbolic of the transformation of our community,” he said.
Senator Gary Siplin (D-Orlando), one of the key persons who pushed for the old Evans High School to be demolished and rebuilt in its original location, believes the state-of-the art facility will serve as the springboard for excellence and high student achievement in the area for years to come.
“I believe that this multi-million dollar educational edifice will serve as the foundation of the social and economic rejuvenation of the Pine Hills Community,” he said.
Siplin, who also advocated hard for the dedication parade, says, he is looking forward to enjoying the day’s events.
“I’m really looking forward to enjoying the day’s events with my constituents and the community,” he declared.
With less than 24 hours before the dedication of the new Evans High School, there’s lots of excitement in the air. So, come join the parade tomorrow!
