State-of-the-art Sumner High set to open
By LINDA CHION KENNEY
Jule F. Sumner High School, the first high school built in Hillsborough County in 11 years, is open for business at the border of Balm and Riverview, on the north side of Balm Road, east of U.S. 301.
Led by charter principal Dave Brown and newly appointed school superintendent, Addison Davis, the Aug. 21 back-to-school press conference offered school officials, business partners and members of the press a tour of the $75 million, two-story, multi-building, 238,268-square-foot campus.
Named for a pioneer, entrepreneur, cattle rancher, surveyor and businessman, Sumner High features state-of-the-art security measures, instructional delivery technology and an athletic field and track outfitted in artificial turf.
Brown, who as an assistant principal and principal, respectively, opened Freedom and Strawberry Crest high schools, said he was interested in applying for his new job because he was glad to see a new school serving the nearby Wimauma community. “I’m not saying we overlooked them, but I can’t wait; they now have a school of their own and that’s important,” Brown said. “We really want to make sure we’re helping those families.”
Sumner opens to relieve East Bay High in Gibsonton and Lennard High in Ruskin, along with Barrington, Eisenhower and Shields middle schools. New high schools open in Hillsborough without a senior class, allowing for the establishment of Academy 2027 at Sumner. The academy is designed to separately house 450 sixth-graders, who will attend Sumner through grade 12. Sumner is certified through the internationally recognized Cambridge Pathway. The school’s international curriculum and examination system emphasize broad and balanced study to ensure college-ready students.
Sumner High is at 16402 Balm Road, Riverview. For information about Academy 2027, visit www.sdhc.k12.fl.us/schoolstory/site/8888. For more on Sumner High, visit www.mysdhc.org/sumner. Sumner falls under the Area 5 superintendent’s office. Call 813-707-7050.