SCHOOL
A NEW FUTURE FOR TOMORROW’S LEADERS Orlando Commissioner Bakari Burns, Mayor Buddy Dyer, Commissioner Regina Hill, r. Porter-Smith and others break ground on the new facility.
LEGENDS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL BREAKS GROUND ON $15 MILLION INVESTMENT AND RECEIVES NATIONAL IMPACT GRANT AWARD.
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he trend of education excellence continues to flourish in Central Florida with the $15 million investment for campus expansion at the Legends Academy, a K-8 grade Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics STEM-focused Charter school located on the Hope Center Campus in the Washington Shores community of Orlando. Executive Director Dr. Jennifer Porter-Smith is at the helm of the Orlando public-school charter organization that includes both the Legends Academy and Nap Ford Community School. The organization celebrated its 20-year legacy in 2021 and has served more than 1,000 families. Dr. Porter-Smith is a trailblazer who advocates for chil-
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dren living in underinvested neighborhoods in the urban core. Relentless in endeavor, she credits her efforts to a belief that education is a gateway toward enriched citizenship, stronger families, and empowered communities. “I am humbled by the rich history of those that created academic institutions in our state designed to address the unique needs of our community,” Porter-Smith stated in a Black Excellence in Charter Schools profile published by Building Hope, a District of Columbia-based non-profit that supports charter school infrastructure. “I stand on the shoulders of our educational legends such as Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of Bethune-Cookman
