ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Workers are hanging drywall, painting, installing electrical devices and putting finishing touches on what will be the new Hallowes Cove Academy in RiverTown.
The K-8 school is set to open in August 2025, just in time for the new school year. It’s first year, it will serve students in kindergarten through seventh grade.
Hallowes Cove Academy is designed to accommodate up to 1,200 students and will feature nearly 70 teachers and over 100 staff members.
The $60 million project is part of a larger effort to enhance educational opportunities for students in St. Johns County.
Jeremy Freeman, assistant project manager at Wharton-Smith, Inc., told News4JAX during a recent construction site visit that the project broke ground in October 2023.
“We were lucky enough to have this be a green field project, where the project was empty, and we were all able to level the ground and do all our construction without obstructions,” Freeman said.
Freeman said when students walk into the new school building for the first time, it might seem different.
“This is a much bigger school than I had the opportunity to go to, so we’re glad for that,” Freeman said. “These kids are going to have a media center, gymnasium, outdoor physical education spaces, a large cafeteria auditorium, and all that’s going to be beautiful and well-made.”
Liz Krugliak, a parent of three students who currently attend Freedom Crossing Academy, expressed her excitement about the new school.
“Every step of the way has been exciting for us, just finding out that we’re gonna get a school in the neighborhood,” Krugliak said. “Just seeing them break ground and now seeing how far along they’ve come on the building is exciting.”
Lauren O’Schell, an instructional literacy coach at Freedom Crossing, will be transferring her same duties to Hallowes Cove next school year, along with her child.
“I feel like it’s every parent’s dream to be able to be with your child through their educational experience,” she said. “The community wants to feel like this school is a part of them.”
The school’s namesake is Col. John Hallowes, one of the earliest settlers in the region. Hallowes Cove, which is near the school in the St. Johns River, was named for the colonel.
“Fishermen know where it is. We heard stories about [how] pirates used to hide there,” said Jessley Hathaway, future principal of Hallowes Cove Academy. “So from a geographical standpoint, Hallowes Cove is something that really stands out on the river. That’s what the community decided to go with.”
Hathaway expressed that the RiverTown community “deserves this” after a long process of zoning, input and renderings.
“We’re going to teach respect, how to be good citizens and how to be professionals,” Hathaway said. “We need to make sure that they’re ready for that.”
In addition to Hallowes Cove Academy, two more schools are in the works in St. Johns County: One in Silverleaf and another in Nocatee. Those schools are slated to open for the 2026-27 school year.
