Board weighs renaming Rosewood as a flexible learning hub and approves pilot for virtual, drop‑in programming

District staff recommended repurposing the current Rosewood Magnet School building as a flexible learning hub and presenting two formal facility name options — "Core Learning Lab at Rosewood" or "Creative Learning Lab at Rosewood." The proposal also pairs the facility change with three program streams: Indian River Virtual School (full‑time, FTE‑funded diploma pathway), a supplemental drop‑in program billed as Mindscape Academy for homeschool and PEP scholarship families, and a course‑access option that would let students take up to three district courses for credit.

Staff described the rationale as both honoring Rosewood's legacy and creating space for flexible, personalized learning. "Part of the conversation was preserving some of the legacy of the Rosewood Magnet School," a staff presenter said. A community work group chaired by longtime Rosewood principal Deborah Dylan recommended keeping "Rosewood" in the facility name and favored the "learning lab" framing.

The Mindscape Academy proposal includes a fee schedule staff said was designed to be competitive, cover operating costs and remain accessible; fees ranged by offering (examples cited: $15/hour recreation/unstructured play; $75–$100 for weekday college‑entrance proctoring; $550 per course per semester for PEP scholarship students seeking a district course seat). Staff said Florida Virtual currently charges a similar course fee.

Board members raised several implementation questions: whether PEP scholars and other scholarship programs (referred to in the workshop as "PEP scholarships" and alternative scholarship programs) could use district services and how the district would identify scholarship students for fee/waiver purposes; whether assessments (end‑of‑course, ACT/SAT/CLT) could be provided without duplicative cost; and whether the Mindscape name or an alternative ("flexible learning institute," "historic Rosewood Creative Learning Lab") would better attract homeschool families. Staff said DOE guidance and new data sharing make it possible to identify scholarship students and that Saturday college‑entrance testing remains available outside the district’s weekday fee window.

Staff described operational safeguards: a principal and a school resource deputy on site, building hours of 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., centralized assessment scheduling to reduce campus burden, and a staffing model that scales teachers between virtual and Mindscape duties. The district will pilot the mix of offerings and adjust fees and programming based on enrollment and demand.

What happens next: staff will return pricing and eligibility clarifications (including the DOE email referenced during the workshop) and the board will vote on any required approvals at a business meeting. The board discussed variants of the Rosewood facility name and community concerns but did not make a final renaming vote at the workshop.