Pack your backpacks, kids.
Nearly 2,000 St. Johns County students are likely to be reassigned when two new K-8 campuses open in 2026 — one in SilverLeaf and one in Nocatee.
The school district has released rezoning maps that spell out which neighborhoods would be affected, and the proposals are now under review — and increasing scrutiny from impacted parents.
Families most likely to be rezoned are in the following neighborhoods:
- Nocatee (currently zoned to Pine Island Academy): Crosswater, Settler’s Landing, Seabrook Village, Reflections at Seabrook, Coral Ridge, Palm Crest
- SilverLeaf (currently zoned to Wards Creek, Pacetti Bay, and Liberty Pines): Cherry Elm, Elm Creek, Silver Landing, Aspire, Silver Meadows, Hartford, Elm Ridge, Silverleaf Village, Parcels 24, 25, 26, 29F, 38A and 38C
In Nocatee, Pine Island Academy is bearing the heaviest enrollment strain. Built for fewer than 1,500 students, it now hosts more than 2,000, school officials said.
Depending on which option is ultimately selected, between 870 and 1,100 children from the neighborhoods listed above would pack their backpacks and move to the new K-8 school on Conservation Trail.
In SilverLeaf, the new campus would absorb more than 1,000 students from Wards Creek Elementary and Pacetti Bay Middle. One plan also pulls in part of Liberty Pines Academy.
District officials assert that the goal is to reduce crowding in schools that have exceeded their permanent capacity as SilverLeaf’s population continues to balloon.
Both new schools are designed to hold about 1,500 students each. They will open in 2026 with kindergarten through seventh grade and add eighth grade the following year.
The district says the changes are guided by policy requiring balanced growth, neighborhood continuity where possible, and attention to transportation needs.
But families have voiced concerns that go beyond classroom numbers.
In Nocatee, parents assert that their walkable or golf-cart routes to Pine Island could be replaced by longer commutes on roads shared with construction trucks and higher-speed traffic.
Others argue that moving students farther away from their school undermines the planning decisions that led them to choose their neighborhoods in the first place.
Several parents said the proposed maps ignored proximity altogether, and that the district did not prioritize keeping children at the closest school.
District leaders stress that the plans are not final. Community workshops and town halls will continue through the fall, and the school board is scheduled to take a final vote on the maps in November.
Principals for both campuses will be announced in early 2026.
