About 100 students in Wellington will be awarded $10 million in scholarships to attend a new, yet-to-be-built elite private school. Wingrove Academy, set to welcome its first class in 2028, plans to offer more ways for local students to enroll.
ElevateED, the education company working to open Wingrove, presented the Wellington Village Council with its plans to provide need-based financial aid to residents at a meeting Wednesday, Feb. 24. Developers are expected to build the school on the back portion of the K-Park site as part of a recently approved mixed-use development off State Road 7 just south of Stribling Way led by developer Related Ross.
Two weeks before, the council postponed approval of a conditional use permit necessary for the private school to be built on the property. After hearing concerns about the lack of specific information on how the school will include local students, ElevateED’s team returned with concrete details on their scholarship program for Wellington residents.
“One of the things I think that is important to note is when somebody is admitted to the school and awarded financial aid through scholarship, we want to make sure that they have the opportunity to continue their education, not just for one year, but for as many years they’re at the school,” said Jeff Clark, representing ElevateED.
Wingrove plans to have up to 1,750 students from pre-K to grade 12 on its nearly 44-acre campus. If opened as scheduled, officials will only enroll students in grades pre-K through eight for its first school year and introduce its first high school class in 2029. No set tuition has been released yet, but ElevateED is hoping to give those attending Wingrove a “forward-focused education” with state-of-the-art facilities dedicated to arts and athletics.
Officials from ElevateED said that they will be awarding the $10 million over the first five academic years. They expect to commit a certain amount per student that will allow them to stay at Wingrove through their graduation.
To be eligible for these scholarships, a prospective student must be a resident of Wellington at the time of application, meet the school’s admission standards and demonstrate financial need. The amount awarded will be based on demonstrated need and the tuition charged in each year. To continue to receive scholarship assistance, a student needs to remain in good academic and disciplinary standing.
In addition to the scholarship program, ElevateED’s team agreed that the school will adopt a community use policy that allows village organizations to use certain campus facilities for civic, educational, cultural and youth-serving events.
“I’m very glad we sent you back to the drawing board to come up with a more concrete plan for the scholarship program,” Mayor Michael Napoleone said. “I’m glad we’re also finalizing the shared-use agreement, because those are two things that are big motivators for us to move forward with Wingrove.”
Before the meeting, there were concerns about whether the school would be built. However, officials from Related Ross agreed to support the purchase of the land immediately for the school, so officials from ElevateED can continue their fundraising and honor any commitments to the village.
With assurance of the school being built and ElevateED agreeing to a memorandum of understanding that Wellington residents will have equal access to all financial aid offered, the council unanimously passed a resolution approving the private school use on the property.
“I think this is a good commitment, and it shows the strength of the partnership that we’ve been looking for with Wingrove for Wellington kids,” Councilman John McGovern said.
In other business:
- The council unanimously approved an extension of Village Manager Jim Barnes’ contract to Dec. 31, 2030. The contract extension comes with a $5,000 raise and a change that would require a council supermajority to fire the manager without cause. The manager also cannot be terminated 90 days prior to or after an election.
- Consideration of the Lotis Phase 2 project master plan was once again postponed and will be added to the council’s meeting on Tuesday, March 10.
- At the tail end of the six-hour meeting, McGovern brought up the idea of a raise for council members. Monetary compensation for council members has not changed since incorporation 30 years ago, and the village now ranks below all peer communities for council compensation. McGovern said he brought it up because he will be stepping off the council shortly and will not benefit from such a change. Napoleone said the issue will need an extended conversation, which he was not ready for due to the late hour.
