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ADMISSIONS
THE BURNS STORY
Burns Science and Technology Charter School exists because a community refused to let its school disappear.
What began with the closure of Oak Hill’s neighborhood elementary school became an extraordinary grassroots effort to save a campus, establish a new public charter school, and create educational opportunities for generations of students.
The Burns of today was built through persistence, volunteerism, innovation, and a shared belief in what was possible for the children of our community.
2008
A Community Loses Its School
In 2008, Oak Hill was facing a difficult period. Declines in the local citrus and commercial fishing industries had affected the economy, while reductions to the space program and county budgets contributed to job losses and cuts to community services.
Then came another significant loss. As part of district budget reductions, Volusia County Schools closed W.F. Burns-Oak Hill Elementary School.
For Oak Hill, the closure meant more than losing a school building. The community was losing an institution that had long been part of its identity.
Residents were determined to find another way.
2008–2009
The Community Rallies
The Oak Hill City Commission, community leaders, and local citizens began exploring whether the former school property could be acquired and reopened as a public charter school.
The challenge was significant. Initial efforts to purchase the property encountered obstacles, and the school buildings were being cleared in preparation for demolition. Meanwhile, the Oak Hill Community Trust and local supporters organized fundraisers, pursued grants, and continued searching for a way to save the campus.
Local architect Sid Corhern believed the property could be preserved and reached out to a friend, Tom Gibbs, for help. With financing assistance, the Oak Hill Community Trust was ultimately able to acquire the school buildings and surrounding property.
On October 30, 2009, the purchase was finalized. The Oak Hill community had saved its school from demolition.
Now it had to bring it back to life.
2009–2010
Rebuilding Together
The property the community acquired was far from ready for students. The former school had already been stripped in preparation for demolition and required extensive rehabilitation.
Volunteers went to work.
Community members contributed thousands of hours repairing utilities, restoring the kitchen, working on flooring, painting buildings, landscaping, and improving the grounds. Others donated materials, professional services, equipment, and financial support.
Fundraising became a community-wide effort. Chicken dinners, Italian-to-go dinners, thrift shops, auctions, memory brick sales, pancake breakfasts, golf tournaments, 5K river runs, and other events helped make mortgage payments and purchase materials needed to restore the campus.
An early $10,000 contribution from the Kaplan Foundation, directed by Nick and Jeanne Dowis, helped provide temporary power and dehumidifiers and supported architectural assessment and consulting during the initial stages of the project.
Little by little, a campus that had been prepared for demolition began to look like a school again.
2010
A Charter School Is Born
Saving the property was only the first step. The community still needed approval to establish a public charter school.
The Oak Hill Community Trust Education Committee brought together educators, community leaders, and volunteers to develop the educational program and prepare an application for a new K–8 school.
Following an extensive evaluation process, the Charter Evaluation Committee recommended approval of the application for Burns Science and Technology Charter School on September 23, 2010.
Four days later, on September 27, the Volusia County School Board unanimously approved the charter application.
Years of community advocacy and determination had created a path forward. Burns Science and Technology Charter School was becoming a reality.
Building the Foundation
With the charter approved, a nonprofit school foundation and governing structure were established to oversee the new school.
The governing board, educators, community members, volunteers, families, and supporters then turned their attention to the enormous task ahead: transforming a community vision into a functioning public school.
They had less than a year to prepare the campus, build an educational program, hire educators and staff, acquire equipment and instructional materials, and get ready to welcome students.
Once again, the community went to work.
2011
Burns Opens Its Doors
On August 22, 2011, after years of planning, fundraising, restoration, and thousands of volunteer hours, Burns Science and Technology Charter School welcomed its first class of 260 students.
A $375,000 state grant helped the new school purchase furniture, books, and technology and invest in staff development.
Burns also began building community partnerships that extended learning beyond the classroom. An early partnership with Canaveral National Seashore at Seminole Rest provided programs and field experiences for students. Burns established an adjunct classroom in the caretaker’s cottage at the National Park site, and the park was later recognized as the school’s “Partner of the Year.”
After three years of uncertainty, hard work, and determination, Oak Hill had a school again.
The Early Years
Learning, Adapting and Growing
Opening the doors was only the beginning.
As a brand-new school, Burns faced the challenge of building an academic program while learning how to succeed within Florida’s accountability system.
School leadership and educators examined the data, strengthened instruction, made program and staffing changes, and developed creative ways to give students additional academic support.
Academic intervention extended beyond the classroom, and Saturday programs provided students with additional opportunities to strengthen critical skills.
By its third year, Burns had earned a B rating.
The school kept climbing.
Becoming an A-Rated School
As Burns grew academically, it also developed an educational identity centered on hands-on learning, problem solving, science and technology, innovation, and giving educators the flexibility to find approaches that worked for their students.
Burns earned its first A rating and began building a record of sustained academic achievement. By 2019, the school had earned an A rating for five consecutive years. Families took notice.
By 2019, Burns had grown to 603 students in kindergarten through ninth grade. Another 648 children were on the waiting list, meaning more students were waiting for an opportunity to attend Burns than were enrolled at the school at the time.
The small K–8 charter school created to preserve public education in Oak Hill was becoming something much larger.
Growing with Our Students
As Burns grew, so did the opportunities available to its students.
The school expanded its campus, programs, and grade levels, eventually becoming a comprehensive K–12 public charter school. Students who once would have left Burns after middle school could now continue their education as Burns Eagles through high school graduation.
Throughout that growth, Burns remained committed to the principles that shaped its educational program from the beginning: hands-on learning, project-based instruction, science and technology, and EiSTEAM education.
Today, students can pursue rigorous college-preparatory opportunities, including Advanced Placement courses and AP Capstone, while career-focused programs such as TRADE provide pathways for students seeking practical experience and industry-recognized skills.
The campus continues to grow with its students as well. New learning environments, including the Literacy Lab and STEM Resource Center, provide spaces, tools, technology, and resources that encourage reading, exploration, creativity, collaboration, and innovation.
Burns Sci Tech Today - Soaring to the Next Level
Today, what began as a grassroots effort to save a neighborhood school has grown into a thriving K–12 institution serving more than 1,100 students.
Burns enters its 15th academic year having earned an A rating for 11 consecutive years, an achievement made possible by generations of students, educators, staff, families, board members, volunteers, community partners, and supporters.
But perhaps the most remarkable part of the Burns story is where it began.
The campus our students walk onto today was once being prepared for demolition. Community members saved it. Volunteers rebuilt it. Families and local supporters raised money through dinners, auctions, races, and countless other fundraisers. Educators built a new academic program from the ground up. And when the school's earliest results fell short of its aspirations, the Burns community responded the same way it had from the beginning: by working harder, adapting, and continuing forward.
That history remains part of who we are.
The campus has grown. The programs have expanded. Thousands of students have now called Burns their school. But the determination, innovation, and sense of community that made Burns possible continue to guide where we go next.
What began as a community fighting to save its school has become a school helping build the future of its community.
The Burns story is still being written today, with new opportunities, new achievements, and new generations of students shaping what comes next.
