Our History

New Hope SDA School is located at 545 East Campus Circle, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It is situated in the heart of Melrose Park, an annex to the City of Fort Lauderdale.

It was in the year 1997 that two visionaries from the New Hope SDA Church, Mr. Jeff Knight and Mrs. Ilene Knight, conceived the idea of a daycare that would serve the community.

During the following year, 1998, out of this conceived idea, the New Hope SDA Day Care was born, with the enrollment of six children. Mr. Jeff Knight served as Chairman, Ms. Donna Peart as worker, while Mrs. Ilene Knight volunteered her services.

With much prayer for God’s direction, the members of the church unite every fiber of their being, time, talents, treasures, and expertise. They were confident that children, parents and adults, need to have a safe haven of learning.

It was not smooth sailing at the beginning, but productive changes became visible. These included attractive classrooms, an administrative assistant, and a qualified Director to oversee the daily professional operations of the school.

As the years progressed, the Learning Center, as it was then called, benefitted from the hard work and dedicated skills and expertise of the first Director, Mrs. Carolyn Smith, followed by Mrs. Janice Stewart, Mrs. Eunice Alexander, Ms. Pattrell Jones, Mrs. Topaz Henry-Richards, Mrs. Gail Dawkins-Frederic, Mrs. Dee Howard, and the current Director Ms. Elorine Clarke. Mr. Dexter Parris and Mr. Collin Evans, in their turns as chairpersons, dedicated their time, talent, and resources to ensure the care and development of the New Hope Day Care, Learning Center and School.

The growth of the Learning Center gave rise to a brilliant question – What would happen to the students when they graduated from Pre-Kindergarten? The resounding answer was, “Let us give birth to another segment, an Elementary School.” In 2008, the Kindergarten to Fourth Grade School opened with 27 students and three full-time teachers, with Mrs. Gail Dawkins-Frederic as the principal.

The school year 2010-2011 rolled around. The Middle School was a welcomed extension. Convinced that the Lord was leading and working in our favor to help build another “school of the prophet” in this section of His vineyard, the baton was handed to Mr. Rubenson Frederic who brought with him respect and love for youth. Mrs. Sonia McCloud was subsequently appointed as the principal/teacher in 2011. She came with 35 years of experience as an educator, and a firm desire to continue building the New Hope SDA School. The 2011-2012 enrollment was 37 students.

Next, Mrs. Olga Simmons, a quiet giant for Seventh-day Adventist Christian education, was invited to join the project. The Lord impressed her heart, and she answered in the affirmative. A hard worker, respectful, educated, lover of children, with a Christ-like attitude and fine deportment, she assumed the responsibilities of Principal-Teacher in the fall of the 2011-2012 school year. The school has since experienced significant increases in enrollment. In fact, it has since always been above 80 students. At present, there are 85 registered students in grades K-8.

In spite of its challenges, the New Hope SDA School has maintained high academic standards and expectations. Credit must also be attributed to the Pastoral team and School Board members who have contributed greatly to the stability, productivity, and solid educational leadership of the school. working with the community, sister schools, and churches sharing and activities, and interests has been as well a significant factor in the growth and development of the school over the years. The activities and services provided have been inclusive of Clubs where the students can participate in extracurricular activities; Houses, named after members of the church, where students have fun with and challenge each other; Vacation Bible School programs, Before and After Care provisions, Academic and Fun Summer School, Adventurer Programs, Bible classes, tutoring, and Home and School meetings. Over the years, parents have been distinguished as – lovable, respectful, and supportive. Throughout the days of hard toil and labor, the school continues to grow and excel moreso by the Lord’s amazing grace.