Chuck Seaver, South Lake Tablet
Lake Technical College hosted an open house and official ribbon-cutting for its south campus on Friday, August 14th. The newly renovated campus, located at 680 Highland Avenue in Clermont, remains a work in progress, with additional classrooms and workforce training opportunities expected soon.
Current course offerings include culinary, nursing, paramedic, and HVAC programs. Classes are held in both traditional classrooms and realistic training areas designed to replicate real-world work settings.
The dream of bringing a vocational education center to the South Lake community may not have become reality without the persistence and determination of Sharon Keys, a Clermont native. Sharon began pursuing the idea after the former Clermont Elementary School campus was vacated and students moved to the new Aurelia Cole Academy on East Avenue, Clermont, in 2023.
Sharon and other community leaders formed the Lincoln Park South Lake Alliance, or LPSLA, to bring attention to the needs of young people in the South Lake area. Among those needs was—and remains—access to adult learning options, including workforce skills training.
Through quiet determination, Sharon and the LPSLA helped save the historic campus from demolition. After months of meetings and negotiations, and with support from local leaders and political figures, their dreams and prayers became reality.
The original campus was built in the early 1900s as a segregated school. Founder James A. Townsend had the one-room building constructed in 1902. Over the years, the campus continued to grow and was later taken over by the Lake County School District during segregation. Its more than 120-year history includes desegregation in the 1960s, when the campus transitioned from a junior high school to a middle school and eventually became home to Clermont Elementary School.
The first phase of the redesigned campus included the opening of the Lincoln Park Education Center – LPEC, in May 2024. LPEC is designed for students balancing education with part-time work, family responsibilities, or other obligations that create scheduling challenges. Students can earn a high school diploma through an 18-credit option while attending classes on a flexible schedule.
The second phase of the campus redesign includes Lake Technical College’s portion of the learning center. The grand opening coincides with Lake Technical College’s 60th anniversary and comes as the college announces a $3.7 million State of Florida investment in the south campus. The appropriation will support continued construction and campus transformation.
“This appropriation is an investment in people,” said DeAnna Thomas, president of Lake Technical College. “Every classroom we build, every lab we establish, and every program we expand creates new opportunities for individuals to build rewarding careers while helping employers find the skilled workforce they need.”
“We have seen dreams come true, but we still have work to do,” Sharon said, referring to efforts to establish a community center for area youth. She has also helped lead an effort to locate photographs, memorabilia, and other information related to the early 1900s history of Lincoln Park School, a project also being mirrored by the Clermont Historical Society. Anyone with relevant information is asked to contact Sharon at LincolnParkSouthLakeAlliance@gmail.com.
Lake Technical College and Lincoln Park Education Center are both accepting applications for fall enrollment. For more information, visit www.LakeTech.org or www.Lake.K12.FL.US.
