TAMPA, Fla. — One of Tampa’s oldest and most historic schools is now one of the newest.
Tampa Heights Elementary reopened its doors to students Monday.
What You Need To Know
- Tampa Heights Elementary reopens to students
- School closed since fire in September 2017
- PREVIOUS STORY: Tampa Heights Elementary Rises From The Ashes
Formerly called Robert E. Lee Elementary, the Columbus Drive-located school was destroyed by a fire after Hurricane Irma in 2017.
Students have been housed in portables at Lockhart Elementary for the past three years while the school was rebuilt.
Construction teams were able to preserve many elements of the original building, including some of the bricks.
They also built a wall using the wooden floorboards and incorporated old tiles into a new staircase.
More than 300 students are expected to return.
The process to rename Lee Elementary began in 2017, when the school board requested the change from the district.
Just a few months later, on September 12, 2017, a fire broke out in the historic building, destroying the school.
In May 2018, board members met with parents to discuss the future of the building and new school names proposed by families. Those names included Lee Elementary with no first name, Tampa Heights Elementary, Harper Lee Elementary, and Amelia Elementary.
The school was officially renamed in November 2018.
The school has only had two names in its 112-year history.
Built by volunteers in 1906, the school was first named Michigan Avenue Grammar School and was renamed Robert E. Lee Elementary in 1943.
It became the district's first magnet school in 1993.