© 2026 WFSU Public Media
WFSU News · Tallahassee · Panama City · Thomasville
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Stars Middle School Gets New Name, New Grades Levels And New Charter

Leon County’s Stars Middle School—a charter, is planning to expand next year. The school is accepting applications for grades K-8. The addition of the elementary grade component comes after the Leon County School Board approved the school’s charter Tuesday.

“We’ve been working hard with our parents, staff and district personnel and finally it’s happening now," says Stars Principal Ahmet Temel. "We’re ready to go, and it’s great because there was a great desire from our parents to expand.”

The school is also getting a new name. It will become the  Tallahassee School of Math and Science.

A Leon county school district official says the last two times Stars applied for an expansion,  its application was incomplete. Last year, the school wanted to move to a new site off Thomasville Road, but the proposed location drew opposition from nearby residents.

The new School of Math and Science school will be located on North Monroe Street. Stars was rated as a "C" school by the state for the 2013 school year but has previously received A's and B's. Under the deal approved by the Leon County School board Tuesday, the new charter will expire in 2020.

Follow @HatterLynn

Lynn has been with WFSU since 2007 with education and health care issues as her key coverage areas.  She has worked with several news organizations, including Kaiser Health News.  Lynn has also partnered with USC-Annenberg's Center for Child Wellbeing on the nationally acclaimed series "Committed," which explored the prevalence of involuntary commitment use on children.

She has served on the boards of the First Amendment Foundation of Florida and the Radio, Television, Digital News Association, and is a current board member of the United Way of the Big Bend.

Lynn holds a bachelor's degree from  Florida A&M University and earned her master's at Florida State University.
Find complete bio, contact info, and more stories here.