Atwater Elementary School, a 5-Star school, officially opened its doors to the community for the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year.

Members of the community and our school families helped select our school name, the school colors of red, white and blue, and the name of our ‘team,’ the Atwater All-Stars. We believe that the name encompasses everyone connecting with the school — students, parents, and guardians, community members, teachers, administrators and support staff.

Our school is approximately 124,000-square-feet and was built on 35 acres. It includes 970 student stations, and approximately 700 students call themselves Atwater All-stars. Atwater Elementary is adjacent to Atwater Community Park. The school district worked closely with Sarasota County Emergency Management to build the school as an enhanced hurricane shelter, designed to withstand wind speeds of 180 miles per hour rather than the standard 130 mph.

Atwater Elementary incorporates many “green” features into its construction. These include the use of regional building materials, recycled-content materials, and low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) materials; energy-efficient heating and air conditioning; minimized water usage; efficient stormwater management and drought-tolerant landscaping. We are very proud of our LEED Silver for Schools Certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Additionally, our campus houses a butterfly garden and a solar panel array that provides electricity to the school in the event of power loss. As a community school, our playgrounds are open to the public during non-school hours.

We pride ourselves on our service and our strong relationships with our students, families, and community partners. We look forward to you becoming an Atwater All-Star, and please don't hesitate to contact us if we can be of service.