Winston Park Elementary opened in August of 1976 as a permanent “relocatable” facility per guidelines established by the state. The land was donated by the Centex Corporation who had created and developed the community of Winston Park and therefore the name of the school evolved.

Students actually moved into the building on November 15, 1976 with their first principal, Mrs. Florence Kay, Yellow was the original color of the T-shirts which bore the picture of an Owl.

After much community support a permanent facility was constructed. Staff and students, wearing new red t-shirts with white and black stripes representing a race car track with the motto “We are on the Move!” walked into the new building in February, 1987. At that time a contest was held for students to design the mosaic that is on the front of the building. The mosaic shows two children sitting at a table illustrating compatibility within our diversity. On the other side the mosaic shows an Owl, based on the Burrowing Owls that lived on the school’s grounds, and reflect the wisdom and intelligence of our students.

When Mrs. Kay retired in June, 1987, Mr. Michael Liebman took over the job of principal which he held until June, 1997. Under both of their leaderships the school received numerous recognitions and remained a school of high achieving students.

Over the past couple of years, the community rallied again in support of converting the elementary school into a K-8 Center. After much effort, the Miami Dade School Board approved the conversion and effective this school year Winston Park will officially become a K-8 Center. Groundbreaking on new facilities began in late 2005 and construction will continue during this current school year.

The current school’s principal, Mrs. Noreen Virgin, continues to foster a culture of high expectations for staff and students. The school has earned an “A” state accountability grade for five consecutive years. In addition, the staff received Performance Bonus Pay 2004 for having students who made the highest learning gains in ACCESS Center 6.

Winston Park K-8 Center has a strong and solid academic history and continues to uphold its reputation complemented by strong parental involvement and a staff and faculty committed to its mission.