"

​

​

​

 

Baron Academy

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony 

​

             

Thank you to everyone who came out to help us Celebrate the opening of our BEAUTIFUL new 8000 sq. ft. Baron Academy school building!!

​

Nearly 150 supporters came together to celebrate the Grand Opening of Baron Academy, a K-8 non-profit private learning center dedicated to serving students with unique and special needs.

​

The school’s founder and CEO, Kristine Erice, opened the doors to her smaller 2400 square foot school, Exceptional Academy for Differently-Abled Learners, back in January 2020 to fill a need in the community for a school for children who learn differently, just like her son, Dylan. There was a waitlist the moment they opened their doors and Kristine knew she needed to do more.

​

A chance meeting with local commercial real estate broker and developer, Jeremiah Baron, led to a partnership and plans for an expansion of the original school. The newly renamed Baron Academy, is located in an 8000 sq. ft. space at 8557 Commerce Centre Dr. in Port St. Lucie. Baron Academy can accommodate up to 75 students, and will allow Kristine and her staff to help more children in the community who need this kind of specialized learning environment.

​

The Grand Opening of the new school building was an emotional celebration, as many families with special needs children gathered together to help support this much needed one of a kind school on the Treasure Coast. The Fort Pierce Central High School JROTC color guard kicked off the event with the national anthem and a presentation of the colors, followed by speeches from Jeremiah Baron and Kristine Erice (both of whom have children with Autism).

 

Families were then welcomed into the new building for a lunch reception provided by Tutto Fresco. An Open House and tours of the new facility immediately followed.

​

Baron spoke about his chance meeting with Kristine and his personal experiences with the difficulties of navigating life with children with Autism. With much emotion, he spoke directly about his family's daily struggles and how finding the right school for his children was so important.

​

Erice was introduced by her husband, the school’s co-founder and CFO, Matthew Saxton, who expressed his heartfelt thanks to her for all of her hard work and dedication in opening up the first school of its kind in St. Lucie County that is specifically dedicated to serving these special children.

​

Erice thanked everyone for coming out and reminded attendees that “This school is a place of love, hope and acceptance.” With tears in her eyes she stated, “and as long as I’m around, I will make sure our kids have every opportunity to get exactly what they need to feel loved and to be successful in life.”

​

-Article Published in All Things Treasure Coast August 10, 2022

​

​

​

​