New Discovery Academy Of Science Charter School Is Coming To Wesley Chapel

An update on the DAS Pasco construction. (All photos on this page are from DAS) 

A new charter school is coming to Wesley Chapel to provide students with a quality educational opportunity in a world that is increasingly reliant on technology, including AI. Discovery Academy of Science (DAS) Pasco, located on the south side of S.R. 56 at Two Ridges Rd. (aka Wyndfields Blvd.), is a tuition-free public charter school with a STEM+R (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Reading) focus that will open its doors to students for the 2027-28 school year, with construction currently under way. 

The school will welcome students in grades K-6 in its first year and then expand to grades K-8 as the school grows. The curriculum is meant to be rigorous, in order to prepare students for the 21st century by focusing heavily on STEM subjects and literacy, which the school leaders believe is foundational to the future success of the students.. 

“Parents can expect a rigorous, standards-aligned academic program with a strong emphasis on STEM, reading, critical thinking and real-world applications,” says Alex Register (right), director of communications & facilities for DAS. “In addition to core academics, DAS Pasco plans to offer enrichment opportunities such as robotics, coding, Science Olympiad, Math Olympiad, VEX Robotics, First LEGO League, SeaPerch, art, music, physical education, Spanish and computer science. These activities help students learn teamwork, persistence, creativity, leadership and problem-solving — the same skills they will need in college and for career pathways.” 

Beginning at the elementary level, the DAS program will emphasize phonics, fluency, vocabulary, reading comprehension, writing and text-based discussion for its literacy instruction. In mathematics, students will learn problem-solving, reasoning, procedural fluency and real-world application skills. For science, students will participate in inquiry-based learning, labs, experiments, engineering challenges and STEM projects. 

An update on the DAS Pasco construction. 

Progressing to the middle school level, DAS Pasco students will continue to build upon their skills gained at the elementary level in the STEM fields, along with sharpening their research, writing, collaboration and presentation capabilities. The goal of the program is to prepare students for high school success, including readiness for advanced coursework. 

Approved by the Pasco County School Board, DAS Pasco’s footprint will encompass roughly 60,000 square feet of classroom and learning space for STEM and arts/music, along with a dedicated library and media area. The plans also include administrative offices, a cafeteria, outdoor recreational areas and parking for staff and visitors. 

DAS Pasco will be the third DAS campus in the Tampa Bay area, joining the existing Clearwater campus and the Dunedin campus that is on track to open for the 2026-27 school year. DAS Clearwater has served families in Pinellas County since 2013, earning an excellent reputation for its academic performance in STEM, including “A” ratings from the Florida Department of Education (FDoE), and its strong student and parent support system. It also has been recognized as a “Florida School of Excellence” and has held “High Performing Charter School” status, both from FDoE. 

The rendering of the exterior of the now-under-construction Discovery Academy of Science (DAS) Pasco campus on S.R. 56 at Two Ridges Rd. (see map, top left) in Wesley Chapel.

“One of the reasons DAS has been successful is that it combines academic rigor with a very structured, family-oriented school culture,” says Register. “We focus heavily [not only] on STEM, [but also on] character, student safety, data-driven instruction and regular communication with families. The goal is not simply to teach content but to help students become confident learners who know how to think, collaborate, communicate and solve problems.” 

DAS Pasco is expected to welcome approximately 480 students when it opens its doors in Aug. 2027 and to reach 860 students within five years. The school will employ roughly 40-45 staff members in its first year, including teachers, ESE teachers, guidance and support staff, administrative staff, full-time substitute support and more. At full capacity, the school expects to employ 65-70 staff members. 

School officials already have selected the inaugural principal for the Pasco campus — Suzanne Mizzi, who currently serves as the K2 Administrator for Curriculum and Instruction at the DAS Clearwater campus. She brings more than 22 years of experience in classroom teaching and school administrative leadership, including having served as an assistant principal at BridgePrep Academy of South Tampa. 

Mizzi (left) holds a Bachelor’s degree in Child Psychology from Hunter College in New York City, NY, and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Saint Leo University in St. Leo, FL. Register says her experience and understanding of early literacy, strong parent-school relationships, student support and building a great culture were the main drivers in her selection. 

Register also says that DAS wanted to bring its model of success from Pinellas to a rapidly growing Pasco County community seeking additional educational opportunities. 

“Many families are looking for additional high-quality K-8 options, and we have also seen interest from Pasco families who are familiar with the DAS model in Pinellas County,” she says. “The Pasco campus gives us an opportunity to bring a proven STEM-focused public charter model to a fast-growing community that values education, innovation and school choice. We believe DAS Pasco can help meet that demand while becoming a long-term partner for families, students and the broader community.” 

Discovery Academy of Science Pasco is currently accepting applications for its inaugural school year (2027-28). Parents can visit the school’s website at DiscoveryAcademy.info to learn more about the school, key enrollment dates and additional background about the curriculum. 

Mater Academy — The (Charter) School You (Probably) Didn’t Know You Were Getting!

If you happened to be driving down County Line Rd. a few weeks ago, just past Grand Hampton, you might have done a double take. We sure did. There, seemingly out of nowhere, was a brand-new traffic signal (photo below) going in at Dunham Station Dr. Curious enough on its own — but what really caught our attention was why it was being installed…especially since it didn’t appear anywhere on Pasco County’s latest comprehensive transportation projects map. 

As it turns out, the signal isn’t random at all. It’s there to serve a huge, previously-under-the-radar K-12 public charter school quietly rising (top photo) at the south end of Wesley Chapel, about a mile west of Northwood. 

And when we say “quietly,” we actually mean very quietly. 

The school is called Mater Academy at Northwood, a tuition-free K-12 public charter school slated to open in August 2026. Until recently, most residents — including us — had no idea it was coming. Its Facebook page has had just nine followers since November, and there’s been almost no public chatter about it online. 

Honestly, if it weren’t for that new traffic signal on County Line Rd., we might not have even known about the Mater Academy until it opened its doors. 

The site is impressively hidden. When we drove back there out of sheer curiosity (and, of course, our ongoing commitment to nosy neighborhood journalism), we fully expected to find yet another three-story, climate-controlled self-storage facility being built. 

Instead? Thankfully…a school. In Wesley Chapel. Actual, real-deal education infrastructure. 

Though to be fair, that spot would have been the perfect place for self-storage. No one would have ever seen it back there. 

Where Exactly Is This Located? 

Mater Academy at Northwood is being built on a 15-acre site at the northern end of Dunham Station Dr., tucked behind the Woodside Trace townhomes, just north of County Line Rd. It’s barely visible from the main road. 

That detail matters, because Dunham Station Dr. also serves as the second, residents-only entrance and exit for Grand Hampton. This means many Grand Hampton residents are probably thrilled about the new signal — especially since it’s just 0.3 miles west of Grand Hampton’s main entrance signal, which only first went live in July 2024. 

Yes, two signals. Less than a third of a mile apart. On already-packed County Line Rd. 

DĂŠjĂ  Vu On County Line Rd. 

If this sounds familiar, it should. This story is very much a sequel to our 2024 “Cheers & Jeers” story about the new Grand Hampton entrance traffic signal. Back then, residents were split — some cheering a long-overdue safety improvement, others grumbling about backups and timing issues. 

That article also pointed out what long-time locals already know: Two-lane County Line Rd. may still feel rural, but it hasn’t been truly rural for a long time. With growing neighborhoods, schools, townhomes and commercial development, traffic volumes — and turning movement times — have steadily increased. 

The new Dunham Station Dr. signal continues that trend. And unlike the Grand Hampton signal, this one comes with a new westbound right turn lane (from the Pasco side) and full pedestrian crosswalks, clearly designed to manage the traffic that a large school inevitably brings. 

But, will County Line Rd. ever get proper, full- length arterial sidewalks? That’s still to be determined— maybe when (or if) it ever gets widened to four lanes. But, with the North Tampa Christian Academy and a brand new Primrose School (as we reported last issue) already adding traffic on this two-lane roadway, there’s no doubt that another 700-2,500 students is not going to make traveling on County Line Rd. any easier. 

How Big A School Is It? 

Big. Like, really big. (See rendering right) 

According to construction plans dated September 2025, the school will be built in seven total phases: 

• Phase 1 includes a 3-story, 38,000-sq-ft classroom building at the entrance, currently under construction 

• Phases 2-4 will add three more 3-story standalone classroom buildings and a gym, bringing the total to five buildings and 139,000 sq. ft. overall 

• Phase 5 adds outdoor basketball courts and playgrounds 

• Phase 6 adds a full-size sports field and an additional baseball diamond 

• Phase 7 includes the 12,000-sq-ft, one-story gymnasium at the rear of the site 

In total, the school is planned to serve up to a maximum of 2,500 students — 1,200 elementary, 600 middle and 700 high school. 

Each student body will have 30-minute staggered start and end times. Current plans show: 

• Elementary starting first at 7:30 a.m. 

• High school ending last at 3:30 p.m. 

Those details will likely evolve as construction progresses and subsequent phases get built-out. 

Parking, Pick-Up & The ‘Shuffle’ 

The site includes 269 parking spaces and a three-lane-wide car drop-off and pick-up loop for most of the property, narrowing to two lanes at the end. If it operates like other charter schools, don’t be surprised if that triple-wide drop-off doubles as overflow parking during events. 

It’s still unclear how many students will be accommodated in Phase 1 — although the building’s size indicates a likely maximum of 700 students in that Phase 1 building. 

We also couldn’t reach anyone who could tell us whether or not all grade levels will open immediately. However, the school’s online “Student Interest Form” already lists all grades as options in the pull-down menu. 

What Is Mater Academy? 

Mater Academy is a Miami-based charter school network that, according to its website — MaterAcademy.org — serves 29,000+ students in 44 charter schools in Florida, Nevada and Ohio. The company’s mission statement reads: 

“Mater provides a safe learning environment where academics are facilitated by teachers, administrators, parents and the community which enables students to become confident, self-directed learners in a technologically-rich, college preparatory environment through rigor, relevance and relationships.” 

The Takeaway 

So yes — the new traffic signal on County Line Rd. is about traffic. But, it’s also the first visible sign of a major new educational development quietly taking shape just out of sight in Wesley Chapel. 

Motorists should also expect another new signal to start taking shape soon— two miles to the west at Cypress Creek Rd., as this one is shown in the county’s work plan for 2026. 

So, between these new signals, growing communities, and now a massive K-12 charter campus, one thing is clear: County Line Rd. is continuing its slow transformation from “sleepy connector” to full-blown growth corridor. 

And apparently, sometimes the traffic light really is the source of the news. 

Parents interested in learning more about the new Mater Academy can find some information, as well as the “Student Interest Form” at MaterNorthwood.org. We did not know at our press time about any application deadline for the 2026-27 school year.