Our school opened in August 1999. Our school is proud to be named after the late Governor Lawton Chiles. As Florida's Governor he was a champion of children and their families.

Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. was born in Lakeland, Florida. He attended public schools, graduated from the University of Florida in 1952 and earned a law degree there in 1955. Chiles served in the U.S. Army as an artillery officer, 1953-1954. In 1955, he was admitted to The Florida Bar and began a Lakeland law practice.

Lawton Chiles was a well known politician. He served in the Florida House of Representatives (1958–1966) and the Florida State Senate (1966–1970). He became known as “Walkin Lawton” in 1970 after walking 1,003 miles across the state as a  candidate for U.S. Senate where he served for 18 years (1971–1989). Not ready to retire yet he then became the 41st Governor of Florida from 1991 until his death in office (December 1998) in the last month of his second term as governor.

The Governor and First Lady Rhea Chiles have four adult children:
Tandy Chiles Barrett, Lawton (Bud) Chiles III, Ed Chiles and Rhea Gay Chiles.