Education News

Marco Island is serving up a canned food drive and a team tennis match for Thanksgiving this year. Full story »

Pat Carroll has been named the new chair of the Collier County School Board. Full story »

Whether stuffing shoeboxes for children in need or designing ornaments for the community’s holiday celebration, Island youth seem to be in the Christmas spirit. Full story »

Fifty is the new zero — if you are a Collier County elementary school student, that is. That’s because the Collier County School District is taking a different approach to help kids succeed. In an attempt to help students learn while making it easier for them to succeed, district teachers will issue a score no lower than 50. The district’s executive director for elementary school programs said zeros are rarely an adequate reflection of what a student is able to do. Instead, they are used as punishment for not doing what they are capable of. Full story »

They may not mean a whole lot, but they add up on paper. Estero High School and South Fort Myers High School both offer significantly more majors to their students than the average number of majors offered at Lee County high schools. The average is 41 majors. South High offers 66 majors and Estero offers 68 majors, which makes it the school with more available majors than any other in the county. Full story »

Tuesday night was bittersweet for Julie Sprague. After months of hard work, the Gulf Coast High School teacher became the newest member of the Collier County School Board. But, as a School Board member, she will have to leave behind her teaching career, which has spanned 30 years, 20 of them in Collier County. Sprague said she used the word “bittersweet” twice Tuesday night, but said she hasn’t fully processed what it will mean. Full story »

High School students looking ahead to their college years need to explore all possible avenues of financial assistant to help offset the cost of attending college. Full story »

Collier County School Board member Kathleen Curatolo could not help but be elated Tuesday night after it was clear a referendum to fund schools passed. “The referendum represents what a team of people can really do if they put their mind to it,” she said. “This is the very first thing that this School Board and superintendent ought to be proud of. It is going to make a huge difference in the education of our children.” Full story »

During a Saturday night about music and the camaraderie it builds, Lely High School’s 19th annual Tournament of Bands fell silent just once. Wearing outfits ranging from Estero High School’s all-Americans to Immokalee High School’s ancient Egyptians, leaders of each of the 14 competing bands stood at attention on the football field at the end of the night, waiting silently to hear who won what. Full story »

Color, “the property causing visual sensation.” Full story »

It may seem mundane for a teacher to go to a seminar and come back with the knowledge that if you tap a shook-up soda can on its side before opening it, the liquid won’t gush in your face. But, for Tommie Barfield Elementary teachers Cheryl Reinke and Mabel Pena, the revelation has practical scientific relevance. Full story »

Teacher Anne Fleming knew something was up when a small army of people marched into her classroom Wednesday, but she wasn’t quite sure why. Among the classroom crashers were staffers from OfficeMax, Tommie Barfield Elementary Principal Jory Westberry, representatives from local media, and three or four of Fleming’s fellow teachers. Full story »

Marco Island residents and businesses can be counted on to support a good cause, and the Vegas Island Style fundraiser event held Saturday, was no exception judging by the spectacular turnout. Full story »

Gulf Coast high School senior Grant Robinson has been named a 2009 National Achievement Semifinalist in the National Achievement Scholarship Program. The program named more than 1,600 black American high school seniors who were designated semifinalists. Full story »

Those planning to take the General Educational Development (GED) exam soon should be sure to catch the GED Connection TV show on The Education Channel, cable 20. Full story »