School Report Card
"Location, location, location" is the commonly held mantra of realtors when it comes to what to look for in buying a home. But when there are school-aged children to consider, a parent's mantra is sure to be "education, education, education." That's why the availability of good schools is so important to most relocating families.
In Southwest Florida, an atmosphere of enormous growth, staffing and funding shortages, and a continuing challenge to raise academic standards has local schools working hard to improve. Many area public schools have met these challenges, and the region also offers a wide variety of private and parochial schools. Additionally, an ever increasing number of area students is going on to higher education facilities found in their own back yards.
Southwest Florida population growth continues to be a major challenge for all of the county school districts. Collier and Lee have experienced student population increases of several thousand each year. As yet, untapped Sarasota" target="_blank">Charlotte County has added only several hundred students a year to its school population of almost 20,000. As a result, Charlotte school officials have only needed to build additions to several elementary schools. School population at Lee County is approximately 65,000 with 70 schools; an additional five new schools are expected to open next year. Collier's student population has grown to more than 40,000 in 40 schools, two of them charter schools. Collier's 5/10/20 Capital Outlay Plan calls for the construction of 25 new schools in the next 20 years. The county's newest school, Sabal Palm Elementary, opened its doors in August 2003, and two new high schools are gearing up for the 2004-2005 school year. In a repeat of last year, the district hired almost 600 new teachers.
Having ample facilities in place is a priority, but not more than the continued quest to improve teaching and learning standards. Collier's new superintendent, H. Benjamin Marlin, opened his state of the district mid-year report with a reaffirmation of the district's mission to provide "high quality educational experiences enabling all students to achieve their maximum potential in a safe, positive environment that develops good character and respect for diversity."
Collier is part of a Standard-Bearer Network of 30 districts nationwide that attempts to make schoolwork more interesting by using student feedback for teacher and lesson plan improvement. The county also offers optional career academies in its high schools: for instance, tourism and sports and entertainment-marketing academies at Gulf Coast High School, engineering and construction at Lely, and aquaculture at Everglades City. According to the superintendent's report, all of the county's schools have been accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
Lee County School District also has a new superintendent, James W. Browder. He sees the biggest challenge for the district as the growth that it is experiencing, but says that challenge can be met with diligent planning and building programs.
The Lee County School District has been educating children since 1887 and today is the 60th largest school district in the United States. Dedicated to becoming the premier school district in the state of Florida, Lee has 83 percent of its schools rated A or B, with Fort Myers High School having previously earned a place on Newsweek's listing of the nation's top 100 high schools. "We are focused on helping students succeed," says Dr. Browder.
The Sarasota" target="_blank">Charlotte County public schools are still processing information gleaned from a "visioning process" that was initiated to help evaluate the future needs of the students, teachers and staff. So far, staff development and expanded vocational and career-training opportunities for students who don't plan to attend college are shaping up to be major areas to address. This year, 12 Charlotte schools received A's under the state's grading system.
In academics, Collier County ranks highest among the three local districts, followed by Lee and then by Charlotte, according to Bill King, editor of Expansion Management, a magazine in Prairie Village, Kan., that compares thousands of school districts across the United States. (It bases its ratings mainly on College Board scores and school graduation rates.) Compared to other schools nationally, Collier ranks in the 37th percentile, a little below average, King says; Lee and Charlotte fall in the 16th and 14th percentile, respectively.
Money for schools doesn't play the largest part in performance, King insists. More important are parents' educational levels and the work ethic they instill in their children: making sure that they do their homework, attend classes, stay out of trouble and so on. Although King rates districts in Southwest Florida as average, he points out that each district is big enough to include some good public schools. Parents trying to pick the best one should closely scrutinize national standardized test scores like the SAT or ACT, look for high graduation rates and large percentages of college-bound graduates, and choose schools with few disciplinary problems. In Lee County, parents are particularly likely to base their home buying decision on a preferred school. The district's School Choice program divides the county into three geographic zones, with parents ranking their top three choices in their zone for children entering elementary, middle and high school or new to the district. Student assignments are made by lottery, and Dattola says 90 percent of Lee parents get their first choice.
Dozens of private and parochial schools are available in Collier, Lee and Charlotte. Some standouts, like the Community School of Naples and the Canterbury School in Fort Myers, boast 100-percent rates of sending graduates to four-year colleges. Tuition costs vary, but range from about $4,000 to $17,000 a year. Financial aid is available in some cases.
Several colleges and universities operate here, including Florida Gulf Coast University, a four-year state university that opened in Estero in 1997 and is the fastest growing university in the state. Edison Community College has campuses in all three counties, while privately operated International College offers classes in Naples and Fort Myers. Ave Maria University, a Catholic institution founded and funded by Tom Monaghan (who built his fortune with the Domino's pizza chain), has opened a temporary campus in Naples this year. Officials expect that by 2006, a four-year liberal arts program will be under way at a new, permanent campus in a new town (also to be called Ave Maria) to be built between Naples and the farm town of Immokalee.