Lee schools, community highlight a 'stronger together' message in annual school-year recap

Just after the start of school in August, Lee County school leaders eyed the uncertain path of Hurricane Dorian, a slow-moving storm that battered the Bahamas and threatened school closures across Florida.

But district officials soon “breathed a sigh of relief” when classes didn’t have to be canceled like they had after Hurricane Irma swept through Southwest Florida in 2017.

At the time, Superintendent Greg Adkins thought “it may be at least a year until we had to face another challenge of that magnitude."

But no one could have guessed that the biggest challenge for the 2019-20 school year would come from COVID-19, which closed schools nationwide in March and pivoted instruction to online and distance learning for the remainder of the year.

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Adkins, speaking during Friday’s virtual “Partners in Education — State of Our Schools” event, applauded the quick-to-act approach and dedication of Lee school’s 13,000 employees, as well as parents and community members who helped make learning-from-home a possibility for its nearly 95,000 students.

“We really don’t know how we’re going to respond to challenging times until we are confronted with them,” Adkins said, going on to quote Helen Keller. He added: “The school district of Lee County continues to prove that we are indeed stronger together.”

The event, put together with the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools, usually takes place at the Broadway Palm dinner theater as a pre-work breakfast gathering for a few hundred school, business and community members. In light of social distancing protocol, the event was taped ahead of time and aired on the district's Facebook page and YouTube channel Friday.

From 2018: State of our Schools Breakfast

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The video's main speakers were supplemented with short videos produced by the foundation and the school system, highlighting student and teacher achievements and the all-important role local businesses have in helping schools. A few student performances were featured, too.

Kicking off the 29th annual event was Marshall Bower, the president and executive director of the foundation. The nonprofit provides students and teachers with programs, resources and experiences that are covered through local business partnerships.

“Our community’s greatest asset is our children, our students,” he said. “They are the next business and community leaders, employees and employers. Next to their families, educators are the most significant nurturers, molders and mentors of our students.”

Tapping into this resource is what the foundation is all about.

Each year, the foundation honors two businesses that “go above and beyond working with both the foundation and our schools,” said Harlan Parrish, the chair of the foundation’s board and president of FineMark National Bank & Trust, Lee County.

The honorees were Lee Health and the law firm Aloia, Roland, Lubell & Morgan.

During his comments, Superintendent Adkins applauded school staff, teachers and students for the accomplishments made before and during the COVID crisis and thanked parents and community members for their "patience and understanding."

“At this time we truly don’t know” what the start of school will look like in the fall, said Adkins, who encouraged families to stay tuned for future announcements.

He said the district is continuing to work with the state departments of health and education, as well as stay compliant with CDC health and safety guidelines. Also, staff are in communication with other school districts to remain consistent, and are plugging away at longer-term goals outlined in the school system's EnVison 2030 plan.

This includes the following focuses for the next 10 years:

• expand district-run pre-K options to help prepare more students for kindergarten
• shift the existing enrollment process to proximity, which will help more students attend schools closer to home, while being “committed to the future that values choice, diversity and neighborhood schools,” Adkins said.
• expand options to learn outside the school day, such as growing the Support Our Students program at Dunbar High School to other zones.
• grow career and technical training options, including expanding the two existing career and technical colleges and building a new one in Lehigh Acres.
• attracting and keeping high-quality employees.

“We’re excited about what the future holds for the students of Lee County,” Adkins said. “While we have a strong and dedicated team, we can’t do it alone. We are grateful for the support of our families and continued partnerships from community businesses and organizations, including the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools.”

The superintendent concluded his message by saying: “Let’s join together today for an incredible tomorrow …”

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