WEEK OF JANUARY 3, 2024
VOLUME 62, NUMBER 7
18 Lee County public schools receive an 'A' By MEGHAN BRADBURY
news@breezenewspapers.com
Eighteen schools earned an “A” grade from the state of Florida, which officials said is a win for the School District of Lee County as the results are from the year when many were impacted by the devastating path Hurricane Ian left behind. “Our administrators, principals, teachers, paraprofessionals and students worked diligently under very trying circumstances last year and the overall rise in achievement is due to their effort and hard work,” Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier said in a prepared statement. “Lives and learning were interrupted by a major hurricane and new state implemented testing standards. Our staff rose to the challenge and removed three schools from state supervision and increased the overall student outcomes which are reflected in the improved school grades. We are proud and they should celebrate and recognize their commitment that led to the outcomes and the
Refuge to offer Wellness in Nature both on, off island Save the dates for a four-day weekend focusing on the getoutdoors nature cure. Wellness in Nature will take place at “Ding” centers at the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel from Jan. 18-21, but it will also reach out into the greater Lee County community with activities planned both at Lakes Park and Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers. “The past two years, the refuge has hosted Wellness in Nature events, which started with unveiling our self-guided Mindfulness Trail at the Bailey Tract, the first of its kind in the nearly 570 national wildlife refuges across the U.S.,”
Supervisory Refuge Ranger Toni Westland said. “This year, we have reorganized activities into a condensed series whose purpose is to get people outdoors to better their health and wellbeing.”
See SCHOOLS, page 17
IslanderInsIde
See REFUGE, page 17 The J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel will offer open-air yoga at The Roost, its new outdoor flex space, as one of the activities scheduled for Wellness in Nature on Jan. 18-21. REFUGE/DDWS
The Purple Group looks to advocate for education in county By MEGHAN BRADBURY
news@breezenewspapers.com
A nonpartisan group formed in Lee County to become advocates for public schools, students, parents and educators is making its voice heard at school board meetings and is sharing information with the public in a variety of ways. Madelon Stewart said The Purple Group of Lee County is a subcommittee of a group that formed Quality Schools for the Future of Lee County. “We formed when there was a referendum put on the ballet that called for a partisan superintendent of schools. We
are educators, parents, grandparents and know it was a horrible idea. We unfortunately failed,” she said. Following that, Stewart said people from various organizations shared that a “very right-wing political agenda,” not necessarily comprised of parents, but those that lived in the community, were funded with outside sources, so they began making statements at the school board meetings. “We felt they were everywhere all the time,” she said, adding that perhaps people began thinking this was what the community believed to be true.
The Purple Group formed as nonpartisan, which is essential to their focus — student learning, parental rights, respect for education, and accountability and transparency. The leadership group has 15 individuals with others who are members, but do not wish to speak in public. They spend their time educating the public through the public comment portion of the school board meetings, as well as other events, two of which are scheduled in January. See THE PURPLE GROUP, page 17
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