Guest commentary: Kudos, congratulations deserved across district
As we embark on this last quarter, I want to welcome Dr. Ken Savage back to the role of superintendent. He served the School District of Lee County well during the last transitionary period and I am confident he will provide our students and staff stability in the months ahead while laying the groundwork for an elected superintendent in November.
We also have so many wonderful things to reflect upon this school year. New school projects are already underway. We have so much excitement surrounding our spring sports. Not to mention the amazing educators who have been presented the Golden Apple Award for excellence in their profession.
As many board members have previously stated, we have seen exponential growth within our district. To accommodate the approximately 12,000 new seats needed, we have several projects in our near future. Many of these schools needed are in our East Zone. I would like to congratulate our newest schools, Amanecer Elementary and Lemuel Teal Middle, as they wrap up their inaugural year. Under amazing leadership, the students in these two schools have soared.
This year we made history by adding Girl’s Flag Football to the spring schedule. The sport has taken off and I am proud to say many of these young women have never been a part of team sport until now. A huge congratulations to the schools that won their district title in our winter sports programs and I am confident we will have several more banners hanging in our gyms and on our field come the end of spring.
High school winter sports District Champions include:
– Boys basketball: Gateway and Mariner
– Girls basketball: Gateway High School
– Boys soccer: Mariner and Fort Myers
– Girls soccer: Mariner and Fort Myers
– Girls weightlifting: Fort Myers in both Olympic and traditional
Last but certainly not least, congratulations to all of our Golden Apple finalists. All of these men and women have shown tremendous strength and passion for what they do inside our classroom walls. Congratulations to our Golden Apple winners!
– Sarah Thornburg at Cypress Lake High School
– Jessica Lisi at Tanglewood Elementary
– Christie Bartz at Pine Island Elementary
– Jil Klausing at Dunbar High School
– Michelle Smith at Lehigh Senior High
– Sara Kizzire at Lehigh Senior High
Before closing, I would like to say thank you to all of our educators, bus drivers, support professionals and administrators. What you do each day is appreciated and you are valued. Keep an eye out next month. It’s my favorite month in the world of education. Teacher Appreciation Week is right around the corner. Hug a teacher!
Jada Langford Fleming holds the District 6 seat on the Lee County School Board.