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Three Teacher of the Year finalists surprised | | |
SURPRISE! Sarasota County Superintendent of Schools Lori White, right, surprises Bay Haven School of Basics Plus teacher Missy Owens as the district's Elementary Teacher of the Year. Photo by Bo Kinsey, Prestige Portraits by Lifetouch
SARASOTA COUNTY - Teachers at three public schools were surprised in their classrooms March 3 with balloons, awards, and gifts to celebrate their new status as the school district's 2011 Teachers of the Year at the elementary, middle and high school levels.
Superintendent of Schools Lori White, School Board members Caroline Zucker and Jane Goodwin and a bus full of district leaders, sponsors and past winners traveled to three schools to surprise finalists in the annual competition. Winners Missy Owens (Elementary/Bay Haven), Jerry Stowell (Middle/Heron Creek) and Jeffrey Kahler (High/Suncoast Polytechnical) received the good news in front of delighted students, colleagues and family members, many of whom were in on the secret.
The overall district Teacher of the Year will be selected from among the three finalists and announced at a luncheon on Wednesday, March 23, at Michael's on East in Sarasota.
Tickets are $25 per guest and are available through March 17 by calling the Education Foundation at 941-927-0965. Read more... |
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Officials break ground for Booker High rebuild | | |
NEW DIGS: School district administrators, contractors, city officials and community leaders gather on Jan. 26 for the groundbreaking to formally begin the rebuild of Booker High School. Click on photo for full story, including full caption with names of people in photo. Photo by Randy Tosch, Prestige Portraits by Lifetouch
SARASOTA - A new chapter in the proud history of Booker High School was opened Jan. 26 with a groundbreaking ceremony marking the official beginning of a two-year, $58-million rebuild of the campus, scheduled to be completed in 2013.
Booker High School has been a center of community life in north Sarasota for more than 70 years, graduating its first class of four students in 1935 and moving to its present site in 1953. For most of its history, the district added individual new structures to replace aging buildings or to respond to growth in student population. The current project was the first time school officials had an opportunity to develop a comprehensive design for a new school. Read more...
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Senior school volunteer wins regional honor | | |
GROWING GARDENERS: Longtime Laurel Nokomis School volunteer Bob Burtwell, center, guides students Clark Smiley, left, and Brooke Ziegler, lower right, in the proper care of flowers in the school's garden. Photo by Elaine Litherland, courtesy Sarasota Herald-Tribune
SARASOTA COUNTY - Master Gardener Bob Burtwell, a volunteer at Laurel Nokomis School, has been named Senior Outstanding School Volunteer for the Sarasota County School District, and one of Florida's five 2011 Outstanding School Volunteers representing five regions of the state. The regional honorees were selected by the Florida Department of Education in recognition of their exemplary dedication and commitment to quality education in Florida.
During more than a decade of volunteering at Laurel Nokomis School, Burtwell has positively influenced and changed the lives of thousands of students. He devotes several hours a week to work with them and takes on complex projects, such as school gardens, from inception to fruition to make the school a better place for children to learn.
Other district honorees were Bobbi Fogo, Adult Outstanding School Volunteer, who gives her time and talents to Englewood Elementary School; and Louis Fischer, a senior at Sarasota Military Academy, has been named Youth Outstanding School Volunteer. To read more about these and other recent accolades for the district's volunteers, students and teachers click here. |
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Forum brings student views to administrators | | |
TABLE TALK: Students at the 2011 annual School Forum discuss academic issues with Steve Cantees, Sarasota County Schools executive director of high schools. The students are, from left, Michael Beckwith, Chrissy Caitlin, Aaron Cook, Julianne Simpson. Photo by Gary Leatherman, Sarasota County Schools
SARASOTA - In the flurry of information and advice coming at them, school leaders must be vigilant about considering students' perspective in their decisions. To assist in that effort, students from Sarasota County School District high schools have been conducting an annual School Forum for the past four years to discuss the important issues affecting schools and offer recommendations to district administrators.
The 2011 forum included about 100 students from seven high schools who met at the Landings Administrative Center on Jan. 27 for table discussions of 10 issues they identified as the most pressing this year. The forums are organized by students from the Community Youth Development Program who also serve on the Superintendent's Student Council. Read more... |
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