Race to the starting line…
Lee Schools nears its teacher vacancy goal of zero as first day of school approaches
Students will return to school Monday morning as the School District of Lee County continues to move closer to its goal of zero teacher vacancies — only 45 teacher spots remained as of Wednesday.
“We are really excited. This time last year we were down 235 teachers. Hot off the press, two hours ago we are at 45 teacher vacancies,” Superintendent Dr. Denise Carlin said early Wednesday afternoon. “What we have asked principals to do now (that we are) on Wednesday is go to a coach – reading coach, math coach, reading specialist to step in and take on the class until we can fill those last vacancies.”
Each child, from day one of school, will have a teacher in front of them, officials said.
In the spring the district had 585 teacher vacancies.
“We set a goal we are going to be at zero,” Carlin said.
As with any other year, the focus this year is on student learning and safety.
The School District of Lee County is currently a B-rated school district.
“We are a B and a B is OK, average, we want to be better than average,” Carlin said. “The A grade is what we are after.”
She said they are not about the accolade, but rather what the A means – more proficient children in content areas, more students graduating and having a plan in their hand when they are done with high school.
Another huge component of student learning is the Safe Initiative, which changed the school district transportation system, allowing 90 minutes between the tiers to allow for enough time to drop off and pick up students for the next round. This means the change in start and end times for elementary, middle, and high school.
Carlin who has lived in Lee County for 56 years, 32 of which have been spent working in the school district, knows there are challenges with the bus system. She said one question she heard on the campaign trail was how many children every day are late to school.
That number equated to about 26,000 students, about a quarter of their students, negatively impacted by the system created. Carlin said it was not about the bus drivers, but a system that was not set up for success.
As the CEO of the organization, she took on the responsibility to get solutions moving.
Now there is a workable system.
Another new policy this year is a cell phone free policy, which the board passed, for all Pre-K-12th grade students.
“Starting on Monday cell phones are not allowed on campus,” Carlin said, which means that when a student crosses the school’s threshold, the cell phone must be set in the off position and placed in the backpack. “During the day from bell to bell, we do not see cell phones.”
She said the focus is learning, as they are now fully staffed and teachers are going to be busy teaching, and students busy learning. In addition, it will promote normal face-to-face conversations, which she said has become a lost art.
“Cell phones have taken over. No more in the District of Lee County,” Carlin said.
Safety is Carlin’s No. 1 priority, as no parent should ever have to worry about dropping off their child at school. She said with raising children of her own, her expectation was that her kids would come home nice and safe from school.
Carlin said the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and local police chiefs continue to provide school resource officers, and the district continues to expand on its Guardian Program, under which the LCSD trains staff members to carry a firearm.
A new piece the district is adding this year is for bus safety. The Lee County School Board recently approved an agreement with Bus Patrol, a stop-arm enforcement technology provider.
“It’s an organization that will help us put cameras on bus stop arms. When a bus stops, the expectation is you stop as well – you don’t blow past the stop arm,” Carlin said.
The cameras will be placed on the district’s 900 buses. These cameras will capture license plates of vehicles that illegally pass a stopped bus and provide the video to law enforcement for review. It could result in a $225 fine.
“We are standing up for the children’s safety,” Carlin said. “That will be a whole media campaign later this fall. If people choose after campaigning, there will be a fine levied.”
A 30-day public safety campaign is part of the agreement.
Under Senate Bill 766, Enforcement of School Bus Passing Infractions, the cameras are allowed, as it was signed into law in May 2023.
Parents are encouraged to remain engaged in their child’s education.
“Sometimes this gets a little unclear for families. My husband and I both worked outside the home, and we were not always able to show up at lunchtime,” Carlin said. “An engaged parent doesn’t mean to always be at school. It’s turning off the TV. Finding a quiet place do homework and encouraging to read for an hour a day, returning texts, or messages when the school teacher reaches out and checking FOCUS for the child’s grades.”
She said they need parents, as they are the child’s first teacher.
With the first day of school right around the corner, Carlin said she still does not sleep before the first day of school because of the opportunity that awaits the children.
“I can’t wait to see them on Monday morning, walking up with their smiles on their faces, getting them into class and start the progress towards their success,” she said. “We want every child to know we believe in them, and they will go on to great greatness – the American dream is available to them.”
To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, please email news@breezenewspapers.com