Transformation to ‘cluster schools’ rolls out

Apr 9, 2026 By MEGHAN BRADBURY 4 min read

The School District of Lee County’s decision to use a “cluster model” approach to Exceptional Student Education will affect 216 students when the first phase begins in August.

“The students were selected by the service delivery model of their Individual Education Plan,” district spokesperson Rob Spicker said.

All parents were notified of the change and have received a letter from the school district.

“We are deeply committed to providing every student with the tools, resources, and learning environment they need to thrive,” the letter states. “To better serve our students with unique learning needs, we are excited to announce a transition to a new Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Cluster Model, beginning in the upcoming school year.”

The “cluster” schools for the West Zone include Gulf Elementary School, Pelican Elementary School, Diplomat Elementary School, North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts, Challenger Middle School, Mariner Middle School, Gulf Middle School, Caloosa Middle School, Mariner High School, and Island Coast High School.

All 216 students will receive transportation provided by the district.

“Students will be grouped into four categories to provide the highest quality of care and instruction,” Spicker said.

Categories include Functional Learning Skills Cluster, Social Communication Cluster, Behavioral Intervention Cluster and Regional Deferred Transition Clusters.

“The Functional Learning Skills Cluster provides intensive and individualized instruction to students with mild to significant cognitive disabilities. The Social Communication Cluster is for students with autism to provide flexible support based on their needs. The Behavioral Intervention Cluster is for students in need of comprehensive behavioral resources. The Regional Deferred Transition Clusters are for 18- to 22-year-old students and are focused on life skills,” he said.

The letter explained why the district will change to a cluster model.

“Previously, specialized ESE resources were spread across many campuses, which sometimes made it difficult to provide the intensive, focused support our students deserve,” the letter states. “By shifting to a cluster school model, the district can group specialized programs at designated campuses. This allows us to push in concentrated resources, such as specialized equipment, dedicated therapists, trained paraprofessionals, and behavior specialists, directly to the students who need them most.”

Spicker said the cluster approach creates Centers of Excellence.

“Students will be better served by the availability of full-time access to on-site experts, specialized environments, and age-appropriate peer groups,” he said. “Students also benefit from our specialists no longer driving all over the county. We will recapture those lost hours of travel and turn them directly into face-to-face service delivery time for students.”

The cluster approach will also help teachers no longer feel like they are working in isolation at a traditional school.

“There is no one for them to collaborate with and no one to easily step in if they are sick or need time off,” Spicker said. “Clustering creates a community of peers. It allows for mentorship, shared resources, and real collaboration. It makes the job more sustainable, which will help us retain the staff we have and fill our open positions.”

He said clustering is a proven operational structure used in many large districts to improve outcomes.

“Given our current vacancies and the achievement gap, our students cannot afford to wait,” Spicker said.

Currently students with an IEP may attend any school within their zone, with requests made via a lottery system. Student with siblings in a particular school are prioritized to attend the same school.

The cluster model means students may not attend the same school as siblings.

“There will be incidents where some siblings are assigned to different schools. We are working with those families to make the transition as smooth as possible,” Spicker said.

The School Board of Lee County heard a presentation on the full ESE Service Delivery Transformation, which will be implemented in four phases over two years, on March 10.

“This is a very significant transition. We are committed to being transparent with parents, schools, and families. We are looking at really taking these resources and putting them together to do what is best for students,” ESE Assistant Director Scott Kozlowski said the meeting.

According to information presented to the school board, transition will have a two-year implementation with the data audit – phase one – already completed. Scott said they reviewed student IEPs and separated them into categories to ensure needs were going to be met.

The second phase is staff and resources, the third phase is communication, and the fourth phase is master schedule alignment.

To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, please email news@breezenewspapers.com