The Best of the Community on Display

I really have enjoyed the 31 plus years I’ve lived here full time and those other four years I had the opportunity to spend here off and on. As I explained to you in a column a couple of weeks ago, I have done so because of the similarities between the community I now call home and the one I came from, my “hometown” back in New Hampshire.

The wonderful friendships I’ve made here and those I have maintained from where I came have always been special to me. One of the similarities I drew in that column was the sense of independence of my small hometown and its creation of a separate education system that reflected the desire to maintain a smaller environment for their children and more quality control within the classrooms. 

Over these last couple of weeks, I’ve had the privilege to attend Marco Island Academy’s graduation ceremonies. The successful public charter high school on the Island was founded in 2011 as part of the vision a number of residents had for a quality learning experience for young men and women, not only those from here on the island, but from throughout Collier County.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the dedication and hard work undertaken by the founder of the academy, Mrs. Jane Watt. She had the vision and a dedicated team which she kept motivated, resulting in a successful venture to take learning to the next level for those who would attend the Academy.

Next year, the Academy will open its doors to a real brick-and-mortar school, and the days of the temporary modular classrooms on the island will draw to a close for the second time in my experience here on the island.

I made note that it will be the second time on our island that a modular learning campus will close and be replaced with a brick-and-mortar structure. I am speaking about a similar phenomenon that transpired 13 years prior to the creation of the Marco Island Academy. This was when residents struggled and succeeded in forming the Marco Island Charter Middle School.

Many attribute the dedication and hard work of then-resident Paula Tateo and her hardy band of dedicated parents and residents who created what was to become one of the most successful charter middle schools in the State of Florida.

Both the Charter Middle School and the Marco Island Academy are public charter schools and, as such, do receive partial funding from Collier County, but at a lower per capita student rate. Both have exceeded all of the expectations of many of the original skeptics and are “high performing” schools, offering an excellent education. They also are open to all students who wish to attend from throughout Collier County.

I’ve had the privilege to watch as their staffs and educators have created one of the finest learning environments from which students can graduate and seek opportunities at higher learning institutions around the country. We also should be extremely proud that some of them have returned here to the island to assume roles as educators within both those facilities.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the wonderful job being done at the Tommie Barfield Elementary School on the island, which provides a sound foundation in the basics for first to fifth grade students. It is a Collier County School District facility and does a great job.

It was wonderful to be able to attend both the 2021 MIA Graduation held at Veterans Community Park, and then this last weekend, the 2021 Marco Island Charter Middle School Promotion Ceremony. Had we been able to harness the energy at both those events, we could have created enough electricity to light the island for the next six months.

The pride and love felt at both events certainly were indicative of the wonderful island we live on today. Neither of those events could have been held had it not been for the dedication and hard work by islanders over the last 23 years. That same dedication can be found throughout so many other endeavors which are undertaken each day here on the island.

Congratulations to the Class of 2021, and to their parents and families. But congratulations most of all to the wonderful staff and educators, as well as to the residents who aren’t afraid to tackle the impossible.