CCPS showcases academic strengths in effort to attract families to the area

NAPLES, Fla.- Community and business leaders boarded a school bus on Friday to take a tour of Collier County schools.

Collier County Public Schools says if parents believe their children can thrive locally, they’ll be more likely to take a job in the area.

“The range of education for our students, the caring, the fiscal responsibility, the innovation, the reaching of the stars, it’s here! You hear about it, but we just saw it today,” said commissioner Penny Taylor.

Tour members received an inside look into what goes on in the classrooms.

“We’re an A school for the past four years and we’ve also had the highest graduation rate in Collier County for the last three years, so we’re proud of those two aspects,” said Jeff Rexford, principal at Lorenzo Walker Technical High School.

The campaign allows the school district to showcase what’s unique about each school and all the different programs.

“Does anyone know that a child can go to Lely High School, and if they’re interested and work hard, they can get a pilots license? ‘Oh please that doesn’t happen at Lely?’ Of course it does, it’s there!” said Taylor.

“How do you do what you do? How are you an A district when no one around you is and yet you have 86 languages,” said Superintendent Dr. Camela Patten, who says the school district is appealing to potential job candidates because they’re doing something special to help students succeed.

“When our kids finish that completion rate, they get an opportunity to go interview through college with a Fortune 500 company. So we’re lining a pipeline up for our kids that’s definitive, so we think we’re doing it even better in Collier than other places,” Patten said.

CCPS will be hosting another tour in April. If you’re interested in attending, call the school district at 239-377-0001.