Florida Highway Patrol investigating fatal hit-and-run involving motorcyclistFEMA agrees to outside investigation into avoiding homes with Trump signs
lehigh acres Florida Highway Patrol investigating fatal hit-and-run involving motorcyclist The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a hit-and-run that left a motorcyclist dead in Lee County.
FEMA agrees to outside investigation into avoiding homes with Trump signs FEMA’s administrator has agreed to an outside investigation to find out why her employee gave orders to deny trump supporters aid after Hurricane Milton.
Denise Carlin sworn in as Lee County Schools superintendent It’s a big night for families with kids attending Lee County Schools! Dr. Denise Carlin was just sworn in as superintendent.
PORT CHARLOTTE 8 illegal immigrants arrested in Charlotte County Eight people have been arrested in Port Charlotte for being in the country illegally.
SANIBEL Memorial statue unveiled for exotic birds at Jerry’s Foods on Sanibel Island For over 40 years, Dick Muench displayed many of his exotic birds from Central and South America at Jerry’s Foods on Sanibel.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers veteran worried about FEMA code compliance letter One marine veteran is worried sick over having to raise his home.
Residents oppose U-Haul storage unit development in Collier County A lush line of trees in Collier County may turn into storage units, and neighbors are unhappy.
LEHIGH ACRES Parents want changes made to Lee County Schools JROTC The Lee County School District is making changes after 25 students were treated by emergency services for heat exhaustion at a local high school on Friday.
FORT MYERS BEACH La Ola speaks out a day after FEMA deadline A day after the FEMA deadline for temporary structures on Fort Myers Beach to be removed, the scenery remains largely unchanged.
FORT MYERS Neighbors react to plans for new Amazon warehouse in Fort Myers Amazon will soon have the largest building in Southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Councilman Johnny Streets retires after nearly 20 years of service After nearly two decades of service, Fort Myers City Councilman Johnny Streets is retiring.
Local human trafficking survivor speaks out It’s a question many of us think we know the answer to: What is human trafficking? A Collier County woman told WINK her definition changed after she survived it.
Sheriff’s Office: Teen victim knew suspect in deadly Collier County shooting There is new information on the deadly shooting late Saturday of a teenage girl in Collier County.
FORT MYERS Inauguration ceremony for Lee Board of County Commissioners Lee County held an inauguration ceremony for a newly appointed county commissioner and two incumbents.
FGCU FGCU volleyball prepares to defend ASUN Tournament title FGCU volleyball looks to secure its fourth straight ASUN Tournament title this week and secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
lehigh acres Florida Highway Patrol investigating fatal hit-and-run involving motorcyclist The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a hit-and-run that left a motorcyclist dead in Lee County.
FEMA agrees to outside investigation into avoiding homes with Trump signs FEMA’s administrator has agreed to an outside investigation to find out why her employee gave orders to deny trump supporters aid after Hurricane Milton.
Denise Carlin sworn in as Lee County Schools superintendent It’s a big night for families with kids attending Lee County Schools! Dr. Denise Carlin was just sworn in as superintendent.
PORT CHARLOTTE 8 illegal immigrants arrested in Charlotte County Eight people have been arrested in Port Charlotte for being in the country illegally.
SANIBEL Memorial statue unveiled for exotic birds at Jerry’s Foods on Sanibel Island For over 40 years, Dick Muench displayed many of his exotic birds from Central and South America at Jerry’s Foods on Sanibel.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers veteran worried about FEMA code compliance letter One marine veteran is worried sick over having to raise his home.
Residents oppose U-Haul storage unit development in Collier County A lush line of trees in Collier County may turn into storage units, and neighbors are unhappy.
LEHIGH ACRES Parents want changes made to Lee County Schools JROTC The Lee County School District is making changes after 25 students were treated by emergency services for heat exhaustion at a local high school on Friday.
FORT MYERS BEACH La Ola speaks out a day after FEMA deadline A day after the FEMA deadline for temporary structures on Fort Myers Beach to be removed, the scenery remains largely unchanged.
FORT MYERS Neighbors react to plans for new Amazon warehouse in Fort Myers Amazon will soon have the largest building in Southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Councilman Johnny Streets retires after nearly 20 years of service After nearly two decades of service, Fort Myers City Councilman Johnny Streets is retiring.
Local human trafficking survivor speaks out It’s a question many of us think we know the answer to: What is human trafficking? A Collier County woman told WINK her definition changed after she survived it.
Sheriff’s Office: Teen victim knew suspect in deadly Collier County shooting There is new information on the deadly shooting late Saturday of a teenage girl in Collier County.
FORT MYERS Inauguration ceremony for Lee Board of County Commissioners Lee County held an inauguration ceremony for a newly appointed county commissioner and two incumbents.
FGCU FGCU volleyball prepares to defend ASUN Tournament title FGCU volleyball looks to secure its fourth straight ASUN Tournament title this week and secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Felicity Brown, 9, uses a workbook to practice math with her parents and siblings at home in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, July 13, 2021. After homeschooling during the pandemic, the Brown family has switched to homeschooling their kids permanently using a Catholic-based curriculum and won’t be sending them back to in-person schools in the fall. (AP Photo/Eric Gay). Nationwide, there’s been a surge in the number of parents deciding to take their children’s education into their own hands. Data from the Washington Post shows that since the 2017-18 school year, there’s been a 72% increase in the number of students homeschooled in Florida. Last year, Southwest Florida school districts saw an even larger increase. Lee County saw a 103% increase for the 2022-23 school year since the 2017-18 school year. Collier increased by 62% since the 2017-18 school year to last year. Charlotte County increased by 86% during the same time frame. FGCU Education expert Dr. Jennifer Sughrue thinks the pandemic is the main culprit in the increase in parents deciding the way they want their child to receive an education, but she believes there are other reasons more parents are moving to a home-based learning method. “I think the pandemic had a major impact on the population shift of where they’re receiving their education. All the brick-and-mortar schools had to close down,” Dr. Sughrue said. “There’s concerns about school violence and bullying, teacher shortages, curriculum changes that might not be sitting well with parents.” The pandemic is the reason Sarah Horwath moved her family to homeschooling. She now teaches her three children in kindergarten, 2nd and 5th grade. “I have three girls that are currently being homeschooled, and they are only doing like academics for maybe three hours a day, and everything else is life experience,” Horwath said. She’s not alone in her decision. Mom Jessica Downs said she knows how much time her son would spend in a public school, and she wants to make sure she can tailor the influence school may have on her son, who is in 2nd grade. “In a perfect world, there’s 180 days in a school year, six hours a day. And that’s over 13 years, so over 14,000 hours that someone else could have an influence over our children,” Sughrue said. To put the percentages into numbers, in 2017-18 1,850 students in Lee County were homeschooled. In 2022-23 that number jumped to 3,760. Sughrue does think the increase we’re seeing statewide is one that’s now hit its peak. “Historically, what the data has said … they peak at home. The parents aren’t able to maintain the curriculum growth with their children,” Sughrue said. RELATED: Homeschooling surge continues despite schools reopening – WINK News She went on to say once children hit that middle or high school age, parents are no longer able to really keep up with their coursework. “They know that that’s beyond their skill sets, so they move them back into the public schools at those ages,” said Sughrue. Horwath and Downs said the common misconception that homeschooled children aren’t able to participate in social activities is false. They said their children are enrolled in several extracurricular activities, from sports to music. Both mothers also said they aren’t on one side or the other when it comes to putting their child back into public school or choosing to continue home-schooling them once they hit middle or high school. They said by that time, they hope their children will be able to voice how they want to learn.