Streaming Now: Interim Lee County School Superintendent speaks at State of Our Schools breakfastImmokalee High School students learn financial lessons amid tough economic times
FORT MYERS Streaming Now: Interim Lee County School Superintendent speaks at State of Our Schools breakfast The Lee County School District has had a tough school year amid a teacher shortage, pay problems, bus problems, and new leadership changes.
Immokalee Immokalee High School students learn financial lessons amid tough economic times The Suncoast Credit Union Finance Academy at Immokalee High School is taking a proactive approach to teaching students about money.
CAPE CORAL Mother of teenager accused of the murder of Kayla Rincon-Miller to appear in court The mother of a 16-year-old accused of being involved in the murder of Kayla Rincon-Miller is set to appear in court for obstructing justice.
The Weather Authority A breezy onshore wind keeps coastal communities cooler this Friday The Weather Authority is tracking a warmer Friday morning, then a breezy offshore wind will cool off the coastal areas of Southwest Florida in the afternoon.
NAPLES Friday’s Furry Friends: Vinnie, Miley For this week’s Friday’s Furry Friends, WINK visits the Collier County Domestic Animal Services to showcase two adorable animals ready to be adopted.
NAPLES Collier County JROTC instructor fired for alleged sexual misconduct A teenage girl claims her JROTC instructor made sexual comments, touched her, asked her on a date and told her to keep her mouth shut.
EAST FORT MYERS Redeveloping plan to modify East Fort Myers Southwest Florida is often called paradise, but some areas like East Fort Myers don’t live up to that. Now, the city is looking to change that.
FORT MYERS Dunbar High School works to beat the heat during spring practice Spring practice is heating up in more ways than one. High school teams are braving the elements right now.
Collier County Escaping an abusive partner – the ins and outs of injunctions for protection Survivors of domestic violence often seek an injunction, but for some, it may not be the best option to get out of a bad situation.
ESTERO Gulfshore Business honors 10 women for their contributions to business and Southwest Florida Lois Thome emceed a Gulfshore Business luncheon Thursday recognizing 10 local women for their contributions to SWFL.
NORTH NAPLES North Naples golf pro will have his sister caddy at PGA Championship Evan Bowser, the first assistant golf pro at LaPlaya Golf Club, will have his sister Elayna caddy for him at PGA Championship.
Person airlifted after crash on SR-31 near Bermont Road At least two people are hurt in another wreck on the roads on State Road 31 in Charlotte County.
Palm Beach Blvd. crash caused massive backups Two lanes are closed on Palm Beach Boulevard because of a crash near Orange River Boulevard.
Getting people back into their homes after storms For months, parts of our community have been involved in a back and forth with FEMA over the 25% flood insurance discount.
Lehigh Acres State Road 82: A road marked by tragedy and a plea for safety improvements State Road 82, specifically the stretch between Interstate 75 and Immokalee Road, is not just a highway; it’s a place marked by tragedy and danger.
FORT MYERS Streaming Now: Interim Lee County School Superintendent speaks at State of Our Schools breakfast The Lee County School District has had a tough school year amid a teacher shortage, pay problems, bus problems, and new leadership changes.
Immokalee Immokalee High School students learn financial lessons amid tough economic times The Suncoast Credit Union Finance Academy at Immokalee High School is taking a proactive approach to teaching students about money.
CAPE CORAL Mother of teenager accused of the murder of Kayla Rincon-Miller to appear in court The mother of a 16-year-old accused of being involved in the murder of Kayla Rincon-Miller is set to appear in court for obstructing justice.
The Weather Authority A breezy onshore wind keeps coastal communities cooler this Friday The Weather Authority is tracking a warmer Friday morning, then a breezy offshore wind will cool off the coastal areas of Southwest Florida in the afternoon.
NAPLES Friday’s Furry Friends: Vinnie, Miley For this week’s Friday’s Furry Friends, WINK visits the Collier County Domestic Animal Services to showcase two adorable animals ready to be adopted.
NAPLES Collier County JROTC instructor fired for alleged sexual misconduct A teenage girl claims her JROTC instructor made sexual comments, touched her, asked her on a date and told her to keep her mouth shut.
EAST FORT MYERS Redeveloping plan to modify East Fort Myers Southwest Florida is often called paradise, but some areas like East Fort Myers don’t live up to that. Now, the city is looking to change that.
FORT MYERS Dunbar High School works to beat the heat during spring practice Spring practice is heating up in more ways than one. High school teams are braving the elements right now.
Collier County Escaping an abusive partner – the ins and outs of injunctions for protection Survivors of domestic violence often seek an injunction, but for some, it may not be the best option to get out of a bad situation.
ESTERO Gulfshore Business honors 10 women for their contributions to business and Southwest Florida Lois Thome emceed a Gulfshore Business luncheon Thursday recognizing 10 local women for their contributions to SWFL.
NORTH NAPLES North Naples golf pro will have his sister caddy at PGA Championship Evan Bowser, the first assistant golf pro at LaPlaya Golf Club, will have his sister Elayna caddy for him at PGA Championship.
Person airlifted after crash on SR-31 near Bermont Road At least two people are hurt in another wreck on the roads on State Road 31 in Charlotte County.
Palm Beach Blvd. crash caused massive backups Two lanes are closed on Palm Beach Boulevard because of a crash near Orange River Boulevard.
Getting people back into their homes after storms For months, parts of our community have been involved in a back and forth with FEMA over the 25% flood insurance discount.
Lehigh Acres State Road 82: A road marked by tragedy and a plea for safety improvements State Road 82, specifically the stretch between Interstate 75 and Immokalee Road, is not just a highway; it’s a place marked by tragedy and danger.
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.