Engineering class added to Fort Myers Beach Elementary

Author: Sommer Senne
Published: Updated:

A beach school working to pull more kids to their halls with interesting and engaging classes. The comeback of Fort Myers Beach Elementary has been an epic one, from a fear of never opening again to entering their second school year since Hurricane Ian.

Now, with their agreement with the school district to have growth each year, they face another problem.

WINK got a first-hand look at how they are working to do that.

Engineering is elementary. What does that mean?

“It really means that students are providing hands-on activities and that they learn this reiterative process where you can fail and then rebuild test again,” said Dr. Traci Kohler, principal at Fort Myers Beach Elementary.

Kohler told us it’s a new way of learning to attract more students to Fort Myers Beach Elementary.

“It’s just creating this unique opportunity for students, even outside of the island community, to be able to come to Fort Myers Beach Elementary,” Kohler said.

The community rallied together after Hurricane Ian to rebuild and reopen the school, but more students are needed to keep it open and lower the cost per student.

Right now, there are around 56 students, so what’s the ideal number?

“This historical building that we’re currently in holds about 100 students, so the closer we get to that target, i think the better the outcome will be,” Kohler said.

“Engineering is Elementary” could be the key. It’s part of a bigger waterwise environmental program partnering with FGCU and the mound house to give students real-life environmental experiences.

Joy Rockwell’s all for it.

“Using all of this engineering stuff really gets to the kids and gets them involved,” Rockwell said.

And she was “all in” as Kendall Brinson, with the Museum of Science in Boston, showed teachers how to engineer solar ovens, an experience they can then teach their students.

“It’s going to really, really is it’s going to the kids learn so much more,” Rockwell said. “It allows the kids to broaden their thinking. It makes them do that. aha, moment”

Hopefully, those “aha!” moments will keep their classrooms open for years to come.

While the school holds 100 students, Dr. Kohler would feel confident with 80-90 students enrolled.

The school has until November 2026 to get as close to those numbers as possible.

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