The school district serves
14,000 breakfast meals and
26,000 lunch meals daily!

Important Dates

Superintendent's Town Hall Meetings

Once again we will be hosting a series of six Town Hall Meetings. We welcome your continued input throughout the process. This series of six meetings presents us with an excellent opportunity to communicate and engage in a meaningful conversation. Visit www.collierschools.com/townhall.asp for additional information.

Message from the Superintendent

We had such a phenomenal start to the new 2013-2014 school year. August 19th, the first day of school, was especially great with our teachers and staff welcoming nearly 45,000 students back to the classroom. This year I had the privilege of spending my first day of school morning at Parkside Elementary School, serving breakfast to smiling children. As a reminder, breakfast is free to all students each school day. Afer my time at Parkside, I visited seven additional schools that day and finished the week visiting a total of 19 schools throughout the district. Let me just say that what I have seen has warmed my heart. Students and teachers are already engaged at the level you would expect them to be quite a few weeks into the year. In keeping with my first two years as Superintendent, I am happy to announce that there will be a series of Superintendent’s Town Hall Meetings coming to a venue near you in September and October. The first stop on the tour is Everglades City School with a meeting scheduled there on September 16th. Others will be held at Barron Collier, Golden Gate, and Gulf Coast high schools, as well as the Immokalee Technical Center (iTECH) and Tommie Barfield Elementary. I look forward to visiting with you at the meeting of your choice. ~ Dr. Kamela Patton

Message from the School Board Member

It has now been two weeks since we started the 2013-2014 school year and things seem to be settling into a regular routine. I will admit that I have never seen such excitement to get things started as I witnessed on August 19th. After a very productive summer of planning and preparation, we were all ready for the opening day. Students were excited to see old friends, show off new school outfits, and meet with new teachers for the year. The past two years have been productive ones for our district. Individual student scores have been increasing each year and even when other districts have seen their achievement level drop, Collier has seen its scores stay at the top of the state. Congratulations to our teachers, administrators, and our students for their hard work. One of the best times of the year for me is the fall sports season. This is a season of high energy -- the games, the pep rallies, the marching bands, the cheerleaders and the athletes themselves make for an exciting time. If you want a fun night, attend a game at your local high school and you will definitely enjoy the evening. In conjunction with the season, Naples Daily News got it right with the naming of the “Top 25 Greatest Football Players of all Time.” Whether you agree with the selections or not it is nice to hear about so many of our former stars and what they are doing now, as many have made major contributions not only to our community but also to our nation. Obviously, Collier County Public Schools is doing something right. It would be nice to see others in our system highlighted in the same way. There are a million stories out there waiting to be told. Stay positive, great things are happening every day. Have a great 2013-2014 school year. ~ Roy M. Terry

Feedback Welcome

Let us know what you think about the newsletter, our website, or if you have suggestions for future newsletters. We'd love to hear from you at feedback@collierschools.com