Future Ready Collier

Last month Bailey M., a senior from Naples High School, chose to spend his community service hours making 28 cards for local kindergarten students. 

These cards were delivered by Champions For Learning to Sea Gate Elementary, the same elementary school Bailey attended.

“Starting school can be intimidating. For these Sea Gate kindergarten students, having beautifully drawn, encouraging cards from a 12^th grade student reminded them that everyone starts at the same place. They loved the colorful cards,” shared Amy Snyder, Executive Director of Educator Programs at Champions For Learning.

Bailey made each card colorful with drawings of school supplies with a note inside, “Welcome to Kindergarten! Have fun and enjoy your year. Be kind and respect your teacher.”

Bailey said, “I wanted to include a message on the inside, but I wasn’t really sure how well they could read. So, I just tried to keep it pretty simple.”

The idea of making 28 cards for kindergarteners in Collier County came from a website the Collier County Public School District uses to communicate service opportunities with students. Many of the volunteer opportunities offered to high school students are as a result of an earlier collaborative effort through Future Ready Collier (FRC) to aid students in their search for approved service hours towards scholarships and other opportunities.

Champions For Learning is a partner and the backbone organization supporting Future Ready Collier, a network of organizations, businesses, schools and community members working to ensure every child in Collier County is ready for kindergarten, and every young person enters adulthood with a vision and a plan to accomplish that vision.

To learn more about Future Ready Collier, visit FutureReadyCollier.org

Starting kindergarten can be scary for some, but one Collier County student is doing what he can to make the beginning of the school year a little more enjoyable.

Bailey M. is entering his senior year at Naples High School. To get ahead on some community service hours this summer, Bailey handcrafted 28 cards for local kindergarten students to have as they begin school.

“I have a really fond memory of when I was in kindergarten, an older kid coming to read to us”, said Bailey. “I wanted just to do something similar for other kindergarteners today. So they have something fun to look back on.”

Bailey made each card colorful with drawings of school supplies with the note inside, “Welcome to Kindergarten! Have fun and enjoy your year. Be kind and respect your teacher.”

Bailey says, “I wanted to include a message on the inside, but I wasn’t really sure how well they could read. So, I just tried to keep it pretty simple.”

The idea of making 28 cards for kindergartners in Collier County came from a website the Collier County Public School District uses to communicate service opportunities with students. Many of the volunteer opportunities offered to high school students are as a result of an earlier collaborative effort through Future Ready Collier (FRC) to aid students in their search for approved service hours towards scholarships and other opportunities.  Champions For Learning is a partner with and backbone organization supporting Future Ready Collier, a network of organizations, businesses, schools and community members working to ensure every child in Collier County is ready for Kindergarten, and every young person enters adulthood with a vision and plan to accomplish that vision.

“There were a few opportunities that I was debating doing, but this one stood out to me. It just felt like something that was up my alley”, said Bailey.

When these cards are delivered to kindergarten students beginning their educational career, Bailey says he hopes they enjoy opening the cards and it is fun for them. That is why he included lots of colors and picture, so that it would appeal to kindergarteners.

Champions For Learning, as the backbone for Future Ready Collier, has partnered with Florida College Access Network (FCAN) to launch the “Cash for College” campaign to promote Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion as a crucial step as students and their families make plans for education beyond high school. About 4 out of 5 students in Florida use some combination of federal, state, and school-based aid to pay for college, and the way to access that aid is by completing the FAFSA.

Targeting Collier County’s Class of 2020 and 2021, the campaign aims to counteract the impact of COVID-19 on college enrollment. Nationwide, direct enrollment after high school graduation was down 6.9% in Fall 2020, and enrollment declines were 2.3 times steeper for low-income high schools compared to higher-income schools. Research also shows that low-income, first-generation -, and students of color are among the least likely to complete the FAFSA.

More To Come!

Champions For Learning plans to offer special incentives to those that complete the FAFSA, and will be creating a website for students to access free FAFSA and college enrollment resources in the coming months.

The Future Ready Collier network of partners was recognized recently as an Unsung Hero of Community Resilience for the local efforts post-Irma to ensure that children and families stayed on track with their educational goals in the aftermath of the hurricane.  Lisa Church, Vice President Champions For Learning accepted the award on behalf of the partners at the recent FCAN Summit.

The Florida Unsung Heroes of Resilience Awards honors leaders throughout the state who helped students navigate an uncommonly tumultuous year.

During the 2017-18 school year, Florida students not only had to cope with damages to their homes and neighborhoods because of Hurricane Irma, but also had thousands of displaced students from Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean being integrated into their schools mid-year. Additionally, the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shattered the sense of safety for students in Parkland and beyond.

“This award is in recognition of Florida community members who went above and beyond the call to support students impacted by extraordinary events that challenged our state over the past school year,” said Kathy McDonald, FCAN’s Assistant Director for Network Partnerships.

Future Ready Collier (futurereadycollier.org) is a network of local partners working to ensure every child is ready for Kindergarten, and every young person is career ready by graduating high school on track to obtain a degree or credential.  Champions For Learning, the Education Foundation of Collier County, is the backbone organization facilitating this collaborative effort.