Who hates leaving middle school?

That’s the somewhat mischievous title of a newly released report on two initiatives that completely transformed Sarasota County’s middle schools over the past eight years. Middle-schoolers—an age group frequently perceived as disengaged and difficult—now love their Sarasota County classrooms and teachers so much, they don’t want to leave after eighth grade.

The report tells a larger story of how investment by the entire community can make a world of difference for our schools and our students, and why we should insist on it. Our teachers now teach better and cover more material, and our students care more and learn better. Those gains are the envy of other communities; Sarasota has welcomed educational leaders from California, Illinois, Maryland and elsewhere who want to see firsthand what we’ve done here. “Our students are experiencing what is unimaginable in like public school systems,” says Karen Rose, executive director middle schools at the district.

What happened?

The revolution has been technological, instructional, and—most significantly—cultural, forever changing the way teachers teach and students learn. First, every middle-school math and science classroom in Sarasota County was overhauled with new technology. Teachers were trained in innovative teaching methods that leveraged that tech and captivated their students. And hundreds of business partners became just that—partners—by sharing real-world experience and opportunities within and beyond school walls.

This science and math transformation was so successful that the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation doubled down and asked Gulf Coast to partner on applying the model to every social studies and English language arts middle-school classroom too.

The result: millions of dollars were invested in our Sarasota middle-school classrooms, when you tally foundation and individual donor gifts, school district funding, and community partner contributions. The impact, though, is priceless and ongoing. Philanthropy was a catalyst to lift our school district, but the district’s true partnership and the community’s buy-in took us to an unexpected level.

Next month’s referendum on maintaining the 1-mill tax for our school district provides another important opportunity for our entire community to invest in our successful schools and students. The impact of this additional funding is worth your consideration and vote. Our children, our community, and our futures will benefit from this investment. 

Dr. Mark S. Pritchett is president/CEO of Gulf Coast Community Foundation.