2024 Amigo Award – Bill Ribble Community Involvement
Currently, I am the Lee County School Board Member - Elect for District 3. For the past 6 years, however, I have been the Vice-Chair of the Lee County Schools Strategic Planning Committee where we set policy to support the “Envision 2030 Plan”. This plan includes the vision to be a world-class school system and a mission to ensure that each student achieves their highest potential.
A key barrier to achieving this goal is the high percentage of students who can’t speak English. The present “English Language Learners Program” (ELL) for non-English speaking students needs to be enhanced so that all Hispanic/Latino students can learn at a level with English-speaking students. As a new school board member, this will continue to be my primary focus.
Another barrier to achievement is the fact that many Hispanic/Latino preschool children aren’t ready for kindergarten since they can’t speak English and don’t have English-speaking parents or guardians at home. I have been working with several nonprofits in Lee County to help with this school readiness shortfall. Interfaith Charities and 4 Kids in Lee County are two such nonprofits that are helping to overcome this language and reading shortfall for preschoolers.
At Interfaith Charities, we developed the program, “From Feeding Families to Feeding Minds”. This concept demonstrates the profound impact of early education in a community that genuinely cares about its children. Thanks to the generous support of community foundations, this initiative is thriving, and the future of South Lee County is looking brighter than ever. Our commitment to the Pre-K literacy program is a testament to the dedication to the youth in Lee County and is a model for the kind of holistic community support that we should all strive to achieve.
댓글