Gullett Elementary News Today

Parents often have a hard time deciding whether to cry or celebrate as they drop off their kindergartner on the first day of school.

An elementary school, a K-8 school and a high school are planned to help alleviate over-capacity schools and address growth in eastern Manatee.

Heavy rainfall and hurricane-force winds hit Sarasota and Manatee counties Wednesday, causing damage across the region including flooding, fallen trees on a car and a house, and a Sarasota building collapse.

The opening of Lakewood Ranch Preparatory Academy slightly lessens the enrollment load at other local schools.

The district said the incident occurred at Gullett Elementary School.

The K-12 charter school, which opens in August, already has a waitlist for every grade it offers.

School District of Manatee County, private and speciality schools plan expansions and new schools to accommodate growth.

2,500 —District employees who are 50 and over 3,000 — Vaccines given March 15 and 17 to employees of any age  1,900 — Vaccines given March 8-14 to employees who are at least 50 years old 200 — District employees 65 and over who already have been vaccinated Thousands of other School District of Manatee County employees have had the opportunity to get vaccinated, whether through the district or going to a pharmacy, since DeSantis said educators who are at least 50 years old could be vacc...

After the COVID-19 pandemic began, Lindsey McKinnon, an art teacher at R. Dan Nolan Middle School, was used to seeing her students’ faces from the eyes up because of the School District of Manatee County’s mask policy. When McKinnon’s students started their self portrait projects in February, she finally saw her students’ smiles when she took photos of each student.  Timeline Schools’ pandemic response: March 13, 2020 Schools go on spring break; Gov. Ron DeSantis declares schools wi...