Proceeds from the event will go to Providing Autism Links & Support (PALS) to support UCF’s Center for Autism & Related Disabilities (UCF-CARD) program.
It starts with honoring the past: Dunbar community envisions Franklin Park Elementary rebuild
Franklin Park Elementary School rebuild to focus on honoring its past
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As alumni and Dunbar community members filed into the Franklin Park Elementary School cafeteria Tuesday evening, pictures drawn by current third-, fourth- and fifth-graders lined the walls.
The pictures represented the students’ visions for what they wanted their school to look like once one of Lee County’s most historic schools is rebuilt toward the end of next year and finished in 2024.
Getting input from students and teachers was just step one as Franklin Park is on track to become the county’s first community partnership school.
Legislation passed in 2017 requires the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to create standard courses on autism awareness training, but local agencies individually determine what training they require for officers.
The expansion of services will help students and their families overcome barriers that may keep them from reaching their full potential.
“For our population, it is worth its weight in gold,” Freeman said. “I will tell you that for a lot of my babies, you know, they don t have proper housing. We don t know where they re sleeping at times. And for us to be able to help them receive the resources that they need, it goes a long way.”
At least 13 community partnerships are already in place at the school with that important work continuing with the rebuild. The school will operate core partnerships with United Way, Lee Health and Florida Gulf Coast University.