SRQ DAILY Nov 4, 2023
Saturday Perspectives Edition
"Like building houses tiny or large, teaching resiliency is a process."
I was first introduced to Jesus Nunez last year during the STRIVE Award celebration. The STRIVE Awards recognize high school juniors and seniors in the district who have overcome significant challenges to succeed in academics, life, or both. Jesus exemplifies the STRIVE program, and his journey is a poignant reminder about the importance of resiliency and grit in an increasingly uncertain world.
Growing up, Jesus was always on the move—living in Florida, Texas and Mexico. Every year, he seemed to begin a new school, in a new city, and just as he was beginning to settle in, his family would move again.
As the number of moves piled up, he lost interest in trying and his grades suffered. It reached the point that he considered dropping out. But after his family moved to Venice and he started at Venice High School, he encountered encouraging teachers who, like his mom and stepdad, showed faith in Jesus and helped him develop resiliency skills. He started to apply himself and soon realized what he could accomplish.
Last spring, Jesus’ resiliency and grit were celebrated through the STRIVE Awards, which include a $1,000 gift that helps offset expenses many scholarships won’t cover. Jesus also received the first-ever Lempe Family Resilience Scholarship. The scholarship, for students planning to pursue a technical education pathway, has lifted a huge financial burden from Jesus and his family as he is currently studying construction in the Building Trades and Construction Design Technology Program at Suncoast Technical College.
Along with the vital financial assistance, Jesus has remarked how both the award and the scholarship provided validation that has helped him persist to pursue education after high school.
Now a few months into his program, Jesus enjoys his studies and has begun an internship with a company that finishes houses. In school, he is helping to build a tiny house, and through his internship, he is learning how to work on ones much larger.
I am heartened by stories like Jesus’ because today a cloud of uncertainty hangs over so many students and teachers alike. The world is changing quickly, and many have experienced debilitating trauma. Amid a mental health crisis that has been brewing for years, many students have been putting on hold their plans to pursue education after high school. Too many aren’t actively planning for their next steps.
That is why it’s essential we develop resiliency skills and traits in students through a coordinated, persistent effort. That’s why it’s so important that teachers get the support they need to find well-being and grow more resilient, so they can model it every day in their classrooms.
With resiliency, amazing things can happen. Only a few years ago, Jesus was on the verge of dropping out of school. Now he’s considering further postsecondary education after he finishes his one-year program. His transformation didn’t happen overnight and was not without the support of people who cared for his well-being. But even as he faces complications along his new pathway, he continues to move forward.
Like building houses tiny or large, teaching resiliency is a process. It requires pouring a foundation and then constructing a strong frame. It requires teams working together to wire the house, to plumb it, to hang the drywall, and so much more. Then, as Jesus is learning now, it requires the finishing touches—all those details that transform it and show all its potential.
Jennifer Vigne is President and CEO of the Education Foundation of Sarasota County. 
Photo courtesy STRIVE Awards: Lt. Col. Scott Lempe presents the Lempe Family Resiliency Scholarship to Jesus Nunez.
As a Community Foundation with the goal of strengthening our community by creating opportunities for all who call our area home, we’re in a perpetual position of understanding and enhancing our local assets, one of the most important of which is education.
While reading is a vital key to learning, one in five students lives with dyslexia, a common neuro-cognitive disorder that impedes reading comprehension. Last month was National Dyslexia Awareness Month, making this moment a fitting time to share some of the latest on the Community Foundation of Sarasota County’s Strauss Literacy Initiative. This regional effort focuses on helping all children to become proficient readers, with phonics as a central part of instruction to ensure that students exhibiting the characteristics of dyslexia are also supported on their learning journey.
Implemented in 2018 on behalf of the estate of Ira and Patricia Strauss, the goal of the Strauss Literacy Initiative is to provide a pathway for all learners, especially those with dyslexia, to strengthen reading comprehension. This goal was inspired by Patti Strauss’s personal experience with dyslexia.
But to fund an ongoing initiative that would provide pathways for students of all ages, foundation leaders wanted to support partners in developing programs that go beyond screening individual students for dyslexia, but rather explore opportunities that support all readers. Learnings from initial pilot programs led us to focus on professional development for teachers, giving them the tools to empower all students year after year. Our aim is to support a series that could eventually lead to systemic change in literacy instruction with guidance from a phonics-based instruction connected to the science of reading. Working with Sarasota and Manatee districts, along with the Early Learning Coalition of Sarasota and State College of Florida, our foundation has supported each organization in pursuing their own gameplans for addressing literacy in a way that best works for their students as the teachers and administrators map their educational journeys.
This work comes amidst a broader legislative push from state governments across the United States to enact science of reading instruction in the classroom. An Education Week analysis from July 2023 found that roughly 32 states, including Florida, had “passed laws or implemented new policies related to evidence-based reading instruction” since 2013. This year, Florida passed legislation effectively banning the balanced literacy approach and instituting “evidence-based professional development activities” for teachers “grounded in the science of reading,” which is in line with the professional development that is being implemented at Sarasota County Schools.
For all the progress made, Strauss is still in its early stages, but preliminary data points are encouraging. Last year, Sarasota County Schools embarked on an effort to implement a small-group instructional framework with phonics-based instruction at four elementary schools, with training conducted by the University of Florida’s Lastinger Center for Learning. The program was so successful in its first year that it is now coming back for a second. This year’s program is multilayered, with 15 returning teachers and 17 new teachers starting from scratch.
Data from last year’s program in the Sarasota district makes it clear that this is a strategy that works. Roughly 68% of participating second-grade students had met or exceeded grade-level expectations in reading by the school year’s halfway point.
We continue to partner with schools to empower those who work within them to better support those who attend them. When people enter the pathway to learning that quality literacy instruction can provide, they learn more than language; they develop the critical insight and imagination that will bolster our community for generations to come.
Kirsten Russell is Vice President of Community Impact for the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.
Celebrate 75 years of inspiring music all season long, and our Celebrate 75 special concert and gala experience will be the party to top them all. We invite you to support 75 more years, and beyond, of enriching lives through music by purchasing tickets to Celebrate 75. For access to the best seats and the full celebration, opt for a Gala ticket, which includes pre-concert cocktails and a gourmet dinner after the performance. Concert-only tickets are also available for purchase. The concert program, led by Creative Partner Peter Oundjian, captures all the euphoria of reaching this milestone in our history as Florida’s oldest continuously operating orchestra. After two stirring fanfares written by Aaron Copland and Joan Tower, legendary pianist Garrick Ohlsson joins Sarasota Orchestra for the monumental Piano Concerto No. 3 by Rachmaninoff. Paired with An American in Paris by Gershwin, a rhapsodic portrait of a stroll through the City of Lights, this one-night-only program promises to thrill. Gala begins at 6:00 pm, and concert begins at 7:00 pm. Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, sarasotaorchestra.org.
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens will present Yayoi Kusama: A Letter to Georgia O Keeffe as the eighth iteration of its annual Jean and Alfred Goldstein Exhibition, which examines the work of major artists through the lens of their connection to nature. The exhibition, which will be on view from February 11 through June 30, 2024, at Selby Gardens Downtown Sarasota campus, will explore the unexpected yet profoundly impactful mentoring relationship that developed between iconic artists Yayoi Kusama and Georgia O Keeffe. The theme of the upcoming Goldstein Exhibition is the latest announcement of programming planned for Selby Gardens 50th anniversary season. For more information, visit selby.org.
The 2024 Forks and Corks Food and Wine Festival, hosted by the Sarasota Manatee Originals, will take place January 25 to 29. Grand Tasting tickets go on sale in October. A full five day slate of food and wine themed fun is planned, including the University Master Classes, wine dinners at area restaurants, wine shop tasting events, a trade tasting and the much anticipated Grand Tasting at The Ringling Museum of Art. Due to the unprecedented demand for tickets, ticket sales for The Grand Tasting launch on two consecutive Tuesdays: On October 10 at 9 a.m. there is a presale of the VIP and Early Access tickets and on October 17 at 7 p.m. General Admission tickets will be available and historically have sold out in a matter of minutes. All Forks and Corks Grand Tasting tickets will be available online only. For more information, please visit www.eatlikealocal.com.
The Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance is excited to announce they will be the new home for the 34th Annual Hob Nob BBQ event on December 6th, previously put on by Bradenton Area Economic Development Corporation. This event has been the premier networking event in the region for decades, which brings together the business community from the Sarasota, Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch Region to enjoy an evening of food, drinks and fun. The event will be held at the Premiere Sports Campus from 5:30pm to 8:30pm.For more information, visit members.lwrba.org.
Florida Studio Theatre (FST) is excited to bring children and their families the magic of the holiday season with the latest iteration of Deck the Halls. This interactive family-friendly, music-filled show celebrates everything that makes the holidays in Sarasota special. Since Deck the Halls was first produced in 2016, the show has become a holiday tradition for many families on the Suncoast. This year, the festivities return with all-new sketches, all-new songs, and all-new memories ready for the making. Created by Caroline Saldivar and Sarah Durham with additional material by Dellan Short and Jeremy Weinstein, Deck the Halls plays select Saturdays and Sundays with showtimes starting at 10am and 12pm in FST’s Keating Theatre. For more information, visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
ensembleNEWSRQ (enSRQ), the innovative chamber music ensemble, continues its eighth season with “Ligetis 100th,” a program celebrating the birth centennial of the incomparable Hungarian-Austrian composer György Ligeti. For this concert, enSRQ welcomes back the celebrated pianist Han Chen to perform Ligeti’s “Études” and iconic “Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano.” The concert will also showcase selections from the “Infinite Staircase” project, an initiative featuring the world premiere of 18 new works for solo piano, co-commissioned by Metropolis Ensemble and pianist Han Chen, each paired with one of György Ligetis 18 canonic piano études. The concert is Monday, November 20, 7:30 p.m., at First Congregational Church, 1031 S. Euclid Ave., Sarasota. Single tickets are $25. For more information on ticket packages and single tickets, including student ticket pricing, visit www.EnSRQ.org.
The Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance (LWRBA) is pleased to announce the 2023 Sandies Awards Finalists. The Finalists and community can find out who the winners are at the annual signature event, The Sandies Members’ Choice Awards luncheon, on Friday, November 17, 11:30 am to 1:15 pm, at The Ballroom at Grove, Lakewood Ranch. Every year, The Sandies recognize LWRBA members for their remarkable talents, character, and commitment to the organization and the community. These awards honor LWRBA volunteers who strive towards the highest levels of personal and professional accomplishment, devote time and energy to our community, and forge paths of leadership for others to follow. Tickets are $65 for members and non-members. Registration is now open at www.lwrba.org/Sandies.
The Women’s Resource Center presents the Power of Conversation: Embracing Generational Differences, a panel discussion that aims to explore the unique views, perspectives, stereotypes and biases of four generations, Thursday, November 16, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at The Grove, 10670 Boardwalk Loop, Lakewood Ranch. Tickets start at $50 and include program and takeaway, food, and beverages. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit mywrc.org/generation.
The City of Sarasota in conjunction with the Sarasota Patriotic Observance Committee, will host its annual Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 11. The parade will begin at 10 a.m. at Osprey Avenue/Main Street in downtown Sarasota and will move westward on Main Street, ending at Gulfstream Avenue. The festivities will culminate with an 11 a.m. ceremony at Chaplain J.D. Hamel Park at the corner of Gulfstream Avenue and Main Street, recognizing the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month when the armistice was signed in 1918, ending World War I. This year’s parade theme is “We don’t know them all, but we owe them all.” The ceremony will feature guest speaker Carlos J. Moreira. Moreira spent 15 years on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he traveled worldwide as he served. Moreira now works at the University of South Florida where he is the Director for Campus Engagement for Veteran Success and Alumni Affairs, as well as being the chair for SALUTE Veterans National Honor Society.A medley of patriotic songs will be performed by Master Sgt. Robert McDonald, retired lead singer for the U.S. Army chorus, and the Sarasota Choral Artists, led by Dr. Joseph Holt, retired Director of the U.S. Army Chorus. For more information, contact Dan Kennedy, Sarasota Patriotic Observance Committee Chairman, at 941-812-5406 or visit www.SarasotaFL.Gov.
Join us in bringing hope and healing to the fight against child abuse in our community. Night of Hope and Healing will feature a wide selection of tastings from crowd favorite restaurants, fantastic live and silent auctions, and most importantly, you will leave the event knowing that you are bringing change, protection, and hope to the most vulnerable children of our community. Sponsoring this event will expose your business to a compassionate, caring, and loyal community while providing the necessary support to give local children access to life saving services. These partnerships provide hope in raising awareness, hope in bringing comfort and joy, and hope in building a world where kids can just be kids. We look forward to seeing you there. Plantation Golf and Country Club, 500 Rockley Blvd., Venice, https://cpcsarasota.org/events/night-of-hope/.
Tickets are on sale for Brunch on the Bay, the annual marquee fundraiser for the USF Sarasota Manatee campus, which returns on Nov. 5. Attendees will enjoy culinary delights from local restaurants and caterers, and get a sneak peek at a major campus expansion project, a new student center and residence hall set to open in the fall of 2024. Proceeds from the 2023 Brunch on the Bay will support student scholarships and campus initiatives. Brunch on the Bay will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 5, on the USF Sarasota Manatee campus, 8350 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Visit sarasotamanatee.usf.edu/brunch for ticket and sponsorship information.
Please join us for the annual Resilient Retreat Farm to Table dining experience on Sunday, November 5, 2023 at 4:00 pm. The funds raised at the event are critical to Resilient Retreat to continue to serve survivors of trauma and first responders and helping professionals. Come immerse yourself among the majestic oaks at 84 acres of conservation land on the retreat. In true farm to table fashion, our local chefs will craft a tasting menu featuring the very best local seasonal foods. Dine under the stars nestled among the beautiful live oaks while experiencing al fresco farm to table dining. Farm to Table proceeds will benefit the Resilient Retreat mission to empower survivors of trauma to thrive through self care and community. Visit https://givebutter.com/farmtotable2023 for more information and to purchase tickets.
Get ready to laugh it up at UTC! Join for Laugh on the Green, an outdoor series featuring clean comedy acts by top stand-up comedians. Taking the stage on Thursday, November 9 is Richy Leis, a seasoned comic known for his hilarious anecdotes inspired by growing up in a big family. As seen on MTV, VH1, TMZ and more, Richy has worked with some of the biggest names in the business, including Dana Carvey, Jeff Garlin and Craig Robinson. Laugh on the Green starts at 8:00 pm on The Green at UTC, located near Rocco’s Tacos & Tequila Bar. The outdoor comedy show is open to the public, and no advance registration is required. Seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Get here early to grab dinner and drinks from more than 80 eateries and bars at UTC. For more information, visit utcsarasota.com.
SRQ DAILY is produced by SRQ | The Magazine. Note: The views and opinions expressed in the Saturday Perspectives Edition and in the Letters department of SRQ DAILY are those of the author(s) and do not imply endorsement by SRQ Media. Senior Editor Jacob Ogles edits the Saturday Perspective Edition, Letters and Guest Contributor columns.In the CocoTele department, SRQ DAILY is providing excerpts from news releases as a public service. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by SRQ DAILY. The views expressed by individuals are their own and their appearance in this section does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. For rates on SRQ DAILY banner advertising and sponsored content opportunities, please contact Ashley Ryan Cannon at 941-365-7702 x211 or via email |
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