Stet News💐 Hello, April. Welcome to the first installment of “Feeding hungry minds,” Stet’s series examining efforts to make sure more kids learn to read. Also: County Commission turnabout, an A-MUSE-ing evening and a daffy duck.
📖 Feeding hungry minds: Five groups helping kids read at a third-grade level
The data is daunting: Half of all Palm Beach County students in third grade don’t read well enough to succeed in fourth grade and beyond.
Why third grade matters: Educators say that by the end of third grade, students make a pivotal transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.”
With so much at stake, several Palm Beach County organizations are focused on childhood literacy, which has been called the single greatest predictor of future success.
Stet’s Janis Fontaine spotlights five that are making progress: The Edna W. Runner Education Center, Roots & Wings, the Foundations School, The Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County and the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties. We’ll bring you one of her reports each week.
First of five.
A new school look at old school phonics
In 2001, Travis Conway was a kid struggling academically in west Jupiter. His family found the West Jupiter Community Center, now the Edna Runner Tutorial Center, and enrolled him there. Today, Conway is its CEO.
The late Edna Runner, a teacher in the Limestone Creek neighborhood, opened the center with 40 children in 1986. It now has more than 3,000 students and has expanded twice, to more than double its capacity.
In 2012, Conway was a student at Indian River State College when he got a call from Runner. She needed his help. She needed to step away a bit and could he step in? Yes, of course, he said.
- “I always admired the work teachers did and seeing a student become better is rewarding,” he said.
Conway had earned an associate’s degree in elementary education thinking he might become a principal one day and was studying criminal justice in case he decided to study law. Because of Edna Runner, Conway had options.
Zoom in: The Runner Center’s kids enter in the lower 25 percent of students who are prepared for school. When the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties offered Conway a chance to participate in a summer pilot program with the University of Florida’s Literacy Institute to help struggling readers in grades K-3 achieve grade level proficiency, Conway accepted.
What they’re saying: “I was shocked to see how well it worked and the kids had a really good time doing it. It’s very interactive and it’s fun,” Conway said. Another benefit Conway noticed: “It was a huge confidence booster! The kids loved learning new skills, and they wanted to show them off.
- “We’ve written grants to continue the program again this summer and by fall we hope it’s part of our program permanently,” he said. “The biggest expense is paying for certified teachers.”
Using the U-Fli system has persuaded Conway that a focus on proven methods applied consistently works.
“I think the answer is making sure we go back to old school phonics,” he said. “But that’s only part of the solution. It’s crucial that the kids are exposed to reading early. We can’t wait until third grade to address the problem.”
Coming next week: The Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County
– Janis Fontaine
🐴 Whoa: County slows search for top job
County commissioners slammed the brakes last week on county Clerk and Comptroller Joe Abruzzo’s potential ascent to the top county administrative job.
Zoom in: The commission’s decision to carve out realistic criteria and give candidates 30 days to apply came after news stories heaped derision on its decision a week earlier to open the $400,000-a-year job for less than a week with no minimum qualifications.
Why it’s important: Punctuating that coverage was The Palm Beach Post’s revelationthat, like Stet’s coverage, indicated some of the biggest developers in the county were openly banking on new county leadership after the departure of longtime Administrator Verdenia Baker on May 31.
“We now see some changes at the county that are going to be very encouraging,” The Post quoted Related Ross President Ken Himmel as saying at a March 12 groundbreaking.
“I was at a presentation yesterday with a tourism group and I said, ‘Watch what happens after June 1. Things are going to finally open up,’” The Post reported that Himmel said.
- Additionally, Related Group and BH Group, partners in a proposed Transit Village downtown, cited Baker’s retirement in a court filing to explain why the developers’ dispute over the value of county land may soon be resolved, The Post reported.
Catch up quick: Since Abruzzo has never been a city or county administrator and has only a bachelor’s degree, he would have benefited from looser standards and no national competition.
Commissioner Marci Woodward told Stet News last week that in lobbying for that approach, former Commissioner Mack Bernard put it starkly: Support is building for two candidates, Abruzzo or Deputy County Administrator Patrick Rutter.
- Stet’s story linked Bernard’s involvement through his employer, Cornerstone Solutions, to Related Ross and Related Group.
The initial push for a quick, local search that would have given Abruzzo an advantage — led by Commissioner Bobby Powell and supported by Commissioners Sara Baxter, Maria Sachs and Joel Flores — called for the new administrator to be selected by May 22.
But after a week of criticism, Flores’ position shifted during Thursday’s three-hour discussion. He joined with Mayor Maria Marino and Commissioners Marci Woodward and Gregg Weiss in giving preference to candidates with master’s degrees and allowing candidates 30 days to apply.
Apply here: County administrator job posting.
— Joel Engelhardt
👩🎨 Art in motion at Cultural Council’s soirée
An hour after county commissioners debated Thursday how to replace their top executive, Verdenia Baker arrived at the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County’sspring celebration to accept an award.
An A-MUSE-ing Evening organizers raised money, featured live performances and presented glass sculptures to Baker and two other Muse award winners.
What they’re saying: “Participating in the arts affects your brain in some pretty remarkable ways,” Cultural Council Board Chairperson Cheryl Crowley told the audience. “You feel happier. Your problem-solving abilities improve. And it expands your mind to help you think clearer.”
In the room:
- The Hangar luxury garage condominium complex off of the Beeline Highway in Riviera Beach was transformed into a breezy party scene.
- Mounts Botanical Garden contributed a floral arch that served as a gateway to the festivities.
- Cultural Council donors and friends mingled as ceramic artists Mark Lester and Mark Walnock worked at pottery wheels, playing to this year’s theme of art in motion.
Zoom in: The council is a public-private organization that gets money from the county’s bed tax and donations to support art and culture.
The awards: Cultural Council CEO Dave Lawrence presented Baker, who has been administrator for nearly 10 years, with the award for Outstanding Cultural Ambassador. He cited many accomplishments including her leadership in securing the county’s financial support for the planned African American Museum and Resource Library.
- Palm Beach Media Group was honored for Outstanding Business Support for the Arts.
- Crowley presented the Alexander W. Dreyfoos Award for Lifetime Achievement to arts mentor and volunteer Alyce Erickson.
– Carolyn DiPaolo
🍊 The Juice
🚨 Big news from the courts in the battle between conservationists and sugar companies for control of water flowing into the Everglades. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Everglades sugar growers who had demanded first dibs on water from a new reservoir in western Palm Beach County. (Boca Magazine)
🌎 Related Cos. founder Stephen Ross is teaming with officials of the Florida Council of 100 and eMerge Americas to push South Florida as an innovation hub. The effort aims to support fast-growing industries, such as finance and insurance, health care and medical technology, aerospace and logistics and clean technology. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
💯 Eleven cities in South Florida are celebrating 100th birthdays this year or next, including Jupiter and Boca Raton. WLRN is zooming in on the region’s history with a series of stories, “History We Call Home: 100 Years of South Florida.” (WLRN)
🏥 Darcy Davis, president and CEO of the Health Care District of Palm Beach County,talks about her push for a $60 million crisis intervention center and the district’s collaboration with Tampa General Hospital to run Lakeside Medical Center in Belle Glade. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
☔️ West Palm Beach and Port St. Lucie ranked in the top 12 rainiest cities in the nation, according to a new report from Redfin, each receiving about an average of 58 inches a year.
–Yes, but: The showers come in short, powerful bursts during the summer and fall. (The New York Times – gift link)
🍼 An interview with a nanny who makes $140,000 a year on Palm Beach. The long read puts the number of billionaires on the island at 65. (The New Yorker)
🐻 561NSIDER: Busch Wildlife Sanctuary spreads its wings
It’s back to nature for the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary. In its new Jupiter Farms home, the thousands of wild animals the nonprofit group takes in yearly are now surrounded by their natural homes.
Why it matters: The $18 million sanctuary set among natural pine, cypress, oak-dotted woods and scrub areas moved in fall 2023.
- Last year, the nonprofit center, which started in 1983, treated more than 5,000 animals.
Stet’s Jan Norris toured the grounds with CEO Amy Kight. Here is what she found:
Busch’s most notorious resident: Stu, the whistling duck. He comes running when called, quacking as though conversing with Kight.
- “He was found as a baby and was a difficult release because he imprinted on humans from the start. He has no idea he’s a duck,” she said.
- They tried to put him back into the wild, but, apparently lonely, he wandered to a nearby garage sale, then a church, trying to fit in, she said, shaking her head. “We just went and got him. He had an adventure for a week.”
How the rehabbed animals are released: Busch works with partners like Palm Beach County Environmental Resources Management, which oversees wildlife preserves and natural areas.
- “They let us know what they might need. We’ll get a call — ‘We can use some birds,’” she said.
- Busch delivers.
If you go: Busch Wildlife Sanctuary 17855 Rocky Pines Road, Jupiter. Open 10 am to 4:30 pm seven days a week, rain or shine. Closed New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Admission by donation.
The new home is just the beginning for the sanctuary. Keep reading to find out more.
– Jan Norris
Stay alert out there. We don’t endorse April Fool pranks, but if we did, we would offer kudos to Palm Beach Atlantic University’s April 1, 2024, bogus announcement of a bachelor’s degree in surfing. We would have aced it!
