Graduation ceremonies in Southwest Florida typically fill football stadiums or arenas, but that’s not what happens at Everglades City School, where just eight students will be walking across the stage to get their diplomas. And only six of them are seniors. The other two are juniors who are graduating early.
It’s a very different type of high school experience. Most of the students have been together since prekindergarten and are more like siblings than classmates. While there are some drawbacks, the students say there are many more advantages to being in a tiny school.
“We are very tight and interconnected,” said senior Katie Collins. “I have had the same gym teacher since pre-K and the same art teacher since pre-K. The other perk is having really small classes. I had an art class with just myself. It was awesome. I grew exponentially in art, got some awards from the school district, and had some art in the district office.”
Just one teacher covers each subject, so they teach the students throughout their high school years, and sometimes in middle school as well.
“Having one follow us from one year to the next, they know us. They know where we struggled and where we excelled,” Katie explained.
Senior Teddy Smallwood had the same English teacher from sixth through 10th grade and said it helped him connect with his educators.
“It is like a family in a way,” he said.
The teachers know every student in the school, and the students know every teacher.
That allows teachers to individualize plans for their students. Several students were able to graduate early. Teddy finished all his high school requirements in December. Two of this year’s graduates are juniors.
“The staff has only 34 high school kids, so it is a lot easier to let kids excel,” Teddy explained. “You get a lot of attention.”
Only Katie and Teddy wanted to be interviewed for this story. Right now, just one of the six seniors is taking classes on campus. The others either finished in December or are completing their requirements online. Katie and Teddy said they watched the number of students dwindle over the years.
“In fifth grade, there were 23 kids. In middle school, there were 16. When we started high school, there were 10 of us. Now, there are only six seniors and only one is on campus,” Teddy described.
Teddy and Katie said some moved away because it was getting too expensive to live in Everglades City. Others moved for better job opportunities for their parents. This could mean even smaller graduating classes in the future.
The Everglades City School began in 1893 when the first lessons were taught in the Storter Home, now the Rod & Gun Club. A schoolhouse was built a few years later, but washed away in the 1910 hurricane. Barron Collier added a high school in 1926. In 1995 the old school was reconstructed into the current campus. It is the only public through high school campus in the county.
With such a small student population, Everglades City School can’t offer the vast menu of classes that other local high schools have. There are no Advanced Placement classes or specialized courses. However, students can still take those online or through dual enrollment.
Opportunities to excel
There are also many sports opportunities, and the seniors say they participate in multiple varsity competitions. Teddy is part of the basketball and baseball teams. Katie plays softball and volleyball. Both students have been on those high school varsity teams since sixth grade. In Everglades City, middle school students can play high school varsity sports. The nearby Indian reservation sends eight of its students to Everglades City to add to the numbers on the basketball team. The school also offers cross country and cheer. Students can join another high school team if they want to play football.
Katie says it is easier to be chosen for special activities since there is little competition. Katie was selected to be part of a debate group that competed at the University of Florida. Then, she was chosen to be an ambassador for debate and traveled all over the state and even to Washington, D.C.
“If you really want the opportunities, you can make them for yourself here. That is another perk of being a small school,” Katie said
“If there is an opportunity, we can pursue it much easier,” Teddy agreed. “It is so easy to get scholarships. At a big school you are competing with 200 kids for a scholarship. At our school it is just six kids.”
It is also easier for them to excel academically. Katie is valedictorian, and Teddy is salutatorian.
Most of the seniors have known each other since they were toddlers. They admit that sometimes they know too much about each other, but they love the camaraderie.
“You get to have a class with all your friends,” Teddy said. “At a big school, you get split up, but here we are with our friends every day.”
And their friends are not just the seniors but all the high school students. Having a prom with just six students would be hard, so everyone in high school is invited. This year, their prom will be held in a wedding barn and the homecoming dance was in the gym.
More than a moment
Graduation for Everglades City students is more than a moment of walking across a stage to get a diploma. Each student is honored with a special slide show.
“Something we do that is special that nobody else gets to do is the senior slide show,” Katie said. “We send in about 20 pictures and a song, and they play about three minutes for each student. And in the yearbook, we each get our own page. In other schools, it is just a picture.”
The students admit that graduation will be tough since they have been together most of their lives.
“It is going to be sad,” Katie said. “We were taking our senior pictures last night, and I was remembering everything. It will be hard after being together for so long. We all have our history with each other. It has not always been completely peaceful, but I will definitely miss them.”
Katie plans to attend the University of Florida to study political science. She said she is tired of hurricanes and likely will move somewhere like Tallahassee or Washington, D.C. Teddy is going to the fire and EMT program at Florida SouthWestern State College. He does plan to settle in Everglades City.
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