The School District of Lee County

2855 Colonial Blvd. Fort Myers, Florida 33966 www.leeschools.net

Steven K. Teuber
Chairman, District 4
Mary Fischer
Vice Chairman, District 1
Jeanne S. Dozier
District 2
Cathleen ODaniel Morgan
District 3
Pamela H. LaRiviere
District 5
Gregory K. Adkins, Ed. D.
Superintendent
Keith B. Martin, Esq.
Board Attorney

Dear Parents,

I believe it is important to address you about the recent events at South Ft. Myers High
School.
We too were shocked to hear of the events at South High. I am certain you appreciate
the privacy afforded to the students involved. We have just as much of a responsibility to
protect their privacy as we do to provide every assurance to you that we have responded,
and continue to respond to this incident to ensure it does not occur again.
Principal Layner acted quickly to investigate the incident and discipline those involved.
Conversations about right and wrong have occurred in many contexts, and with the
parents present. We recognize that this is not just an issue of student behavior, but also
of supervision.
Hundreds of students participate in after school activities on our high school campuses.
It is a long standing culture that high school students are entrusted with a certain amount
of freedom to navigate the school classrooms and hallways to participate in afterschool
activities with teachers, club sponsors and coaches never being too far away. I assure
you that we are continuing to work with our school principals to improve supervision
protocols and are committed to making this School District one of the best in the nation.
I ask we move forward from this incident without further harsh judgement of those
involved. They are adolescents who have made a serious mistake. They have been
disciplined. They must now be afforded the opportunity to learn from their mistakes.
Thank you for the opportunity to communicate with you. As always, I am honored to lead
your school district.
Sincerely,

Dr. Greg Adkins

Superintendent of Schools

Vision: To be a world-class school system