LABELLE, Fla. (AP) — One of Florida’s poorest counties is preparing for a new “Airglades” airport, a $300 million cargo hub that could transform its economy.
Local leaders see the project as a generational opportunity, one that could bring more than 1,400 new high-skilled jobs to their largely agricultural community on the edge of the Everglades. But to keep its promise, teachers in the district will have to overcome some harsh realities.
A third of working-age adults in Hendry County lack a high school diploma, while nearly half speak a language other than English at home, among the highest rates in Florida. Before local leaders can prepare residents for jobs in engineering and manufacturing, teachers must first help them earn GED certificates and learn English.
“We have some of God’s most beautiful country that has never been touched by man,” said Michael Swindell, superintendent of county schools, and yet, “by every measure by which you can judge a county, we are either No. 1 or No. 1.” 2 in the ugly categories.
As the airport project seeks approval, community groups and schools are working to fill teacher shortages and invest in adult education.
Challenges also include some political headwinds. Most of the county’s workforce is black and Latino. Efforts to tailor education to serve those demographic groups have drawn scrutiny in Florida, where politicians have turned to the issue. Blocked programs Taking race and national origin into the treatment of people. Teachers say the political context adds to… Difficulties in recruiting teachers.
The plan to convert the small county-owned airport into private ownership still must receive approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, which will depend in part on solidifying contracts with vendors in Latin America to prove its potential as a hub for perishable goods.
Meanwhile, two adult education centers have expanded in the county with support from the FutureMakers Alliance, a community organization that has led educational retraining efforts throughout Southwest Florida. It also pays for a consultant to help adults looking to develop new skills and change their careers.
Spanish-speaking students fill the Adult Education Center in La Belle, the 5,000-seat district seat.
Many of them work jobs or have children at home, forcing their teacher, Sylvia Goulet, to get creative to meet their needs. I created a WhatsApp group so students could organize carpooling or split childcare duties. If students don’t show up to class, Goulet texts them to find out what the problem is. She doesn’t accept easy excuses.
“At first, I had some students who didn’t want to continue. I try to tell people that the only person who can stop them is themselves,” said Gullette, who was born in Peru before starting her teaching career in Florida two decades ago.
At the district’s other adult education center, in Clewiston, sparks are flying as dozens of students wearing thick gloves and respirator masks work to obtain industry certifications needed to enter the workforce. One of them, Samantha Garza, 21, initially studied child care at a community college in Fort Myers, but switched after watching YouTube videos about seams.
“I’m an artsy person, so I have a really steady hand, and I like to get down and dirty doing physical things, so I felt like this would be a career for me,” she said.
Even before the airport arrives, there are still many local employers waiting to hire students. With current employees approaching retirement age, US Sugar, the Clewiston-based agricultural giant, has needs so urgent that it has started an in-house welding program.
“We’re trying to bridge the generational gap between mechanics and welders,” said Nathan Hollis, the company’s industrial skills trainer.
Finding enough trainers to provide the training was a major challenge. Swindle had to hire an American sugar worker to teach welding and convince a retired school bus mechanic to lead the diesel mechanics program.
However, the program has been such a success that the district is using tuition revenue and donations to open another training facility in LaBelle focused on HVAC and plumbing.
There was controversy over some of the efforts, including a slide on the topic of “white privilege” that was presented during a volunteer meeting with non-educational staff led by FutureMakers. This sparked condemnation from conservative activists who accused the organizers of racism. A Republican city commissioner in LaBelle noted that it violated “ STOP DOING WOKE“, even though the event occurred eight days before Governor Ron DeSantis signed the law. FutureMakers says it has stopped using the slide in presentations.
Florida’s political climate has made it difficult to attract K-12 teachers, according to Swindle. In a state where DeSantis has harnessed culture war sentiment in his education policies, Swindle said many of his teachers feel unsupported.
“The rhetoric around public education is terrible. It definitely hurts us,” Swindle said.
Teacher shortage It threatens the ability of local schools to educate not only welders and mechanics, but also construction workers, nurses and other professionals to support the influx of people the airport could bring.
“We don’t have a high school chemistry or physics teacher. We’ve left job opportunities open for three years and can’t even get someone to apply for them,” Swindle said.
The district is running more marketing campaigns to recruit teachers and pay paraprofessionals to secure licenses so they can become teachers with the help of a $23 million Good Jobs Challenge grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
There’s a lot at stake for the longtime home of Swindle.
The supervisor knows where the crocodiles are, where they sunbathe along the acres of canals that irrigate the sugarcane fields. He knows which sabal palms make the best swamp cabbage, and teaches his sons how to cut palm hearts with his knife, as their ancestors did to survive lean times.
However, there is no way to know if all his retraining efforts will work. The airport may not come along yet, especially if the county can’t prove workers are willing to support it.
Right now, officials are trying to meet existing workforce needs while testing their ability to create new training programs. Once construction of the airport begins, they know they will have about two years to teach a group of logistics operators, agricultural customs inspectors and other aviation professionals.
“We’re not just talking about the airport,” Swindle said. “We view this as an opportunity to move the needle on unemployment and poverty to a better place.”
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Nick Vourizos covers the role of college in rural America Open campusa non-profit newsroom focused on higher education. subscription For his newsletter, Mile Markers.
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Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to clarify that the FutureMakers training that included information about white privilege was voluntary and for non-educational employees, and occurred before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Stop WOKE Act into law.