The LNS School Advisory Council (SAC) meeting is scheduled on  Thursday, December 6th at 7:20 AM. If you are interested in  learning  about the schools budget or plans for improvement you are  invited to attend the SAC meeting.  

On October 3, 2018, Sarasota County Schools announced that the  Florida Department of Education (FDOE) gave 18 schools the Five Star School Award and 41 schools the Golden School Award for the 2017 - 2018 school year. These prestigious awards are given to public, specialty and charter schools statewide.

Laurel Nokomis School is a 2018 Five Star School Award recipient and has been a recipient for 13 years.  The school is also a  2018 Golden School Award recipient and has received  that award for 37 years.

The Five Star School Award is presented annually by the FDOE Commissioner's Community Involvement Council to schools that have demonstrated in-depth community involvement. In order to earn this designation, a school must prove that it has achieved 100 percent of the established criteria in business partnerships, family involvement, volunteerism, student community service and student advisory councils. Schools must also earn a grade of "C" or above, or school improvement rating of "maintaining or improving" for the year of nomination.

Similarly, the Golden School Award is issued annually. The award recognizes elementary, secondary and adult schools that report a minimum of 80 percent of school staff participation in training related to school volunteerism. Recipients must also designate a school volunteer coordinator for recruitment, placement, training and supervision of school volunteers. Additionally, the total number of hours of volunteer service of the school must equal twice the number of students enrolled in the school. Any volunteer activity that contributes to student improvement may be counted, including fundraising.

The Sarasota County School District officially released guidelines that serve as a framework for school leaders to ensure a safe and productive learning environment for all students - particularly LGBTQIA students. The guidelines function as an extension of the existing student anti-discrimination policy as set forth by the School Board and were thoughtfully created by a committee comprised of school administrators, program specialists, students and community partners. The committee utilized best practices from other school districts, including Hillsborough and Broward counties and recent legal outcomes from St. Johns County to develop a unified practice throughout the school district. The guidelines emphasize the ability to recognize students who consistently assert a gender identity and meet the social and emotional needs of individual students. The guidelines are adaptable to provide each school community the ability to maintain student confidentiality and establish a level of trust among their student population. The guidelines also work to protect the civil rights of Sarasota County students and comply with Title VI, Title IX, Section 504 and ADA Title II discrimination policies. 

"I am proud of the work the committee has done to ensure a safe and open learning environment for all our students," noted Todd Bowden, superintendent of Sarasota County Schools. "It is vitally important that our schools represent a safe place for our students - no matter what their needs and concerns are. After observing many of our schools over the last year, I am comfortable with the decision to commit our existing practices to a series of written guidelines that allows our school leaders to serve as trusted advocates for our students. We all have an obligation to ensure our children are treated with respect and these guidelines offer a thoughtful approach to accomplish this goal."   The guidelines are available on the school district's website:   http://bit.ly/SCSGenderDiverseStudentGuidelines.

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Gina Jones, "The Box Top Lady" is back and rolling out the new Box Top Promotion for 2018-2019:  On the Water with Box Tops.  Effective immediately, she is accepting box tops so b e sure to clip and save your Box Tops and turn them into your child's homeroom teacher.  Place them in a baggie or envelope with: 

For more information on participating products and ways to earn Box Tops, please visit  www.boxtops4education.com.   In addition, please contact Gina Jones at [email protected] if you have any questions about the promotion.