District Profile

Mission/Vision: By providing exceptional educational opportunities that motivate and engage each student, all students will complete school prepared for ongoing learning as well as community and global responsibilities.

The School District of Collier County has 48 schools plus three charter schools. The district serves a total student population of 43,385. There are 29 elementary schools, 10 middle schools, 8 high schools, and a PreK-thru-12 school (Everglades City School). There are also 12 Alternative School Programs.

The district’s two career/technical centers (Lorenzo Walker Institute of Technology and Immokalee Technical Center) and adult education programs (located at several sites throughout the district) offer students both short- and long-term programs.

Diversity:    
Hispanic
45%
Free & Reduced Lunch

More than 62% of our student population is categorized as “Economically Needy” – they qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch. That’s 26,769 students out of the 43,385 who attend our schools.
White
39%
Black
12%
Mixed
2%
Asian
1%
Indian
1%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%

The information shown above is updated daily from our Data Warehouse

Fast Facts

  • The school district and all of its schools are accredited by AdvancED, the parent organization for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI). Click here to read the results of our 2012 Quality Assurance Review.
  • The District employs nearly 3,000 highly qualified teachers, 49% with advanced degrees. 
  • Our teachers are among the best paid in Florida, with Collier County ranking in the top three districts in the State. Sadly, pay for teachers in Florida lags behind the rest of the nation.
  • Some 139 Collier teachers have attained the prestigious rank of National Board Certified Teacher.
  • During the 2010-2011 school year, we received help from more than 4,400 active and dedicated volunteers who donated an amazing 261,000 hours of service to our students and schools.
  • On June 3, 2011, the District celebrated having nearly 2,700 high school graduates.
  • For the 2010-2011 school year, the district’s graduation rate was 81.3% and the dropout rate was 1.9%.  
  • Our most capable students have the opportunity to pursue an Advanced Placement Laureate diploma, the most demanding Collier County Public Schools diploma available. The Laureate Program continues to grow with 84 Laureate graduates from six high schools this past year, compared with just three at one school when the program began 15 years ago.
  • Collier high school students take college-level courses and earn college credit by taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams. Last school year, 2,659 students took 4,880 AP exams.
  • The participation rate of the ACT has increased dramatically over the past seven years: from 39% in the 2004-2005 school year to 63% in the 2010-2011 school year.
  • For the 2010-2011 school year, 1,526 (54%) college-bound seniors took the SAT, an increase of 6% over the previous year. 
  • English is not the first language for 14% of our students with more than 6,300 students in the English Language Learners (ELL) program. Collectively, these students speak 81 different heritage languages and hail from 147 different countries of origin.
  • More than 47% of our students live in non-English homes, where English is not the first language and sometimes isn’t even spoken. The percentage increases to more than 55% in grades PreK through 3, where learning to read is so critical.
  • The Collier district is a recognized leader in Florida when it comes to technology. There are approximately 27,000 networked computers in use district wide, with nearly 22,000 accessible by students – giving us a 1.98-to-1 ratio.

The information shown in the Fast Facts section was last updated 2-13-12