Everglades City School is a single campus school where 246 students attend grades K -12. It is located in a remote, nearly isloated, coastal community 45 miles from the the center of the Collier County school district in southwest, Florida. Everglades City is situated between the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve and Everlades National Park. The area is where the Gulf of Mexico approaches the southern shore of Collier County and meets the Ten Thousand Islands, which divide the waters into bays, considered to be one of the most fragile ecosystems in the state. The majority of adults and 70% of high school students are connected to the marine and fishing industries. However, in 1995, state law enacted a net-ban, virtually strangling commercial fishing.

Because students no longer perceive school as a direct link to employment, and most students have not planned for college there has been substantial percentage of school drop out (83% 1996). In adddtion the ______ in the school creates a constant need to refocus students and teachers on a common vision. The project represents the first satillite project of The Whitaker Center for Science, Math and Technology.

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