The Island School

A Message From Our Head of School

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Welcome to The Island School.

I am passionate about education and helping students.  I strongly believe that all my educational experiences were in preparation to serve here at The Island School.

I loved the classroom and never planned on leaving, but I also had a vision that was bigger than the classroom.  The Island School is the perfect fit because I can lead a school but still have consistent contact with students.  Working with students is what truly feeds my soul.

There is still so much to do on our quest to educate the whole child and give students the best all-round foundational skills to be successful in life, but being part of The Island School is a great place to start.

Christine Oliver
Head of The Island School

Below are several comments we have received from parents:

“The Island School has provided our children with a loving, encouraging and challenging environment which has allowed them to excel beyond grade level expectations. It says something about a school and its staff when a child’s favorite class is math and not recess.”

“We think that The Island School is great because of its mix of teachers, staff and students. The teachers are not only providing a great learning environment, but they are also very invested into turning the children into the best individuals they can be.”

“I want to thank you for all the effort and passion that you put into your job.  I am amazed at how far our child has come thus far in the school year.  She really enjoys reading to me.  She has learned so much and has fun doing it. We are very happy with our choice to be part of The Island School family.”

Get to Know Our Teachers and Staff

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Staff Group FY20 Resized

How blessed we are to call Boca Grande our island home! Its natural abundance of flora and fauna, beaches and skies of magnificent clouds and sunsets with birds on the wing, are obvious to all. Less obvious are the people who serve us in every area and make the continuing life of our community so rich and vital, such as the personnel of the Gasparilla Inn from management to domestic service, the medical teams of the Boca Grande Chnic, fire and police department members, our maintenance and construction crews, our restaurants and shops, to name a few.

The Island School Mission and Core Values

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The Mission of The Island School is to create an educational environment, which stresses academic excellence while nurturing the spirit of the child. Inherent in our philosophy is the belief that the responsibility for and ownership of education belong to the child.

Standards of excellence in early childhood education are based on a commitment to core values which are deeply rooted in child growth and development. It is a privilege to work with children. Accordingly, we dedicate ourselves to:

  • Appreciating childhood as a unique and valuable stage of development.
  • Recognizing that children are best understood and nurtured in the context of family, culture, community and society.
  • Helping children and adults achieve their full potential through relationships which are based on trust, respect and good will.
  • Respecting the dignity, worth and uniqueness of each individual’s learning style and thinking preference.
  • Honoring the gifts of every child, teacher, parent and Board member in our community.

NEXT: Read about our curriculum.

Open Enrollment Begins in March

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Admissions Process for the 2024-2025 School Year

Registration for current students is from February 1, 2024 to February 23, 2024.  Current students must return their registration form no later than February 23, 2024 to keep their seat for the upcoming school year.  If existing students miss the deadline they will have to reapply as a new applicant.

Once a student has been admitted to The Island School through an appropriate process, he or she may remain in attendance through subsequent grades as long as the registration deadline is met for current students.

The applications and waiting list do not roll over from one year to the next year.  Each year, prospective students will need to complete new paperwork and submit it by the open enrollment deadline.

Open enrollment for new students is from March 1, 2024 to March 28, 2024. If there are more applicants than spaces available, The Island School will hold a lottery to enroll new students.  Each prospective student must have a completed application and required documentation on file by March 28, 2024, to be included in the lottery.  After the lottery is completed, additional applicants will be added to the waiting list. The lottery for the 2024-25 school year will be held on Thursday, April 4, 2024 at 3:30 pm. Applicants are not required to be present.

The acceptance letter for new students who are not residents of the island have a contingency clause stating that if a new resident applies by June 30th of the enrollment year, they may take the place of the non-resident applicant.

Separate lotteries will be applied based on our enrollment policy.

In recognition of the officially sanctioned purpose of The Island School, the Board of Directors set forth the following:

Enrollment Preference Policy

  1. Existing students
  2. Siblings of current students whose families reside on Gasparilla Island.
  3. Children whose families reside on Gasparilla Island.
  4. Siblings of existing students who do not reside on Gasparilla Island, but whose families work on Gasparilla Island.
  5. Children whose parent(s) work at The Island School.
  6. Children whose families do not reside on Gasparilla Island, but whose families work on the Island.

Sibling Preference 

The Island School and its families benefit from keeping families together.  For this reason, The Island School offers admission preference for siblings. A sibling is defined as a biological or legally adopted brother or sister who lives in the same household (at least part-time) as the current Island School student.  No preference is given if siblings are not currently enrolled in The Island School.

Welcome to The Island School

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THE ISLAND SCHOOLThe Island School is a multiage charter school for grades K-5 in Boca Grande, Florida. It was founded and approved by the Lee County School Board in 2000. Its purpose is to educate the children whose parents live or work in the community of Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island, a small barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Island School strives to help each child develop their individual potentials and unique strengths. We provide a multiage, developmentally appropriate program with the belief that this is the best setting to encourage an inclusive family style learning context.

The Island School maintains high academic and social standards within a safe, responsive, and caring environment. It is within these contexts that we expect all students to take expanding responsibilities for their own learning, behaviors, and choices.

NEXT: Read about our Mission & Core Values.

About the School

The Island School is a multiage charter school for grades K-5 in Boca Grande, Florida. It was founded and approved by the Lee County School Board in 2000. Its purpose is to educate the children whose parents live or work in the community of Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island, a small barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico.

School Grade: A
School Accountability Report

Our Mission

The Mission of The Island School is to create an educational environment, which stresses academic excellence while nurturing the spirit of the child. Inherent in our philosophy is the belief that the responsibility for and ownership of education belong to the child.

Contact Us

Please contact us with any questions you may have about The Island School.

[email protected]
941-964-8016 Phone

Head of School: Christine Oliver

The Island School
135 First Street West
PO Box 1090
Boca Grande, FL 33921

Office Hours of Operation:
Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM-3:00 PM
Summer Office Hours:
Monday-Thursday, 10:00 AM-2:00 PM