Miami Dade Mayor Cava visits Fort Myers
From David Volz
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava traveled to Fort Myers, in the wake of Hurricane Ian, to deliver critical supplies for the search and rescue team, assess damage, meet with local officials and determine how Miami-Dade County can best assist with recovery and rebuilding efforts.
“Miami-Dade is all too familiar with the destruction and disruption a hurricane of this magnitude can bring, and we know that – if the situation were reversed – we’d receive support from all of our neighboring counties and beyond. In times of need, I’m proud that our humanity shines bright,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “I’m extremely proud of the men and women of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, who have been working day and night in difficult conditions to bring relief to our neighbors in the barrier islands that were decimated by this storm.”
The mayor first visited members of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and Urban Search and Rescue Florida Taskforce 1, who’d been deployed to Southwest Florida just hours after the storm had moved through the area. She then met with Lee County Administrator Roger Desjarlais to review coordinating plans and determine areas of need Miami-Dade can fill. Mayor Levine Cava then went to the supply staging site managed by the Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) to assist in the organization and distribution of supplies, where the organizers reported a total of 24 trucks so far have delivered donations valued well over $1 million.
Broward Teacher named Florida Social Studies Teacher of the Year
From David Volz
Annejeanette Washington Collins of Ramblewood Middle School has been named the Dr. Theron Trimble Florida Social Studies Teacher of the Year for Middle School by the Florida Council for the Social Studies. The award recognizes exceptional and innovative teachers for creating meaningful lessons for their students and advocating for social studies education.
Collins was honored for her passion for bringing lessons to life in her classroom through innovative projects. The most recent unique project was having her students write postcards addressed to NASA, which sent them up to space and then back to students.
Before earning the recognition from the Florida Council for the Social Studies, Collins was also chosen as Social Studies Teacher of the Year at her school, and she has been honored twice as Broward County Public Schools Social Studies Teacher of the Year.
“We are very proud of Ms. Collins for being named the Florida Middle School Social Studies Teacher of the Year. Our democracy is dependent upon students receiving outstanding instruction in social studies, which includes an understanding of our country’s history and an appreciation for the rights and freedoms we share as Americans,” said Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Vickie L. Cartwright.
Collins is one of three winners for 2022. The award is given to educators at the elementary, middle and high school levels. The Florida Council for the Social Studies, along with the National Council for the Social Studies, sponsors annual conferences to promote public awareness of social studies education. The award will be presented on October 15, 2022, during the annual conference in Orlando.
