Beach School
My brother and I went to a really awesome small elementary school on Pensacola Beach in Florida from k-5. It always ranks as one of the highest testing elementary schools in the state but when I went there the county wanted to shut it down because it cost too much to operate. It was half a block away from the Gulf of Mexico, built on pilings to withstand storm surge from hurricanes and there were only about 130 kids in the whole school. My chair in Ms. Pitt’s fifth grade class looked right out the window to the Gulf. Some days it was hard to concentrate because I was thinking about getting to the beach after school. Every teacher knew your name and many became family friends over the years, parents were welcome to come by anytime to help out or read to the kids. Dad was PTA president for a time. We rode our bikes to and from school everyday, it was a great introduction to learning. When the county threatened to close it, and bus the kids off the beach over two long bridges and into town for school, the parents, teachers and staff banded together and fought to keep it open. It was not easy for everyone to come to an agreement on what was the best path to take but eventually, after lots of hard work and organization, the school was turned into a charter school. With a combination of public funding, private fund raising and hard working parents and staff, PBES is alive and well today. Every year the school hosts a big fall festival fund raiser with some terrific raffle prizes. Over the last few years I have arranged to provide some SUP gear for the raffle and this year is no different. Infinity SUP has sent an amazing 9′ 8″ SUP board, with an awesome OAM (On A Mission) deckpad, it’s perfect for any level of paddler. And to top it all off, Boardworks provided a beautiful paddle. I hope lots of people in the Pensacola area purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win this awesome setup. SUP has really taken off on the Gulf Coast. Even my fifth grade teacher, Ms Pitts, came to take one of the SUP clinics I taught this summer in Gulf Breeze, I finally got to teach her something! Thanks to both Infinity and Boardworks for their generous contribution to the PBES fund raiser. Aloha, ST
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