St. Lucie schools named Cambridge 'District of the Year'; dozens of students honored

Saint Lucie County Public Schools was honored April 14 as Cambridge North America's medium public school "District of the Year," and the school board used its regular meeting to recognize dozens of student achievements and community partners.

Dawn Myers of Cambridge North America told the board that Saint Lucie expanded access to the Cambridge curriculum and sustained strong student performance on Cambridge exams, noting the district previously received similar honors. "It is with great pride that we present St. Lucie County Public Schools with this year's district of the year award in the medium public school category," Myers said.

The district announced 79 students who earned Cambridge Learner Awards across multiple schools and named one student, Alexa Pepin, as a 'top in the world' honoree for a subject. The board invited several award recipients forward for certificates and photographs.

Superintendent's staff also announced winners of the annual Samuel S. Gaines essay contest and thanked Brandon Noble of Remnant Construction for scholarship sponsorship; winners were named in elementary, middle and high school categories. The board recognized competition winners by name and asked parents in the audience to stand so recipients could be acknowledged.

Deb Mott, president of the Fort Pierce Sunrise Kiwanis, presented school fair display awards and said Kiwanis and sponsors would provide more than $7,000 in prizes to winning schools, with first-place awards of $1,000, second-place checks for $500 and other category prizes.

Board members and staff praised students, parents, teachers and community partners during the recognitions. The presentations included group photographs and certificates; no board action was required for these recognitions.