Indian River schools celebrate graduates, science fair finalists and scholarships

The Indian River County School Board opened its May 11 meeting with awards and presentations recognizing staff and student achievement across the district.

Dr. Schafly described the district tradition of "grad walks," and the board honored Ms. Felice Bagley of Dodgertown Elementary after she was named a top-three finalist for the Florida Department of Education Principal of the Year. Bagley thanked staff, family and community members and said she was "so proud to represent the number one district to work for in the state of Florida," crediting teachers, staff and partners for student success.

Kristen Bruckner, coordinator of innovation, thanked Quail Valley and the Indian River Education Fund and summarized the regional science fair: roughly 500 students from public, private, charter and home schools participated, and 20 students advanced to the state level in Lakeland. Bruckner noted projects that ranged from plastics-coagulation research to sutures designed to identify infection; she read the names of winners and special awardees including Anyala Kelly, Sarah Adams, Hunter Cook, Kieran Mosblack, Luca Delea and Avi Johnson.

Superintendent Dr. Moore reported fundraising and partnership activity: he said GMS Gives raised just over $120,000 to build an outdoor learning space for the coming school year, and board members later reported that Vero Beach scholarship night distributed more than $1 million in scholarships. The awards segment concluded and the meeting transitioned to the business agenda.

What happens next: Recognized students and staff will be photographed and the district will proceed with summer planning for learning-space and graduation logistics.