Reporter: Emily Young
•8/11/2026
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA (WINK) — Thousands of students across Southwest Florida returned to school, but for many families, the biggest decision wasn't what to wear or which bus to catch—it was which school to choose.
Florida's expanded school choice programs mean families have more education options beyond their assigned public school. WINK News reporter Emily Young was at Gateway High School to see how districts are working to keep classrooms full.
The Collier County School District has created a marketing campaign, sending informational flyers to every family in the district for all 53 of its schools. Lee County is ramping up its social media presence and conducting exit interviews with families who leave to learn why, as it tries to adapt to this changing educational landscape.
When Florida's universal school choice program expanded in 2023, it made public funding and scholarships for private school and homeschool available to every school-age child in the state. The Department of Education reports that hundreds of new, smaller private schools have opened recently, with about 70% of those schools accepting state scholarships.
"Since we pulled to homeschool, I have seen my children blossom," said Ali Locke, a former teacher and homeschool mom. "It's just been, overall, the most positive experience of our lives."
Lee County says it lost about 2,000 students last year to alternative education options. Collier County says it lost about 1,000.
That shift is forcing districts to think differently about families—not just as students for enrollment but also as customers they have to keep. Lee County School District Superintendent Denise Carlin said the district is now in an environment where it must compete to retain children.
"Parents are making choices, and so what we want to do is we want to make sure that our product is the best," Carlin said.
While Collier County has started marketing its schools more aggressively, Superintendent Dr. Lesli Ricciardelli sees things differently.
"Listen, public education has been around for 250 years," Ricciardelli said. "It's not going anywhere."
There are now almost as many school options as there are students to go around. For school districts, it's no longer about how many students they can serve but rather about how many they can convince to stay.
