At The Children’s Education Center of the Islands, we focus on creating a deep love and connection to our island’s natural resources. We do this is many ways. One of the big ways we do this daily is spending time outdoors appreciating all the beauty on our campus. Whether enjoying the breeze from the Gulf of Mexico out of the porch, listening to the sounds of the land that surrounds the playground, or searching for animal prints throughout campus. We also partner with many other nonprofit organizations on our island to help foster environmental stewardship and an understanding of our impact on the nature that surrounds us. This year we have had the opportunity to have Coastal Watch come out and help our students plant mangroves and The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum come to teach our students about the mollusks that call our island home. These opportunities help create an individual connection for our students with the natural environment.
Community Day Thank You!
On Saturday April 6th we had a Community Day to kicked off our 50th Anniversary year which starts on May 6th 2024. The campus welcomed the community back to see the changes since Hurricane Ian and learn about future plans to continue to make the school more resilient for the future. Families and community members that came enjoyed free food, face painting, games, crafts, and access to the school's huge playground. In addition the school raised over $2,000 in a silent gift basket auction featuring items from local island businesses. We are grateful for our amazing island community that has supported our school for the last 50 years!
We wanted to extend and extra special thank you to our event sponsors.
Thank you to our main event sponsor The Sanctuary Golf Club Foundation
Thank you to our additional event and activities sponsors Doc Ford’s, Whitney’s Baith & Tackle, CheeBurger CheeBurger, and Saint Micheal’s Church.
New 50th Anniversary Shirts Available!
We have updated our Bonfire Storefront with new styles and colors of our 50th Anniversary shirts. We even have tie dye now!! A portion of each of the shirts goes directly back to the school to support our Seeds for Resiliency Annual Fund. Thank you for your support of the school. You can find all our new products at the link below!
Community Day Celebration!
We are excited to host a Community Day Event on Saturday, April 6th from 10am to 2pm on our school’s campus!
This event is open to the public with free face painting, games, crafts, and food. Festivities will also include a small silent auction with gift baskets featuring local island businesses to help raise money for the school's annual fund and continued recovery.
Parking will be available on campus but biking is highly encouraged as parking is limited. Please RSVP with the number of guests so we can be sure we have plenty of food for everyone.
Thank You Bank of the Islands!
We could not continue our recovery efforts without the generous support from our community partners. Thank you to Bank of the Islands for their generous $5,000 donation which will go towards the continued repairs and resilency measures taking place on our campus!
50th Anniversary Stickers Now Available!!!
Head over to Nanny’s of Sanibel located in the Jerry’s plaza to snag your free CECI 50th Anniversary sticker while supplies last!
We are grateful for our many community partners, like Heather, the owner and operator of Nanny’s who donates a portion of the proceeds of sales to our school monthly. These types of ongoing donations to our Seeds for Resiliency Fund allow the school to go above and beyond for our students and staff providing enrichment opportunities, teacher trainings, and ensure the school can continue to provide high quality early childhood education!
Leadership Class of 2024 Visit
Our school was honored to host the 2024 Sanibel Captiva Leadership class sponsored by The Charitable Foundations of the Islands. The class consisted of community members who are looking to increase their involvement in our island. The class consistent of a “five-day-long, deep-dive sessions ranging from government to arts and culture with the rare opportunity to go “behind the scenes” to explore the resources and issues affecting Sanibel and Captiva’s quality of life and future.” (CFI Website)
Our school was grateful for the opportunity to share the school’s 50 year long history and dynamic plans for the future with this group and hope to see many of them in the future.
Thank you to Dolly Farrell, Ger Ronan, and The Board of Directors at the Charitable Foundations of the Islands for all you do to foster leadership and growth on our islands.
To learn more about the leadership class or how to get involved with the Charitable Foundations of the Islands head to their website
50th Anniversary Shirts
Did you know that the Children’s Education Center of the Islands has been around for 50 years? Started as a parent co-op in Bailey’s General Store the school has a long history within the community. We are excited to celebrate throughout the year and alongside the City of Sanibel.
If you would like to support the school and commemorate our 50th Anniversary please consider purchasing one of our shirts! A portion of every shirt purchased goes directly back to the school to support our Seeds of Resilency Fund, whcih helps provide additional resources and enrichment opportunities not covered by tuition.
Click on the link below to purchase your shirt today!
Link to 50th Anniversary Shirt
Adult & Youth Sizes Available!
Welcome New Members of the Board of Directors
Thank you to The The Sanctuary Golf Club Foundation!
On Monday November 6th 2023 the Board of Directors from The Sanctuary Golf Club Foundation came to visit our campus and see the immediate impact their donations have had on the school. Our Executive Director, Michelle Keltner, and members of the school’s Board of Directors took the board from The Sanctuary Golf Club Foundation to see the improvements already completed using funds from the $250,000 grant awarded in August of this year. These improvements included repairing the playground fence, adding sand to the playground, replacing track to the playground that was damaged, adding gutters to Thompson Hall, and regraveling the parking lot. Additionally, this grant paid for new playground equipment including mud kitchens, sand and gravel boxes, a climbing tunnel, outdoor easels, and new bikes. All of these outdoor features made it possible for the school to open on time at full capacity. The grant funding was also used to furnish the interior of the school with new classroom furniture, learning materials, and assistive equipment.
In addition to the completed improvement the grant funds will be used to make the existing school campus even more resilient for the future. In the upcoming months there will be a large shade structure added to the playground, new hurricane impact windows and doors on Thompson Hall, and new hardie board siding to ensure that Thompson Hall stands up to any future storms while functioning day to day with sustainability in mind. The addition of new windows and siding will drastically reduce the school’s energy consumption and cost.
We are so grateful to the Board of Directors and Membership at The Sanctuary Golf Club Foundation for their generosity and support.
Fall Festival 2023
On Tuesday October 31st our teachers and family volunteers hosted a Fall Festival for students and families. The festivities included a costume parade, pumpkin decorating, and other games/activities. Families had the opportunity to come to campus and see their children interact with teachers and classmates while enjoying some fun activities. We look forward to hosting more events to bring families back to campus. Thank you to our staff and volunteers for your continued dedciation to our students and community.
Help Restock Our Classrooms!
We prepare to reopen and welcome students back to campus in August we need the community’s help restocking our classrooms. When Hurricane Ian hit campus to brought with it storm surge and category 5 winds damaging both our buildings and destroying all our learning materials and furniture. Our Executive Director, Michelle Keltner, has compiled thoughtful wish lists to fill our classrooms and playground with everything our students could need to regain a sense of normalcy when they return “home” to CECI in the fall. Please consider helping by purchasing something off these lists. If you are unable to purchase anything, please share the lists with family and friends.
We also accept gently used books and wooden toys. If you would like to donate these items please contact board member, Laura Gales, at cecigrantcoordinator@gmail.com to arrange drop off or pick up.
f you would like hard copies of the flyers dropped off please let me know and I will drop them off this week.
You can find the most up to date wish lists at the link below:
Thank you in advance for your ongoing support as we work on restoring and rebulding the school!
Fourth of July on Sanibel
Join us on Tuesday July 4th at the Sanibel Rec Center from 11am to 2pm for an afternoon of crafts, face paitining, inflatables, good food, and community gathering. We look forward to seeing many of our families and community partners there!
April Book Drive!
MacIntosh Books & Paper is sponsoring a book drive during the month of April to help replenish our classroom libraries. We lost all of our books and learning materials during Hurricane Ian. Rebecca, the owner of MacIntosh, has been a friend to the school for many years and reached out to see how she could help. We are grateful for all the support of our island community as we work towards restoring and rebuilding our school.
Any donation of a new or gently used book will get you 10% off your purchase at MacIntosh Books & Paper. If you purchase a new book from the store to donate you will get 30% off that book.
If you are not local but still want to help replenish our school’s library you can find our teachers’ book wishlist here to purchase directly.
Thank you for all your ongoing support!
Enrollment is OPEN!
We have opened up enrollment for the 2023/2024 school year.
Though this year will look different then previous years, operating out of only Thompson Hall, we look forward to providing the same nature play based edcuation that our families have come to know and love. We will be welcoming back some of our previous teachers and adding new teachers also. The school will continue to maintain small class sizes and only be offering enrollment for children ages 2 years old to 5 years old for this school year.
We look forward to welcoming back families with an open house in early August.
March Family Gathering
We were excited to celebrate the reopening of Sanibel Commuity Park with a CECI Family Gathering. The icing on the cake was getting to introduce our new Executive Director, Michelle Keltner, to our parent community in attendance.
We loved seeing past, current, and future CECI students playing together and enjoying some Sanibel sunshine again. Ms. Sherry came and brought all the crafts and fun with a butterfly craft for spring and endless playground fun.
We hope to continue with our family gathersing so look for future dates to come in Spring and Summer.
In the meantime please check out our events page to see other upcoming community based events are sponsoring and/or attending!
Meet Our New Executive Director
The Children’s Education Center of the Islands Board of Directors is excited to introduce our new Executive Director, Michelle Keltner. Michelle’s goal is to use her 10+ years of experience in early childhood education to provide a safe and loving environment where children can learn the social, emotional, and cognitive skills needed to become excited lifelong learners. Michelle is excited for the opportunity to be part of our school and support the continued nature-based school, in a locale that boasts the most beautiful and unique nature in the world! She is dedicated to working with the school, its families, and the community to support the school through this long rebuilding and recovery process.
I you would like to get to know Michelle better you may join us this Saturday March 11th from 9am to 11am at Sanibel Community Park for snacks, crafts with Ms. Sherry, and time with our school family.
Please RSVP to board member, Laura Gales, at 239-851-4122 or via email at laura.m.gales@gmail.com
First Post Hurricane Ian CECI Family Gathering
On January 22, 2023, our CECI family gathered together for the first time since Hurricane Ian devastated Sanibel Island and our island preschool. Families met at Estero Community Park for a potluck style gathering. Our amazing teachers Ms. Sherry and Ms. Wanda joined us for play and crafts. Parents had a chance to see each other and process the impact Hurricane Ian had on their lives and families. While the kids had a chance to play and laugh with the CECI family they have been separate from while our campus is closed. It was an afternoon filled with joy, laughter, and healing. We continue to be grateful for this amazing community and family. We will be having another family gathering back on island at Sanibel Community Park on March 11th from 9am to 11am. Ms. Sherry will be there again with crafts. We will provide light snacks and refreshments. Please RSVP to board member and parent Laura Gales at 239-851-4122. See you there!
2nd Annual Beach Cleanup
August 5th "Back to School Bash!"
CECI Families that will be joining us next year! Please save the date, August 5th, for our "Back to School Bash!"
From 3:00pm-6:00pm
(Come when you can, leave when you must) drop in to CECI for a school scavenger hunt, snacks, teacher meet-and-greets, sign important paperwork, "Touch a Truck" with our local Fire Department, and more fun!
Registration for this upcoming school year is still open and we have a few remaining spots. Please call 239-472-4538 with any questions or to schedule a tour.