Ed. Consortium Director Gibbs To Retire

As a youngster, Frank Gibbs believed he would be content with a life on the farm, but his parent's priorities changed and he pursued education, which offered many opportunities for the Hardee County native.

Gibbs was the first in his family to earn a bachelor's degree, then a master's and finally a doctorate degree.

"So education has been very good to me and I think it's an avenue that can provide a lot of kids opportunities," he said.

After 38 1/2 years in education, Gibbs is retiring as executive director of the Heartland Educational Consortium.

In November 1996, the consortium was founded to give six Heartland school districts a unified effort to obtain grants, offer teacher training and provide programs to help parents and students.

Gibbs was the consortium's first director and only employee in 1996.

Now the consortium has 15 employees working on various projects for the Highlands, Hardee, DeSoto, Glades, Okeechobee and Hendry county school districts.

"We have generated about $34 million in grant funds to these six districts," Gibbs said. The consortium is currently providing after-school tutoring services and is working in the high schools through an alcohol abuse prevention grant.

A math-science partnership grant is providing training for teachers on the new math and science standards. The Reading First grant helped with reading instruction at the elementary level.

The consortium absorbed the Florida Diagnostic Learning Resources System, which assists families and schools with the needs of special-needs students, he noted.

"There are a lot of things we are still heavily involved in; always looking to provide services where they are needed as defined by the superintendents," Gibbs said. "I feel real good about my successor."

When Gibbs retires Feb. 2 he will be succeeded by former Hendry County Superintendent of Schools Tom Conner. As a superintendent for eight years, Conner served on the consortium's board of directors.

Highlands County Superintendent of Schools Wally Cox said Gibbs will be leaving a legacy of something that has worked well for the six districts.

"He will always be remembered as the person who helped start HEC Heartland Educational Consortium and left us something to continue to grow and improve on.

Hardee County Superintendent of Schools David Durastanti said: "I've worked with Frank for 37 years. He's an outstanding hardworking educator who is very dedicated to what he does."

The consortium's offices are located just north of Lake Placid on U.S. 27.