A legacy of learning

For 40 years, former Sarasota County Public Schools Superintendent Lori White’s business was to teach the children well.

Now an endowment fund bearing her name will work to help other teachers do the same.

White, 62, retired from the district in February. She had been superintendent since 2008.

But she’ll be the first to tell you being an educator is rarely easy.

“It has to be something that you’re passionate about and you love first and foremost, because the work is hard,” White said.

But she would also be the first to tell you the work is rewarding — a lesson White learned firsthand.

“I think the best times of my life were when I was actually teaching students,” White said.

She taught kindergarten through fifth grade students with special needs at Ashton Elementary School.

“These were students that had some severe learning and emotional issues,” White said.

But even then, White believed that despite the challenge of the job, every student deserves to have their potential nurtured.

She remembers one student who thanked White by requesting a song on the radio.

 She doesn’t remember the name of the song or the artist, just a handful of lyrics — “put you on a pedestal.” The student said it reflected the way White treated her in the classroom.

It’s a moment that has stayed with White, and a testament to a truth that defined her service to Sarasota students.

“You don’t think you are making a difference and then the students show that you are,” White said. “We always have to be committed to finding the keys to making a difference to all students.”

Honoring a Legacy

As White’s tenure as superintendent was coming a close, Education Foundation of Sarasota County CEO Jennifer Vigne had a hunch.

“I think that we live in a world that when solid leadership is in place, no one really recognizes or values that,” Vigne said. “As soon as you are absent from leadership, you realize how important that is.”

She thought community members and White’s colleagues would want a way to honor her leadership and continue her legacy — and she was right.

“She led with a steady hand, quiet confidence and a very gracious ability to collaborate with the community at large,” Vigne said. “We just felt that there would be a place to honor and recognize Lori for simply being Lori.”

And thus was born the Lori White Endowment Fund.

Fundraising for the endowment exceeded its goal of $150,000, which it wanted to raise by March 31. It hit that mark on March 24, which triggered a capping grant of $50,000 from the Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation. As of March 28, the endowment fund stood at $201,130.

Although she carries with her a level of name recognition because she was superintendent of education, she never sought the limelight.

“I am uncomfortable with the spotlight even though I have had to suffer through that for the past few years, because it’s not about me and it has never been about me,” White said.

But in this case, White reluctantly accepted the recognition in hopes of accomplishing an end she said is more important than her comfort. The fund will offer Sarasota County educators extended learning opportunities, which White says is an indispensable resource to continue student excellence.

“The magic happens in the classroom, so the more we can support our classroom teachers the better the results are,” White said.

Vigne hopes the endowment will remain active, a living legacy of White’s 40 years of service.

“It all starts with the investment of educating our students,” Vigne said.