A Lake County nonprofit institution will move into the dilapidated site of a miniature golf course in the Mount Dora area. “Our actual intention is to keep one or two of the holes out in the back to let the kids play on it, but also to try to use it for some fundraising from time to time,” said Nicole Duslak, founder and principal of the school.
“I think the community is very excited that the property itself is not only gonna be utilized again for something constructive but something as wonderful as an endeavor as an elementary school.”
The former Orange County public school teacher 2020 took a chance and opened CREATE conservatory school, a non-profit institution about 7 miles from the site of the defunct mini golf course Adventure Cove, in Leesburg.
“When we started it was seven kids and me in a classroom and when we got our data back at the end of the year our students showed an average of 3 years of growth in every subject area,” Duslak said. “I think that the community is starting to see that this is different, and it works, and I think our children leave happy.”
The two-time mom was recognized for her dedication to the field of education with a News 6 Getting Results award in 2021. According to her, her students have benefited greatly from her approach to teaching.
“We teach arts integration essentially,” Duslak said. “STEM education through arts integration. We teach science, technology, engineering, and math, the same subjects that everybody else teaches but we teach them through singing and dancing and painting, drawing, music, and movement. So we don’t have desks at our school. The kids sit on bean bag chairs or couches they sit on the floor.”
She claimed that every single student benefited greatly from this approach. “For children who are gifted, talented, and creative, we’ve seen a tremendous amount of success (as well as) in students that have ADD and ADHD because we don’t tell our children to sit down and be quiet. We encourage questions, and movement and discussion,” she added.
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After two successful years, Duslak reported that the current enrollment stands at 28 students and five staff members, necessitating the construction of additional classrooms. Consequently, she located the deserted golf course. We are currently renovating the main building to accommodate three new classrooms. After the Thanksgiving holiday, Duslak plans to re-introduce her students to their new classroom.
The Central Florida resident, originally from Pennsylvania, said her students’ positive responses are the greatest affirmation of her efforts. “In education, they talk about these ‘aha’ moments, that kids have ‘aha’ moments and I can’t tell you how many times that I have ‘aha’ moments with kids in the classroom and it’s just like ‘That’s it, that’s why I’m doing this,’” she said.
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