Collier Career Academies

🚀 Our student entrepreneurs are making BIG moves!

This weekend, students from Collier County Public Schools showcased their innovative ideas at the Youth Business Fair hosted by the Greater Naples Chamber at Coastland Center Mall—and they truly impressed the community!

From classroom concepts to real-world pitches, our Collier Career Academies students brought their ideas to life and stepped up as confident young entrepreneurs. 💡

👏 Highlights from the event:
• Aubrey Rogers students are still in the prototype stage but made strong connections and caught the attention of local businesses for future growth.
• Naples High School teams shined:
🐾 For Dogs Sake brought home FOUR awards—including the Sunshine Ace Award 🎉 (and soon their product will be sold at Sunshine Ace!)
🌱 Lizzie’s Tress 4 Needs, a nonprofit, earned the Suncoast Credit Union Community Impact Award for their meaningful work in the community.

We are so proud of ALL of our student entrepreneurs for their creativity, hard work, and passion. 🙌

💬 Help us celebrate them! Drop a 👏 or a ❤️ in the comments to congratulate these amazing teams!

We can’t wait to see what’s next for our academy students at the District Finals on May 7th! 🚀

REPORT, DON’T REPOST 📵
Reposting a threat of violence can lead to severe consequences, both legally and in terms of disciplinary action at school. Reporting instead of reposting reduces fear in the community and ensures that threats are investigated quickly. Help keep our schools safe: Report, don’t repost.

2026 CBIF SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN!

The Collier Building Industry Foundation has awarded over $125,000 in scholarships & educational funds! 🎓
Scholarships are available for students or adults pursuing Construction Education & Vocational trade programs.

Know someone who could benefit? 📝
Applications are open until 05/01/26!
For further information or to apply, visit: www.CBIF.net

The SunChase Solar Go-Kart Races are officially underway today at Florida Gulf Coast University! It is an incredible showcase of engineering, sustainability, and student innovation.
​Shout-out and the best of luck to the teams representing Collier County Public School District:
Gulf Coast High School, Immokalee High School & Naples High School.

Come check out and support one of our CCPS finalists and several other young entrepreneurs at the Youth Business Fair at Coastland Mall today!
INCubatoredu by Uncharted Learning, NFP Naples High School Collier County Public School District

Lizie’s Trees for Needs will be at Coastland Center Mall today from 11a to 3p.
Stop by and pick out one of our new unique hand crafted ornaments! Every purchase helps your community.
Your generosity… their Christmas! 🎄❤️💚🎄


The CCPS Innovation Competition, hosted at Gulf Coast High School, was truly one for the books!

With 13 outstanding student presentations, our judges shared how incredibly tough it was to select the top 4 teams, along with the wild card team moving on to the District Finals and Celebration Dinner on May 7th at Bears Paw Country Club.

Every high school did an amazing job pitching their business ideas and showcasing creativity, confidence, and entrepreneurial spirit.

A big thank you to Champions for Learning for their continued partnership in our entrepreneurship program—supporting students with mentors, coaches, judges, and sponsoring lunch from Chick-fil-A Naples Center.

So proud of our students and grateful for our community support!

🚨 What an unforgettable day for our Law & Public Safety Academy students!

A huge thank you to Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida for coordinating Collier Law Day and giving our students an incredible, hands-on look at the justice system in action.

Students had the unique opportunity to:
⚖️ Participate in a Q&A with two Circuit Court Judges
👮 Interact with a bailiff and learn about courtroom roles
🏛️ Tour the courthouse holding cell
🔍 Get an inside look at the evidence vault
📁 Learn more about the important work of the Clerk of Courts

Every stop of the day brought classroom learning to life in a real and meaningful way!

We also want to thank the staff at the Collier County Courthouse for hosting our students and providing such an impactful experience.

And of course—lunch was a hit thanks to Chick-fil-A Naples Center! 🍗

A day full of learning, inspiration, and future career exploration—our students represented us so well!

A huge THANK YOU to our amazing community partners for spending time with our students at Aubrey Rogers High School’s Health Science Academy! 🙌

Our students had the opportunity to participate in mock interviews—practicing their skills, building confidence, and getting a real taste of what to expect in the professional world. These experiences make such a difference as they prepare for future careers in healthcare and beyond.

We are so grateful for your support, guidance, and commitment to helping our students succeed. It truly takes a community! 💙

We had an amazing time celebrating our students at the Congressional App Challenge Luncheon! 🎉

A big thank you to Business Technology Insight for sponsoring this special event and to The Hangout for hosting us. Our students enjoyed a great lunch while celebrating their hard work, creativity, and success in this year’s challenge.

We are so proud of all of the students who participated—and especially excited to recognize our winners:
👏 Tony Yilmaz (Barron Collier High School), District 19 winner in Congressman Byron Donalds’ district
👏 Dallas Szittai (Gulf Coast High School, 11th grade), 2025 FL-26 winner recognized by Congressman Díaz-Balart

It’s inspiring to see these students turning their ideas into real-world applications. The future is bright! 🚀

We’ve had an exciting month in CTE (Career & Technical Education)! 🎉

Our Business Academy students have been hard at work competing at their schools—pitching ideas, solving problems, and showing off their creativity and entrepreneurial spirit—all for a chance to represent their school at the CCPS Innovation Competition.

Tomorrow is the big day! The top teams will take the stage at Gulf Coast High School, competing for a spot in the District Finals on May 7th and the opportunity to be recognized at our Celebration Dinner at Bears Paw Country Club.

We’re proud to share photos from the incredible work happening at each school over the past month. Take a look at these future innovators in action—and stay tuned to see which teams will move on! 🚀