EAGLE EDITION

Dear Freedom Institute Families and Friends,

As we close the year, we are filled with gratitude and awe for what has been an incredible journey. Not only has 2024 been a fantastic year, but it also marks 18 months since we opened our doors in August 2023. In this time together, we have transformed a vision into a thriving, vibrant community dedicated to redefining education.

When we launched the Freedom Institute, our vision was clear: to address the limitations of traditional high school education by blending the flexibility of homeschooling with the structure and support of conventional schooling. We set out to empower students for economic freedom through personalized education and career readiness. Guided by credentialed Success Coaches, students at Freedom design learning paths aligned with their unique strengths and aspirations.

Through our signature C5 curriculum—Consumerism, Career, Civics, Core Academics, and Character—we’ve prepared students to excel in financially prudent college pathways, trade certifications, and direct workforce entry. Our mission is rooted in creating not just strong graduates, but future leaders equipped to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

Unprecedented Growth and Accomplishments

In just 18 months, Freedom Institute has grown from serving 18 students in our first year to over 100 in the current 2024-2025 school year. With a waiting list already forming for Fall 2025, this growth is a testament to the demand for innovative and personalized education options.

Some of our key milestones include:

· 5X enrollment growth: From 18 students in 2023-2024 to 91 this year (102 total by January 2025).

· Student retention: 100% of our families have chosen to stay with Freedom Institute.

· Academic success: All graduates qualified for Bright Futures Scholarships, and student GPA, ACT, and SAT scores have vastly improved.

· Dual Enrollment Excellence: 28% of students are enrolled in college-level courses, compared to a 4% national average.

· Engaged and well-rounded learners: 50% of our students dedicate at least 15 hours weekly to sports, internships, volunteering, and other professional activities.

· National recognition: We were honored as a semifinalist for the esteemed YASS Prize, celebrating our innovative STOP education model!

And this is only the beginning! It is good to be at the Freedom Institute.🦅

I wish for you and your family the Merriest Christmas ever. 🎄

Sincerely,

Christopher Marker

Chief Executive Officer

Phone: 239-427-1776
Cell: 239-287-5951

Email: Chris.Marker@Freedominstitute.net

Web: www.freedominstitute.net

November was another fantastic month, highlighted by our annual Friendsgiving event. Our PTO truly hit their first student event out of the park, and we are grateful to everyone who helped out and supported our students. If you want to check out any upcoming events, please visit the PTO website at The Freedom Institute PTO.

New to the website is our calendar, which highlights all of our student events. As homeschoolers, our students participate in sports and activities at different schools. Currently, we have students participating in sports or other activities at eight different high schools. The calendar on the website allows us to see when students are in an event and support them if possible. Another big thank you to our PTO, whose leadership made this possible.

Thank you for your continued support! Soar Eagle!

Career

For career class, students completed Module 2 from the Dave Ramsey Foundations in Career Discovery Course. They shared their first resume drafts with their peers and received constructive feedback to create a revised, improved version of resume draft #2. In addition, students continued to work on their career success plans and will present their mastery career PowerPoints during final exams next week. Furthermore, students listened to great career speakers, including Tom Grady and Peter Harris!

English

For ELA, students continued to improve their reading comprehension skills, rhetorical appeal strategies, and reviewed figurative language. Students participated in group presentations that were a lot of fun! For the second semester, students will begin their second novel, Animal Farm.

Test Prep

Our students continue to learn test strategies and tricks, and also learn about the many resources available to them to support test success, including College Prep Genius, Khan Academy Digital SAT Prep courses, and Bluebook practice tests. Some of our students are also studying for the Accuplacer exam, for the opportunity to participate in college dual enrollment courses. We wish all of our students luck!

GED Pathways

Students are playing weekly interactive Kahoot games that include many ELA skills. They also participate in interactive GED prep videos and test prep questions, and work independently on self-paced grammar and reading and vocab courses via Khan Academy.

Yearbook Club

We continue to work in Canva to create a cohesive, vibrant, patriotic yearbook!

U.S. History

In U.S. History, we have wrapped up the founding of our government and the U.S. Constitution. When we return, we will take a deep dive into the Civil War.

Consumerism 1

In Consumerism 1, we have completed chapters 1-4, and when we return, we will start investments.

Consumerism 2

In Consumerism 2, students have analyzed different budgets and financial situations to determine the best options for the situations. They understand the importance of saving and needs over wants.

Biology

In Biology, students were engaged in a project that required them to apply their knowledge of biomes. They each chose a national park from around the world to research the abiotic and biotic factors within the park as well as activities that patrons would enjoy if they visited these natural wonders. As a culminating activity, students took on the role of travel agents and used their PowerPoints to persuade potential tourists to visit their park. After winter break, we'll begin a new unit on cells, genetics and human systems.

English

In English, students spent time analyzing commercials as an introduction to Rhetorical Appeals, a persuasive style of communicating. Once the 3 elements of logos, pathos, and ethos were mastered, students were tasked with creating a commercial that incorporated at least 2 of the appeals while audience members analyzed the performance to determine which appeals were utilized. Shout out to all groups as their performances, creativity to knowledge were amazing! Once we return from winter break, we'll dig down into a new novel, memoirs, and poetry.

Algebra

In Algebra, we finished graphing linear equations.

Geometry

In Geometry, we wrapped up congruent triangles.

All classes are preparing for their midterm next week.

Test Prep

In Test Prep, we’ve been honing the skills students will need for their SATs or GEDs, along with tackling sample test questions.

Key Club

There is still time to donate NEW books for the Golisano book drive! Please bring them in this week.

We are SO thankful for Mrs. Cristina and her awesome Spanish class for the fall semester. However, she is beginning her full-time internship in the spring and will no longer be with us at Freedom.

If you know anyone who would be interested in this position, please share!!!! We want to keep our Spanish class going strong!

A HUGE THANK YOU to our awesome PTO!!!!!!! Our second annual Freedom Friendsgiving was a success, and we appreciate our PTO for organizing everything. The staff and students had a great time!

Thank you to one of our board members, Tom Grady, who presented for our Freedom Leadership Speaker Series. He introduced a new “Economic Freedom 101” course, which will provide students with the amazing opportunity to learn and grow in their financial literacy skills. We are SO excited to engage in this program beginning in January 2025. More info coming soon!!

Mr. Marker attended the STOP For Education: Power of Innovation Summit last week in Washington DC. He participated in sessions, fireside chats, and had the chance to reconnect with fellow alumni. We are excited about the incredible turnout of alumni, politicians, media, and thought leaders who attended, all on a mission to impact the lives of students by providing an education that is sustainable, transformational, outstanding, and permissionless.

Mr. Marker was chosen to speak on the "Parent Power" panel at the National Press Club, sharing expertise and a wealth of information with others to further the important conversations around innovation in education. We are honored that The Freedom Institute of Collier County was involved in the dedication to pushing boundaries and disrupting the status quo in education is next level.

Our clubs are going strong! We love having this enrichment opportunity for students on Fridays. Please check out the photos below to get a behind-the-scenes look at Friday clubs!

Freedom has no more availability for the 2024-2025 school year, as we now have a waitlist for the 2025-2026 school year beginning in August. Building tours are still available and we would love to show you around our Freedom facility. Tours are Monday - Friday and we are flexible with the times. Please call (239) 427-1776 to speak with a staff member today! We look forward to seeing you.

If you are interested in being a sponsor in any way, shape, or form, please reach out to us! We'd love to form partnerships!

Email: info@freedominstitute.net

Website: www.freedominstitute.net
Location: 2706 Horseshoe Drive S, Naples, FL, USA
Phone: 239-427-1776
Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/thefreedominstituteofcolliercounty/
Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/freedomcollier/