The Prize Patrol kicks off surprise EEA finalist tour at Braden River High School! Congratulations to Cliff Dawson, Director of Bands, on being named a Manatee County Educator of the Year Finalist! His passion for performing arts and leadership of the state-champion marching band program continue to inspire Pirate Nation. We’re proud to celebrate with you, Mr. Dawson! #ManateeSchoolsGoodNews #DiscoverExcellenceSDMC #GoodNewsEEA2026
The Braden River High School 2025 Marching Band of Pirates participated in the FFCC Outdoor State Championships this weekend in Orlando earning top honors in Percussion, Colorguard, General Effect, 1st Place in Division 3A and GRAND CHAMPION of Class 1A – 3A. Congratulations to Director of Bands Cliff Dawson and the entire team!
Hometown pride is shining as Braden River High alum Myles Straw (Class of 2013) takes the field on baseball’s biggest stage. The Toronto Blue Jays center fielder joins his team in the World Series on Friday night.
His former coaches weighed in:
“Myles has always stayed grounded and humble,” said Matt Bowling, Manatee High AD. “The Myles we coached years ago is still the same Myles today.”
“He’s shown that hard work and perseverance pay off,” added Erik Nelson, BRHS teacher and former coach.
Southeast High Assistant Principal Craig Page said, “He was undersized and overlooked, but he never stopped working — and he never forgot where he came from.”
Your hometown is proud of you, Myles! 💙⚾️ #ManateeSchoolsGoodNews
We thought we had seen it all, but clearly The Pirates proved us wrong. To the student who brought their books to class in an air fryer for Braden River High School's #AnythingButABackpack spirit day, you are the GOAT! 🫠 #ManateeSchoolsGoodNews
National Merit Scholar Semifinalist Spotlight (Part 1 of 3)
We are thrilled to kick off our celebration of the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists with Kevin Chen, a standout student from Braden River High School!
Kevin is among the top students in the nation and part of a select group representing less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors who earned this prestigious honor based on their exceptional PSAT scores.
Kevin hopes to attend Princeton University and pursue a degree in Chemical Engineering.
👏 Congratulations, Kevin. We can’t wait to see what’s next for you.
Stay tuned as we highlight more of our National Merit Semifinalists this week! #ManateeSchoolsGoodNews
Important information for All Athletes about in regards to the upcoming "Sports Orientation Night" being held on July 14th at 6:00 pm in the Auditorium. Athletes and parents should attend for information on all sports needed for the 2025-26 school year. You can meet the coaches and ask questions to be better informed as there are some changes for the upcoming 25-26 school year. Online Athletic Clearance
1. Visit AthleticClearance.com. Click on the Florida Picture.
2. Click on “Create an Account” and follow steps. Or Sign in if you have previously created an account. Watch the tutorial video for help.
3. Register. PARENTS register with valid email username and password.
4. Login using your email address that you registered with.
5. Select “Add New Clearance” to start the process.
6. Choose the school year in which the student plans to participate. Example: Football in Sept 2025 would be the 2025-2026 school year.
All athletes must pay the Mandatory Sports Pass/Participation & Ins fee through the GO Fan link (Not Rev Trak) below: https://gofan.co/event/3623572?schoolId=FL3722
Security Screening at Secondary Schools – Beginning Monday, August 11, 2025, all students and visitors at district middle and high schools will be screened each school day using a high-tech security scanner system.
For more information on this enhanced security screening procedure, visit https://www.manateeschools.net/securityscreening.
School Board Seeks Civic-Minded Citizens to Join Audit Committee –
The School Board of Manatee County is seeking civic-minded citizens to serve as members of the Audit Committee. The Committee, which meets six times a year, recommends the appointment of the internal and external auditors; reviews the scope, plan and reports of the internal and external auditors; and assists in maintaining open communications between the selected auditors, the School Board and the District’s financial management. The Committee also reviews the collection and proper use of the funds raised through the one-half cent sales surtax for school capital outlay expenditures. Membership on the Committee requires an average of five-to-eight hours per month, with meetings scheduled every other month for three hours. The term is approximately three years.
Those interested in serving must:
• Live in Manatee County.
• Be a CPA (active or retired) or had employment experience in school district financial operations.
• Submit a letter expressing interest, provide contact information and provide a brief summary of their work experience.
Responses must be sent to the Manatee County School District, Attention: School Board Agency Clerk, P.O. Box 9069, Bradenton, Florida 34206-9069.
Interested individuals may obtain additional information about the Committee by emailing the School Board Agency Administrative Associate at cox3l@manateeschools.net.
The Florida Department of Education released the Florida Value Added Model (VAM) Fiscal Transparency Tool, a web-based fiscal transparency tool that identifies public schools and districts with high academic achievement based on the ratio of classroom expenditures to total expenditures. VAM is intended to help taxpayers evaluate the financial efficiency of a school district with other similarly situated school districts. View the VAM for the School District of Manatee County at
https://floridavam.org/e/vamPublic.html?w4=54#/entityId=262385.
Family Empowerment Scholarship – Parents interested in applying for either FES-EO or FES-UA may review the eligibility requirements and application instructions at https://www.manateeschools.net/FES.