Welcome to the Venice Elementary School web site. It is with great pride that I tell you about our wonderful school.

Venice Elementary is a unique school. We are the most full service school in Sarasota County. We serve as the South County site for the mentally handicapped program. We also serve as a magnet school for the gifted in addition to our regular education program. VES also is home to two ESE Pre-Kindergarten classes. The needs of our children are met by a loving and dedicated staff that work together cooperatively for the good of all of our children.

The community of Venice is extremely supportive of our school and we are blessed to have a large cadre of community members and parents volunteer at our school on a daily basis.

My focus in the coming years will be to work with children to impart a love of reading. As I see the world in which we live and the one in which the children at VES will inherit, reading is a crucial life skill. I will be joining with parents to develop programs that promote reading. We have purchased the Reading Counts program through which students read books at their own independent reading level. Once a student has completed a book, he/she signs on to the Reading Counts program and takes a test to show comprehension. This is an outstanding program, but I hope to do more to inspire the love of reading.

Venice Elementary moved into our new school facility in August of 2005. The total construction costs were approximately $18 million. The new building is located on the same property that once was home to the first Venice Elementary School. At 52 years of age, it was not feasible to remodel our old facility, and it was razed after the construction of our current school. The new Venice Elementary sits on the Intercoastal Waterway and gives students a waterfront view of the area known as the Venice jetties. The school is a state of the art technology center with students having daily access to wireless laptops, and staff having LCD projectors and Elmos in each classroom to enhance lessons. Students also participate in Spanish classes, and visit a fully equipped Science Lab throughout the year.

Thank you for your interest in our wonderful school. Venice Elementary is truly the best of the best!

Theresa Baus, Principal