Sanibel school names new teacher for STEM program | News, Sports, Jobs – SANIBEL-CAPTIVA

SANIBEL SCHOOL FUND
Paul Warren was recently named the new STEM program teacher at The Sanibel School.

Some people move to Sanibel to be closer to nature; others come to escape the northern cold. Some people move to retire; others, particularly in recent years, come to work remotely.

Paul Warren came to Sanibel to teach.

“We’ve loved Sanibel and we wanted to come here. Our family bought a home here five years ago, knowing that coming here full time was part of our master plan,” he said. “As for teaching in Lee County, I told everyone I only wanted to teach on Sanibel, because that’s going to be my community school, and that’s important to me.”

When a middle-school intervention specialist position became available last summer and was offered to him, the master plan went into action. Warren and his wife, Lisa, put the wheels in motion to move to Sanibel from Bay Village, Ohio, just in time for him to start teaching at The Sanibel School at the start of the new year.

Five months later, Warren was asked to take over the school’s STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering and Math — program. With his career spanning teaching and engineering fields, school leaders are confident that the community-supported program at the school is in good hands.

SANIBEL SCHOOL FUND
STEM teacher Paul Warren assists students working on a coding project at The Sanibel School.

“With the departure of Kelly Johnson, who helped create the STEM program, we looked internally first for a replacement,” Principal Jaimie Reid said. “With Mr. Warren’s background, we know he has the skills to take it to the next level.”

Warren graduated from Penn State with a degree in manufacturing engineering. After graduating, he teamed up with GE’s manufacturing management program, moving up in the company through moves to three states. While climbing through the ranks at GE Healthcare, Warren earned a Master’s in Business Administration from Marquette University. But after more than 20 years in the manufacturing engineering world, he had a change of heart.

“That field was all I ever knew, and I wanted a change and a challenge,” Warren said. “My boys were in middle school, and I wanted to be involved with them, so I got my teaching certification.”

Warren taught for five years at Bay Village High School in Ohio as an intervention specialist.

“I’m excited to be involved with the STEM program that is supported by this community,” he said. “I’m a lifelong learner, and I want my students to feel the same way — to be curious, to try new things.”

STEM can be found in some form at schools nationwide, but The Sanibel School has one of the more robust programs thanks to the generosity of the island community. The Sanibel School Fund annually raises support for the program through fundraising activities, including the Blue Ribbon Classic Golf Tournament, which this year will take place on May 14 at The Sanctuary Golf Club on Sanibel.

When not teaching, Warren and his wife are working on their home. They have two sons: Sam, a photojournalism student at Ohio University, who will do an internship for his second summer at the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, and Will, a forestry student at the University of Northern Arizona.

“This has been an exciting time for my family and me,” Warren said. “I look forward to having the opportunity to shape this program into something that will positively affect all the students of The Sanibel School.”