What we do
NEXTGEN is the official family resource of Manatee County, featuring local events and good news around our community and is brought to you by the Early Learning Coalition of Manatee County, Inc (ELC). The educational and family resource magazine is distributed to the parents of 25,000 elementary school children in 47 Manatee County schools, with an additional 8,000 distributed to over 200 childcare facilities, libraries, medical offices, hospitals and other business offices throughout the county. Our new website features local events, community updates and interactive activities and games for children of all ages.
Latest Issue
Fall 2025
Recent Issues
Perfect Timing
Manatee Education Foundation (MEF) President Mary Glass knows that when it comes to leadership transitions, timing is everything.
"I've been quietly interviewing for my replacement for years," she said. "From the moment Kathy Price expressed interest…
Ready, Set, Grow!
In an office at the Early Learning Coalition of Manatee County (ELC), Andres Guzman settles in and begins another day helping families enroll in Florida's Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) program, now celebrating its 20th year. For many families…
Where Hope Takes Flight
When families step into Feld Entertainment Studios on a special December day, they walk straight into a winter wonderland. A towering Christmas tree glimmers in the center of the stadium-sized room, next to a forest of evergreens. A working train…
Never Alone…
Here's a sobering statistic: One in 10 children in Florida will experience the death of a parent or sibling before turning 18.
That's 10 kids out of every hundred staring at an empty seat at the dinner table. That's two kids in every classroom who carry…
It Takes a Village…
You're staring, bleary-eyed, at a spreadsheet, and the numbers still don't add up. You're on hold with the insurance company (again). Your inbox just hit triple digits, and your laundry pile rivals Mt. Everest. Somewhere between rush-hour traffic and…
Girls Who Code
It’s 7:45 a.m. on a Tuesday, and one by one, fourth grade girls trickle into the STEM lab at Palm View K-8. They bring their differences—various backgrounds and personalities, likes and dislikes. But they walk together on common ground, drawn by…
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