Debra Estes and Dr. Shirin Gibson have been promoted to leadership positions of within the School District of Manatee County based on experience and expertise gained during more than 40 years of combined service in education. Estes has been named director of ESOL, Migrant and Dual Language Programs, a brand new position within the district; Gibson has been named executive director of Curriculum and Professional Learning. Previously, she was the director of Assessment, Accountability and Research. 

Estes is the current president of the Florida Association of Bilingual ESOL Supervisors. She came to Manatee County in October 2013 as ESOL immigrant coordinator for the district, a position in which she supervised the district’s ESOL program, including compliance, assessment, monitoring and teacher endorsement courses. She also wrote and managed Title III grants and developed and presented training to school-based personnel and district administrators. She has a master’s degree in reading education from the University of South Florida.

As director of Assessment, Accountability and Research, Gibson led the district’s assessment and accountability team in preparing school and student data reports, creating analyses and summaries of district trends, and communicating that information to district leaders, school administrators, teachers and the community. Prior to that position, she spent eight years as a principal at three different district elementary schools: Gullett, Sea Breeze and Tillman. She received her doctorate in educational leadership from NOVA Southeastern University in 2010.