- December 13, 2025
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Kids may not say they want structure — but they do, according to the staff at Laurel Civic Association.
President and CEO Peter Casamento says structure was what he tried to bring the nonprofit, which offers academic and other support services to youth and families, when he joined four years ago.
"These kids know that they're loved," he said. "They know that there's structure here. They know that they're told not to clown around. But when they start getting those good grades, and they start believing in themselves, they love it."
Casamento introduced salaried teachers to the organization to create its Afterschool Academic Program, which focuses on K-8 students.
The program, started in 2023, currently includes six teachers who work alongside volunteers for a one-to-four staff or volunteer, to student, ratio.
"Teachers made the difference because they know what's happening in the classroom," he said.
When the 2023-2024 school year began, 40% of students were making straight F's, but by the end, 85% of the general student population had above average grades, Casamento said.
That statistic rose to 94% during the 2024 to 2025 year.
"It's really about getting the children to believe in themselves, to give them a strong academic foundation so that the sky's the limit," Casamento said.
He is also aiming high with the organization itself.
Currently, the nonprofit occupies the Laurel Park and Sandra Sims Terry Community Center, which it has leased from Sarasota County.
It has 176 students enrolled, but is currently waitlisted with 24 elementary school students, and has maximized its use of the space, Casamento says.
His vision is to have a Center for Community Empowerment that can offer many services, some of which include an art program and a music program, as well as more space for the STEM program.
"I know we'll hit 300 to 350 students the first year we open the doors, if it was to open it tomorrow, because it wouldn't be a problem," he said.
The teachers are far from the only distinctive feature of the organization.
He also notes the organization believes in the importance of nutrition for cognitive function, offering balanced meals to kids each day.
"They love it, and these kids can eat, and for many of them, it may be the last meal they get for the rest of the day," he said.
Kids have access to Promethean interactive boards and Chromebooks that are kept on the site, and the organization provides transportation to and from the center from nearby schools, although its services are open to the whole county.
There are other offerings like the Teen Empowerment program in the summer, which buses students from around the county and introduces them to different career fields; a food distribution twice a month in partnership with All Faiths Food Bank, which gave out 200,000 pounds of food last year; and adult services that include financial literacy.
Lindsay Hassler, a teacher from Laurel Nokomis School, called the community resources available "just incredible," but also said part of its benefit is creating a family for students.
"You might might not ever have had somebody ask you, 'Hey, how's school going? What did you get on that test that you had on Friday?'... For a lot of these kids, they have never had that, so having that in this program is like an extended family that they don't have," she said.
However, Casamento says that organizations that remain stagnant do not thrive.
His plan is to close on the four-and-a-half acres of land under contract at Laurel Road for $4.4 million, in March. Afterward, funding and naming the Civic Center for Community Empowerment will be next.
Plans for the new building, expected to cost roughly $35 million, will offer 48,000 square feet, with a 10,000-square-foot collegiate gymnasium that will also serve as a post-recovery shelter.
The facility will include a cafetorium with seating for 150 people, a commercial and teaching kitchen, and a client choice food pantry open five days a week. Plans include hosting a chef and team who can feed kids, teens and families.
"I think it's a really incredible program," said Joseph Conner, a teacher at Venice Middle School. "I think they've done a wonderful job of building it up and creating a program that I know they're trying to grow and expand upon, and it's been a great benefit for all the students who have been a part of it."
