Shakespeare Competition

The ESU National Shakespeare Competition is a performance-based education program. High school students develop analytical and communication skills by performing Shakespeare at the school, community, and national levels. Since 1983 more than 360,000 students have brought the timeless works of Shakespeare to life. Our most recent branch winner, Julia Kaufman, proudly represented our branch in April. In 2023, our branch winner Casey Kerr won third place at Nationals.

Adult Literacy League

The Adult Literacy League recruits, orients, assesses, and supports activities of some twenty adult learners. These students are paired with one-to-one tutors either in person or online. The classes range from English Conversation to U.S. Citizenship preparation, basic reading and writing, GED preparation, and job skills/workforce readiness. The objectives of our ESU grant were met for the 2023-2024 Grant Cycle.

Central Florida ESU Lecture Series

Between September and May each year, Branch members enjoy one of the most outstanding speaker series in Central Florida, bringing in dignitaries from across the United States and abroad. Meetings are usually held at the University Club of Winter Park in late afternoon or evening, and are preceded or followed by refreshments at no charge to members. Dinner meetings are also held each year.

Happy Hour Series

In response to the COVID-19 world, in July of 2020 ESU members got together to introduce the virtual Happy Hour Program, which has been met with resounding success. The Happy Hour Program brings guest speakers from locations all over the world, live and free of charge using the Zoom format. And to make it a real happy hour, a few of the speakers suggest signature cocktails to match the theme for the attendees to create and enjoy at home during their presentations. Many speakers also offer exciting participation opportunities with fun give-away books and products at the end of each program. All Happy Hour events are recorded and available for download to members and anyone interested to watch on-demand.

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TLab: Teachers Learning Abroad

Since 1957, the ESU has provided summer study abroad scholarships to middle and high school teachers at Oxford, Edinburgh and Shakespeare’s Globe in London. Florida has been sending teachers abroad since 1960, sponsoring more than 200 teachers to date.