POMPANO BEACH, Fla. \u2014 A South Florida school principal plays a huge role in her school, overseeing both administrative and educational functions.<\/p>\n
Principal Colleen Stearn, of Cross Creek Elementary School in Pompano Beach, prioritizes her students above all.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a firm believer where there is a will, there is a way,\u201d Stearn told Local 10\u2019s Michaila Hightower. <\/p>\n
Stearn told Hightower that while doing well in the classroom is important, having an elite smile and clean, shiny teeth is even more so.<\/p>\n
However, seeing a dentist is something most children at the school can\u2019t easily access.<\/p>\n
In fact, state health data reveals that although millions of children qualify for Medicaid, the American Dental Association reports that 74 percent of dentists in Florida do not accept it.<\/p>\n
This means that if a visit isn\u2019t covered by insurance, many families can\u2019t afford to book an appointment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have students who have witnessed parents overdose on drugs, have their parents carted away to prison,\u201d Stearn said. <\/p>\n
So, what did Stearn do to spread the message and ensure these children get the help they deserve?<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018Well, good ol\u2019 Facebook. Let\u2019s give it a shot,\u2019\u201d Stearn said.<\/p>\n
Stearn didn\u2019t expect much engagement, but the complete opposite happened — her post blew up instantly.<\/p>\n
Dr. Justine Bons, of Smile Perfect Deerfield, was the first to respond to the post.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat scrolling sometimes has positive effects,\u201d Bons said. <\/p>\n
Her dental office came together and is now providing free cleanings, exams, and fillings for Stearns\u2019 students. <\/p>\n
Not only did Bons help out, but Nadine Theis, of Navy\u2019s Sweet Addictions bakery, also pitched in on the fun.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hit her up and I said, \u2018I\u2019m not a dentist, but I am a baker, and I\u2019ve always wanted to donate some cakes,\u2019\u201d Theis said.<\/p>\n
Every month now, Nadine brings cakes from her bakery \u2014 decorated, dazzled and personalized for each child\u2019s birthday.<\/p>\n
What started as a plea for dental care quickly grew, turning into a community rallying around its kids.<\/p>\n
For those who are interested in helping out Stearn\u2019s students and\/or staff members, email Stearn at Colleen.Stearn@browardschools.com and copy her office manager at Danielle.Austin@browardschools.com.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"POMPANO BEACH, Fla. \u2014 A South Florida school principal plays a huge role in her school, overseeing both…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":202272,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":{"0":"post-202271","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-lauderdale","8":"tag-fort-lauderdale","9":"tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","10":"tag-fort-lauderdale-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}