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Dissatisfied with the Hillsborough school your kids are assigned to? Work closer to one campus than another? Looking for a special program that just one school offers?
Today's the last day to apply for school choice in the Hillsborough school district.
You can file your request online by clicking here. You should receive word on whether your kids get their pick before classes begin Aug. 18.
While most of Florida's school districts have flat or shrinking enrollment, Pasco County schools continue to grow. The students flow in so quickly in some areas that the district can't seem to build new campuses fast enough to meet the need.
Thank goodness for inter-district transfers, right?
Every two weeks, the Pasco School Board approves a lengthy list of kids seeking to attend schools outside Pasco (mostly in Hillsborough), and a shorter list of those seeking to come to the district from other counties (primarily Hernando, Hillsborough and Pinellas).
It's working out so that the district is seeing the equivalent of a small school leave Pasco.
The latest report from the Pasco student services division shows that 281 students have asked to transfer in, while 691 have asked to leave - that's a 410-student difference, for those who don't want to do the math. Pasco has had that math work in its favor for some years now. Wonder how long the deal will last.
The automated call comes while you're preparing dinner. It's a recording of your Hillsborough elementary school principal, informing you that the school's parents have voted to have students wear uniforms in the new academic year.
They're mandatory.
Stop by the school to see what they look like. Hope your kids look good in khakis and collared shirts (which cost $12 at a small private provider about 15 miles away).
What's not said is that the conforming clothing really is not mandatory at all.
Hillsborough School Board candidate Stephen Gorham is picking up endorsement after endorsement.
The latest: the county's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered and Allied Democratic Caucus. He snagged that endorsement even after incumbent Carol Kurdell showed up at the meeting to make her pitch. Read more at our sister blog, the Bay Buzz.
This is not exactly the first endorsement you'd think of when talking about a non-partisan School Board races. But then again, remember the gay-straight alliance controversy in schools? We bet they do too.
Gorham's high-profile list of supporters includes both major unions in the school district. In case you missed the recent headline, Board member April Griffin has endorsed Gorham too. Even Times columnist Sue Carlton has weighed in on the ruckus this election season.
~ Letitia Stein
Florida has made a big deal about improving children's reading abilities in recent years, adding more reading classes and coaches to get the job done. One Hillsborough teacher has earned recognition for her role in the effort.
LoriSue Grieb, the reading coach at King High since 2005, has been named the state's High School Reading Coach of the Year at the Just Read, Florida! conference in Orlando. She was selected from among five finalists and was the only Times-area teacher in the mix at the elementary, middle or high school level.
Grieb has worked at King since 2000. She also taught elementary school in the district from 1980 to 1984.
The answer is - A Davidsen Middle School geography teacher who loves Jeopardy! so much that he qualified to compete on the popular TV game show.
Pusateri, a Hillsborough teacher for four years, calls himself a "trivia nerd" and records the show daily so he can play along later. When he heard the producers were looking for contestants here locally, he jumped at the chance.
Before long, Pusateri found himself in L.A. buzzing in.
"Getting on Jeopardy! has been a lifelong dream and I am very proud of the accomplishment," the teacher, who also has tried out for a spot on Survivor (remember Jan Gentry?), said in a district news release.
The show airs on July 10 (that's next week). Watch to see if he won.
Stephen Gorham is picking up steam in his bid to unseat 16-year veteran School Board member Carol Kurdell.
Last night, he won the endorsement of the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association. The teachers union also threw its support behind Susan Valdes, the only other incumbent being challenged this season. Board members Doretha Edgecomb and Jack Lamb were re-elected without competition. For what it's worth, they also received the union's endorsements.
Gorham is being backed by both of Hillsborough's major unions. He established himself as a politician not to be underestimated as a novice running against Ronda Storms for the state senate. But Kurdell is a familiar name to many voters. She has drawn two challengers this year in a countywide race that promises to be more exciting than the standard School Board fodder.
(Photos: Gorham, left, Kurdell, right.)
Turns out, teaching students respect isn't cheap.
The Hillsborough school district is receiving a federal grant worth up to $2 million over four years to implement Project RESPECT -- Responsible, Engaged Students Promoting Empathy, Caring and Trust.
Twenty schools will participate through the grant, which was also awarded to public schools in Kansas and New York.
The time to qualify for the August primary and/or November general election ballot has officially passed. Here's how things shook out. Watch for more coverage throughout campaign season.
Winners (no opposition):
Carol Cook, Pinellas District 5 (incumbent)
Jack Lamb, Hillsborough District 3 (incumbent)
Doretha Edgecomb, Hillsborough District 5 (incumbent)
Kathryn Starkey, Pasco District 4 (incumbent)
Pat Fagan, Hernando District 2 (incumbent)
Contested races
Pinellas School Board
District 1: Janet Clark (incumbent), Jennifer Crockett, Max Loden, Grant Smith
District 2: David Archie, Nina Hayden, Minetha Morris, Sean O'Flannery, Ron Walker
District 4: Chris Hardman, Steven Isbitts, Ken Peluso, Robin Wikle
Hillsborough School Board
District 1: Dave Schmidt, Susan Valdes (incumbent)
District 7: Stephen Gorham, Carol Kurdell (incumbent), Jason Mims
Pasco School Board
District 2: Kurt Conover, Peter Hanzel, Joanne Hurley
Superintendent: Stephen Donaldson (D), Heather Fiorentino (R, incumbent)
Hernando School Board
District 4: Gene Magrini, Robert Neuhausen, James Yant
School Board hopefuls have until noon tomorrow to qualify for the election. But it's already too late to get endorsed by the district's union of blue collar workers, the Hillsborough Schools Employees Federation.
HSEF is backing these candidates: District 1: Susan Valdes (incumbent), District 5: Doretha Edgecomb (incumbent), District 7: Stephen Gorham.
It's noteworthy that the union is backing Gorham over Carol Kurdell, a 16-year-veteran facing two challengers. This year's races are shaping up to be quite competitive. Jack Lamb is the only incumbent without a competitor.
Tick tock.
(Photo: Stephen Gorham)
Jason Mims (left) is rarely shy when making his views known to the Hillsborough School Board. He has been a tireless champion of raising academic expectations among minority boys in the urban communities that struggle the most.
Well, Mims isn't just talking any more. He's filed to run for the School Board against incumbent Carol Kurdell (right), who has held the seat for 16 years. That makes for a three-way countywide race including Stephen Gorham, the political newbie who did surprisingly well against Ronda Storms in a state senate race two years ago.
Mims' comments at the Board meeting earlier this week may signal the tenor of the campaign to come. He told board members that simple tweaks could be enough to raise student achievement, instead of the expensive EXCELerator program that Hillsborough is launching next year in partnership with the College Board.
No doubt comments like those will resonate with some of the teachers skeptical of the curriculum change.
-- Letitia Stein, Times staff writer
Mike Grego's departure from the Hillsborough school system leaves a void at the top, and we're not talking about a decision to freeze his assistant superintendent's job in tough budget times. Superintendent MaryEllen Elia wasted no time in promoting Wynne Tye, formerly general director of ESE services, to the position.
What we've noticed is that Grego was the last person in Elia's senior leadership team to hold a doctorate in education. Now the nation's eighth-largest school system is run by folks with loads of experience, but none in the superintendent's cabinet has that degree in hand.
Of course, holding an Ed.D. is not the be all-end all. Heck, you might even argue that the value of some education leaders' doctorates, received from correspondence programs, aren't worth all that much anyway. Experience counts as much, if not more, right? Heck, we've seen military guys run school districts with varying levels of success.
Still, you have to acknowledge that when school boards are looking for top administrators, the job descriptions usually say a doctorate would at least be preferred, if not required. Maybe you can shed some light on the importance of the degree?
In case you missed it, check out this must-read account of one teacher's experience working in an unnamed Hillsborough high school:
It's sixth period, my first day teaching high school, and my regular Junior English class refuses to settle down. I give them a brief talk, amid the jostling and visiting (and the walking, and the love taps, and the food trading, and the vaulting over desks) about respect. I will respect them, I say, and they will respect me ... For about 30 seconds, they like the idea of my respecting them, and then they're up again.
Melanie Hubbard has a doctorate in English and has taught at the college level. This spring, she tried out the public school setting, where everyone knows there is a shortage of qualified instructors. Her experience, described in a first-person story for the St. Petersburg Times over the weekend, sounds alarms on many levels.
We'd love to hear your thoughts on this story and whether it rings true to what you know about the public high school setting.
(Photo: Melanie Hubbard)
When it comes to cell phones, get ready for signs in Hillsborough schools making the rules crystal clear. "It's a pretty simple slogan: If we see it, we take it," School Board member Carol Kurdell said.
Her comment wrapped up today's workshop discussion on out-of-control cell abuse by students. The district has a policy that phones must be off during the school day. But many are openly violating it.
When school begins in August, administrators are going to crack down. Cell phones visible on students during the instructional day -- including at lunch and between classes -- will be confiscated. They would be returned at the end of the day. Since the bus is an extension of the classroom, officials said cell phones can't be out on the ride home, either.
Some details remain to be worked out, such as how to regulate cell phones on the school bus. But principals and school officials enthusiastically endorsed the out-of-sight-or-else procedure. The practice still must be finalized by the Board with a vote.
Hillsborough assistant superintendent Mike Grego (left) has been angling to lead a school district of his own for years. He made the finalist cut for the Hillsborough job won by MaryEllen Elia. He even sent an unsolicited application to Pinellas shortly after Clayton Wilcox announced his exit.
Even getting the post he was supposedly selected for took some time. The Osceola School Board narrowly selected Grego to be its leader back in May on a first-round vote, but postponed the final vote for two weeks after new data became available about the other candidate who wanted the job.
Well, all that is finally behind Grego, who officially won the Osceola superintendency on a 4-1 vote, the Orlando Sentinel reports. "I'm thrilled. I'm excited about working for Osceola, which is a great community," he told the Sentinel. "I look forward to developing a great school district."
Yesterday's post on the high price of graduation got proud mom (and USF communication prof) Elizabeth Bell to thinking. Sure, commencement costs could get out of hand, but they don't have to, Bell wrote to the Gradebook:
Let's see. How much for my son's graduation last Wednesday from Freedom High School? No senior picture; I do much better with our digital camera. No year book; his MySpace page serves many more purposes. Yes to cap, gown, and tassel, but all were borrowed from a friend who graduated last year. No class ring; he didn’t want one. (Smart kid to realize that no college student wears a high school ring.) No graduation announcement; he made his own [see above] with his Wacom tablet, Photoshop, and card stock I had on hand.
I'll admit that the twelve stamps did cost $5.04, the Latin honors cord $5, and $9 for the diploma cover. A picture shaking hands with the principal? No way. But I will treasure the image of him making the Welcome speech to the assembly at the Sun Dome. I took it with my digital camera. Total for the evening? $19.04. My son's off to do more important things? Priceless.
Happy graduation week, everyone.
Pinellas County has one of the worst graduation rates among the 50 biggest school districts in the country, according to a national study released this morning. Its rate for the 2004-05 school year was 55.5 percent, putting it at 15th from the bottom, concluded the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, which is affiliated with Education Week magazine.
Detroit topped the worst list, with a 37.5 percent graduation rate, followed by Milwaukee, Baltimore, Los Angeles and Clark County, Nev. Hillsborough County came in at No. 32 with a rate of 67.1 percent.
Florida had a 60.8 percent rate that year (the most recent year for which national data was available), putting it at No. 44 among states behind Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama. The national average was 70.6 percent.
The research center uses its own formula to calculate grad rates for its annual Diplomas Count report, and its numbers are at odds with the state Department of Education. According to DOE, Florida had a 71.9 percent rate in 2004-05 and Pinellas had a 70.1 percent rate.
For the first time this year, the research center broke down grad rates by congressional district. In Florida, the district represented by U.S. Rep. Bill Young, R-Indian Shores, had the second-worst rate, at 51.0 percent. Only the district of U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville, was worse, at 50.8 percent.
To see the entire Diploma Counts report, click here. To go straight to the Florida section, click here. By coincidence, today's St. Petersburg Times listed graduation rates for each of Pinellas' 16 high schools. To see them, click here.
- Ron Matus, state education reporter; Times photo/Dirk Shadd
The tears. The laughter. The beginning of the rest of your life.
We at the Gradebook will spare you the melodrama. We're nerdy education wonks who don't look back on high school as the best time of our lives. But it is a milestone, a huge one at that, more significant than ever in a day of exit exam requirements.
So we salute the graduates, from the eight-point-plus GPA over-achievers to the last name in the alphabet. Hillsborough's State Fairgrounds and and the USF Sundome will see a whirlwind of graduations in the coming week. Congrats to all!
... Riverview High School graduating senior Antonio Dowels. Dowels, 18, was a top-rated athlete who dreamed of attending the University of Florida to play football and study to become a pediatrician. A car crash dashed his football dreams, but not his spirit or dedication. Though paralyzed physically, Dowels retains his ambition to become a children's doctor. He will attend UF in the fall. Dowels spoke with reporter Jeff Solochek. (Times photo, 2007, click to enlarge)
I know you had this accident that really changed your life. I was just interested in you talking about how it affected the way you looked at what you were going to do when it came to your schooling and your future.
Well, it affected me. But I still knew that I was going to come back to school. Because I love school. I love education and I love to learn. The only thing that affected me was me running. I love sports. And I miss it every day, running. But I knew that when I was going to go to college to become a pediatrician, I know it's going to be really hard to do hands-on things, because my fingers don't really function. But I was thinking that I can be like an administrator, and you know, it hasn't affected me that much.
What is it that you love about learning so much that it kept you going and thinking about it rather than saying, I'm just going to give up?
I just love obtaining knowledge. And I know that I need to learn to be a pediatrician. And to do something that you love, it takes almost 12 years, you have to learn. You have to love to learn. You know, a lot of people want to be astronauts and physicists, but they don't know how hard it is. They're going to have to work to be good at what they do.
Did you ever think that you wouldn't be able to do what your passion is because you can't move your fingers, do the things you might normally associate with being a pediatrician?
No, sir. I never say 'can't.' I know you can always find a different way to do stuff. So when I got hurt, I told everyone: Three months, I'm going to be back in school, learning, playing with the kids, harassing Mr. (Robert) Heilman (the school principal). A lot of people didn't believe me. But I worked real hard. It was just hard work and determination. I came back.
What did you have to do to get to that point?
Hillsborough assistant superintendent Mike Grego was a finalist Tuesday for the top job in Osceola County. But the School Board put off a final vote for two weeks.
Three of the Osceola Board members have stated that they favor Grego for their next superintendent. The other two prefer Alberto Carvalho, an associate superintendent from Miami-Dade. That didn't seem to change on Tuesday, according to Osceola schools spokeswoman Dana Schafer. But a Carvalho supporter presented new data about student performance from both candidates' home districts.
Since the information had not been vetted, a decision was tabled until June 4 to allow Board members time to further interview the candidates, Schafer said. "This is the most important decision they have to make," she added. "It's a two-week wait to say are you comfortable with your decision."
Grego, 50, was one of two finalists for Hillsborough superintendent three years ago and has expressed interest in the open job in Pinellas schools.
(Times file photo of Grego)
TAMPA -- The Hillsborough School Board voted today to increase school lunch prices by 50 cents for all grade levels.
Beginning in August, lunch will cost $2.25 in elementary schools and $2.75 in middle and high schools. That means families will pay an extra $91 per child over the 182-day school year.
In a 5-2 vote, board members stressed how much it pained them to hike meal prices amid tough economic times. But the school lunch program, which operates as an independent business within the larger district, also faces rising prices for staples like milk and rice. And it is expected to operate in the black each year.
The board agreed to peg meal price increases to a consumer price index in future years. The district will continue to offer free breakfast to all students.
--Letitia Stein, Times staff writer
In light of recent sex scandals, Hillsborough School Board members want to make it crystal clear to job applicants: If you have a criminal history, you must report it. Even if the charges later were dropped, or the record sealed.
The Board will consider adding clarifying language to its employment application this afternoon.
Two of the Hillsborough teachers in this year's sex scandals had prior records.
Stephanie Ragusa was hired even though she omitted her arrest record on her application. In a background check, school officials discovered the truth about the 29-year-old teacher, accused of having sex with a 14-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy she met while teaching last year at Davidsen Middle.
Freedom High teacher Mary Jo Spack, 45, accused of having sex with a 17-year-old boy after buying liquor and bringing him to a motel, revealed on her employment application that she had been charged with driving with a suspended license in 1994.
The Hillsborough School Board won't be making major changes to the cell phone policy today. A proposal to crack down on student abuse of cell phones has been pulled off the agenda. Board members want to have a chance to discuss it at a workshop, which has not yet been scheduled.
This may buy time for students to cross their fingers -- or lobby -- for more leniency in the rules. School officials are suggesting that they must keep their cell phones must be off and out of sight during the school day.
If students break the rules, they would receive one warning before having the cell phone confiscated. Three strikes would result in detention. On the fourth offense, the student would face in-school suspension.
Robert Heilman, principal of Hillsborough's Riverview High, has received the 2008 MetLife Foundation Ambassadors in Education Award. The honor, which comes with $5,000, goes to a principal or teacher who finds creative ways to collaborate with the community to improve student education.
"Not only has he built relationships among local businesses and organizations, he and his students are reaching out to local elementary schools and offering tutoring services for younger students in the community who are struggling," J. Vince Thompson, a retired principal who nominated Heilman for the award, said in a news release.
Heilman is not the first Hillsborough principal to receive this recognition. Past recipients include Benito Middle principal Bobby Smith, Plant City High teachers Gary Todd Long and Sherrie Mueller, Young Middle teacher Julia Barnes and Robinson High former principal, the late Kevin McCarthy.
Hillsborough is poised to crack down on students abusing cell phones. School officials want the palm-sized distractions off and out of sight during the school day.
The proposed rules on Tuesday's School Board agenda outline strict consequences. If students disobey, they would receive one warning before having their cell phones confiscated. Three strikes would result in detention. On the fourth offense, the student would face in-school suspension.
Sounds like enough to make students long to be in Pinellas, where administrators at some campuses permit cell phone use after school and during lunch.
To see what Gradebook readers had to say about cell phones in schools, see our recent poll results here.
Hillsborough school officials are looking into placing an International Baccalaureate program in the next new high school in the east county.
So does that mean the high school opening in 2009-10 at Interstate 4 and Gallagher Road gets one?
That was the word this morning when a group studying class size issues met. But nothing has been decided, said Susan King, the district's magnet supervisor.
She noted that Superintendent MaryEllen Elia promised the east Hillsborough community to seriously look into bringing an IB high school there. Right now, King High, located in Temple Terrace, is the closest option. Lincoln Elementary in Plant City recently began working to become an IB school.
King said there are no immediate plans to open another IB elementary school. The academically rigorous program is one of Hillsborough's most popular magnet options, but it is expensive to operate. And after the last state budget cut, the district isn't exactly flush with cash.
Hillsborough announced a dozen principal appointments at Tuesday's School Board meeting. Here the scoop on who's moving where:
Alexander Elementary: Kristina Alvarez, currently assistant principal at Alexander.
Ballast Point Elementary: Sherri Frick, currently assistant principal at Roosevelt Elementary.
Edison Elementary: Julie Scardino, currently assistant principal at Edison.
Folsom Elementary: Cora-Lynne Wimberly, currently principal at Sulphur Springs Elementary.
Foster Elementary: Debra Mills, currently assistant principal at Foster.
Gorrie Elementary: Marjorie Sandler, currently principal at Folsom Elementary.
Kingswood Elementary: Amber Craft, currently an administrator in elementary education.
Marshall Middle: Faychone Durant, currently a principal on special assignment.
Pizzo Elementary: Pamela Wilkins, currently assistant principal at Maniscalco Elementary.
Rampello Downtown Partnership: Elizabeth Uppercue, currently principal at Woodbridge Elementary.
Robles Elementary: Beatrice McDaniel, currently assistant principal at Robles.
Tampa Bay Technical High: Warren Brooks, currently assistant principal at Tampa Bay Tech.
Manager of Professional Standards: Joe Perez, currently a manager in Human Resources.
Like everyone else, Hillsborough school employees are facing sticker shock at the gas pump. Only their boss wants to help.
Superintendent MaryEllen Elia announced Tuesday night that employees working over the summer would have the flexibility to work four, 10-hour days each week. They could take off either Monday or Friday.
There are some exceptions. Employees at schools with five-day summer school programs couldn't participate until the session ends. The district plans to remain open Monday through Friday, so scheduling will have to be coordinated with supervisors to keep offices running smoothly.
"This is a way to help our employees save those few dollars each week which can help them," Elia said.
Sixteen students in Tampa Bay have been named National Merit Scholars, a honor widely recognized as the gold medal of high school awards. The students were selected on the merits of their academic records, personal essays and community work. They rose to the top of a semi-finalist pool culled from the top one percent of high school seniors, based on test scores on the PSAT exam taken in 2006.
Hillsborough's public schools counted five winners, compared to four in Pinellas and two in Pasco. The students all received $2,500 scholarships.
Hillsborough public schools:
Pinellas public schools:
Pasco public schools:
Private schools:
Step one: Get cell phone use under control in Hillsborough schools.
Step two: Consider privileges like letting students use them during lunch.
The approach likely will first require students to follow the rules and keep cell phones off during school hours. That means cell phones should be out of sight, agreed a group of teachers, administrators and parents reviewing the issue Monday. If not, there will be consequences, an area where Hillsborough schools now lack consistency, said Lewis Brinson, assistant superintendent of administration.
Next school year, the rules could look like this:
1st violation: Warning.
2nd violation: Another warning, phone confiscated until parent picks it up.
3rd violation: Another warning and student sent to in-school suspension.
4th violation: Student suspended out of school.
TAMPA -- Hillsborough school officials are looking to bump up thermostats and reduce administrative spending in the face of statewide education budget cuts.
Schools and district offices will be asked to push indoor temperatures to 76 degrees, two degrees higher than many currently do. The move would save almost a half million dollars.
The cuts range widely. There's a pilot project to privatize lawn mowing services in one part of the county. That'll save $100,000.
The district expects to save millions through cuts to district level jobs. Superintendent MaryEllen Elia offered few details Thursday on the positions affected. She expected to save about $5 million from a mix of unfilled vacancies, retirements and reassignments. Some people will go to work in schools.
That's better than layoffs, which School Board members and the superintendent pledged to avoid this year. People whose positions disappear will have other opportunities in the district.
The district expects to save $3.6 million by deferring a major upgrade in payroll-related software. It is cutting another $1.7 million from pushing off the purchase of GPS technology for school buses. And $3 million in savings result from 20 percent cuts to district-level division budgets.
Stay turned to the Gradebook and read tomorrow's St. Petersburg Times for more.
For the better part of a week, outdoor activities were off-limits for the 500 students at Town and Country Elementary. Classroom doors were locked. Students couldn't wait for parents at dismissal time in front of the school, but were released one by one from the cafeteria.
The restrictions, which school officials call a modified lockdown, followed a threat against a child. The mother reportedly feared the father would harm the child. The parents are estranged.
"We're going to err on the side of caution," schools spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said. "We would rather not inconvenience anyone, but if it's a question of inconveniencing some folks versus protecting a child's safety, we're going to protect the child's safety."
Continue reading "School faces longterm lockdown over threat" »
TAMPA -- Students across Hillsborough County planted tree saplings between 11 o'clock and noon today, hoping to set a record for the most trees planted in an hour on Earth Day.
Every school in the nation's eighth-largest school district had a chance to plant 38 Longleaf pine seedlings in honor of the 38th anniversary of Earth Day. Organizers expected to plant more than 10,450 trees in the symbolic 11th hour of a day focused on being good to the environment.
At Carrollwood Elementary, kindergartners sang their own rendition of Woody Guthrie’s "This Land Is Your Land." Their words were: "Reuse your bottles, recycle plastic, Let’s keep our water clean."
"They’ve never done anything like this before and I’m not sure they would even have been aware of Earth Day," said Tiffany Rix as her son Steven planted one of the school’s 38 pine seedlings. "He was so excited this morning. He wanted to make sure he wore a good shirt."
In the courtyard in front of brick-faced Hillsborough High School, state and local dignitaries posed for photos beside a biodiesel-powered tractor. The handful of saplings they planted were more mature and larger than the version sent to schools countywide.
But in time, no one will know the difference. "Think of all the small trees today that will become large supporters of the environment," Hillsborough Superintendent MaryEllen Elia said.
- Times staff writers Letitia Stein and Jackie Ripley
Opponents are coming and going in Hillsborough, where four School Board members are up for re-election.
For now, Jack Lamb (left) is the only unchallenged incumbent. The two-term official had drawn what appeared to be a serious opponent, high school teacher Fred Burns. But Burns has ended his bid, announcing over the weekend that he couldn't campaign due to "pressing personal issues." He wrote on his blog, since disabled, "by withdrawing now, I hope another candidate will emerge to challenge the current incumbent."
Also up for re-election are Board members Carol Kurdell (left) and Doretha Edgecomb (right). Both have drawn challengers in the past few weeks.
Edgecomb faces a bid from Steve Shuler, who describes himself on his website as a Hillsborough County parent and future teacher.
Kurdell's opponent, Stephen Gorham, is not a novice to the political scene. He's the Democrat who challenged Ronda Storms for a state Senate seat. She won, but only based on her strong support in eastern Hillsborough. Gorham outperformed Storms in Polk and Pasco, but it remains to be seen whether his pitch outweigh's Kurdell's familiarity to voters after 16 years on the Board.
Another race is heating up in the northwest county, where Susan Valdes is seeking a second term in office. She will have to square off with Dave Schmidt, who already has drawn endorsements from two of his former opponents in his previous bid for the Board.
Any early election season predictions? Stay tuned to the Gradebook for more coverage.
A parent's complaint about a racially offensive term in The Land, a children's book, has triggered its removal from the library at Turner Elementary.
An 11-year-old student ran across the N-word when reading the book by award-winning author Mildred Taylor, who is black. Her parents wanted the book pulled from the shelf. A committee of administrators, teachers and parents at the northeastern Hillsborough school has agreed.
"The subject matter of The Land is above the maturity level of elementary students at Turner," the group found. "Several factors influenced this decision including sexual overtones, brutality/violence, and racial slurs."
The decision affects only Turner Elementary. The parent who complained, Darryl Brown, raised concerns about a second book, The Starplace, what used the N-word and was on the school's accelerated reading list. But he never formally challenged that title.
Harriet Foundas isn't likely to receive as much fuss at tomorrow's Hillsborough School Board meeting as the boundary changes in the north county and what to do about teachers having sex with students.
But naming of a new principal for West Shore Elementary won't pass unnoticed. In an era when half of Hillsborough's principals last school year had been on the job for two years or less, Foundas' three decades are nothing short of extraordinary.
Foundas became principal at the school in 1976. The next person in line for the distinction of longest serving principal, Claywell Elementary's Glenda Midili, started in 1990. Former students don't just remember Foundas. They're now the parents of her current students at West Shore Elementary.
The school's new principal will be named Tuesday. (Photo of Foundas, pictured left, by Times staff photographer Stefanie Boyar.)
Hillsborough teachers now can sound off about this year's controversial requirement that they teach an extra class period each day.
Teachers are being asked to fill out a survey to give hard numbers on the impact of teaching six out of seven classes in high schools and magnet middle schools. The survey was sent out through district email accounts Tuesday night. Instructors have until midnight on April 16 to answer.
The survey is designed to take 10-minutes or less to fill out. Teachers can state how strongly they feel about statements asking whether the quality of their instruction is as good this year compared to last. Do they have enough time to plan lessons? Are they giving more multiple-choice tests, or assigning more seat work than last year?
When it comes to setting school holidays, it increasingly looks like there's the Hillsborough way and the way that everyone else does it. Consider this.
Scheduling of school on Good Friday in Hillsborough County became a major political and media event. Folks battled over religious rights. Employees took advantage of liberal personal day policies. Rumors swirled that teachers would not teach anything important. And kids stayed away by the thousands.
This didn't seem to be an issue for Polk, Pinellas or any of the other counties that stayed open, as the Times reported back in February.
And as Palm Beach schools set their calendar this week, it didn't seem to faze that district, either. Officials talked about when to schedule exams and breaks. But as for the holiday issue, well, it went by so fast that the board actually has to take special action because members noticed after the fact that they had inadvertently scheduled classes for Good Friday next year.
"It's an innocent oversight," superintendent Art Johnson told the Sun-Sentinel.
No muss, no fuss. Just a simple vote planned to change it.
In the end, Hillsborough teachers showed up for school on Good Friday in better numbers than students.
School officials finally have tallied the teacher absentee rates. About 27 percent of teachers were out on Friday, March 21, the first time in years that Hillsborough has held school on Good Friday. About 4,000 teachers took off that day.
That compares to the 60 percent of students who skipped classes, and 40 percent of bus drivers.
The Good Friday numbers are likely to see much scrutiny -- and perhaps some hand wringing -- as officials try to make sense of them. Sure, kids skipped in huge numbers. But that was after a week of warnings about high employee absenteeism that resulted in mass cancellations of bus routes, and schools sent out hugely different messages about what to expect that day.
The issue is moot for next year, when Good Friday falls during Spring Break. Any bets on whether the religious holiday will be a school day in the future?
TAMPA -- The Hillsborough School Board is not usually a magnet for TV cameras, but no fewer than three packed into a tiny classroom today and suffered through two hours of talk about district goals.
They were waiting for five minutes at the end of meeting, when the discussion turned to what Board member Candy Olson summed up as "sexy teachers, or teachers and sex."
A recent one-two punch -- the arrests of teachers at Freedom High and Davidsen Middle within two weeks of each other -- has Board members using words like epidemic. Four Hillsborough teachers have been arrested in the last five months for inappropriate sexual contact with students. Three of those teachers were women.
Now Board members are calling for a special meeting to discuss what to do the spate of teachers having have sex with students. The meeting is April 15 from 1 to 2 p.m. Special guests include Hillsborough State Attorney Mark Ober and Public Defender Julianne Holt.
Until then, here's a primer on names of Hillsborough female teachers with sex charges:
March 20, 2008: Mary Jo Spack, a 45-year-old honors English teacher, accused of having sex with a 17-year-old boy after buying liquor and bringing him to a motel.
March 13, 2008: Stephanie Ragusa, a 28-year-old math teacher, arrested and accused of having sex with a 14-year-old boy.
Oct. 23, 2007: Christina Butler, a 33-year-old special education teacher at Middleton High School in Tampa, arrested, accused of having sex up to a dozen times with a 16-year-old boy.
Oct. 8, 2007: Former Wharton High School teacher and coach Jaymee Wallace pleaded guilty to having a sexual relationship with a student who played on her girls basketball team.
Former Greco Middle School teacher Debra Lafave was sentenced to three years of house arrest and seven years of probation after pleading guilty in 2005 to having sex with a 14-year-old boy.
Once upon a time before MaryEllen Elia took over the Hillsborough school district, Donnie Evans (left) was the district's top-ranking black official. He oversaw several key programs and was often present in the news.
He applied for the superintendent's job here in Tampa, but couldn't muster enough School Board votes to make the finalist pool. Soon after Elia took over, he was shuffled out of the role he held under Earl Lennard and, eventually, Evans left to lead the Providence, R.I., school district.
Well, 2-1/2 years later, Evans finds himself on the outside once again. He resigned his post last week, just one day before his School Board was scheduled to consider renewing his contract. The local teachers union had voted its lack of confidence in Evans a week earlier. And he had come under a storm of political controversy for, among other things, offering a contract to Charlene Staley, a former Hillsborough school official also shuffled out under Elia. Less than a year later, Evans married Staley.
Evans had other problems, as well. Want more? Read the Providence Journal's first-day story here and its second-day story here. To see his resignation letter, click here.
The final count speaks for itself: Almost 60 percent of Hillsborough students skipped classes on the first day in years that the district has held school on Good Friday.
The spread between schools is interesting. Could different schools have sent different messages about the value of showing up? Check out the numbers and let us know. Download StudentAbsences3-21-08.pdf
Not so much teaching seems to be going on in Hillsborough classrooms today.
Early reports are indicating that student attendance is very low -- in places, dismally so -- at schools across the county. But the numbers appear to vary wildly.
Tampa Palms Elementary in New Tampa has only 120 students absent, while Madison Middle in south Tampa has just 120 children present, said school spokeswoman Linda Cobbe. Anecdotal evidence suggests high schools are especially empty. Brandon High reports just 250 students showed up -- about 10 percent of the student body.
Hard numbers will be coming later this morning, but the questioning has only just begun about what to make of the data. Today marks the first time in years the district has held class on Good Friday. About 40 percent of bus drivers took the day off, forcing the cancellation of all bus service to some schools and scores of routes elsewhere. Teacher absenteeism also was expected to be extremely high.
The showing has all the appearances of a protest -- but of what?
Some will say observant Christians are sending a message about the importance of a holy day. Others will look to the message sent by school officials, with reports surfacing that some teachers told students not to worry about showing up on a day when no serious lessons were planned.
Stay turned for school-by-school numbers that may tell us more ...
What are you seeing at your school? Call Times staff writer Letitia Stein at (813) 226-3400.
Despite canceling bus service completely at almost two dozen campuses and slashing routes elsewhere, Hillsborough County educators insist they will try to have a normal school day today, the first time in years they have tried to hold classes on Good Friday.
Here's bus and teacher information for your school:
See a list of potential elementary school teacher absences.
See a list of potential middle school teacher absences.
Schools across Hillsborough County are trying to assure parents and students that Friday will be a normal school day, even though large numbers of teachers and bus drivers are taking the day off.
To be sure, Friday's normal has many caveats. A number of bus routes will be canceled, and others running late, because roughly 20 percent of bus drivers plan to be absent. Parents will have the option of dropping children off at every school as early as 6 a.m. -- and leaving them there until 6 p.m.
Schools are also making plans to cover for large numbers of absent teachers, potentially three times as many as usual on a Friday. But the situation varies greatly by school, with some schools expecting few to zero absent instructors and others potentially operating witho
