PINELLAS COUNTY - More than 110,000 students in grades K-12 are expected to walk into Pinellas County public schools Tuesday as classes begin for the 2006-07 school year.
According to a press release, students will find a heightened emphasis on discipline, a variety of new programs, stricter nutritional and wellness guidelines, and a unified force of teachers, administrators and support personnel intent on providing the best possible education to each student.
Clayton M. Wilcox, superintendent, plans to visit four schools on opening day - Osceola Fundamental High, Ridgecrest Elementary, Fuguitt Elementary and Oakhurst Elementary.
School Board member Nancy Bostock is scheduled to be at Osceola Fundamental High Tuesday when the district's 145 schools and six charter schools begin classes.
There are expected to be 731 school buses on the roadways Tuesday, and about 14,000 breakfasts and 51,000 lunches are expected to be served in school cafeterias.
The superintendent has made "civility" the watchword for this school year. In partnership with parents, the school system plans to tackle the problem of disruptive and disrespectful behavior with the goal of eliminating it from every campus.
Once again, Pinellas County Schools' teachers are expected to return to the classroom as the highest paid teaching group in the Tampa Bay Area. The 8,000 teachers and other district personnel are to receive raises under a tentatively approved salary package that goes before the school board on Aug. 15.
Pinellas County Schools' first fundamental high school opens Aug. 8 at Osceola High in Seminole. The ninth-grade class will be the beginning of the long-awaited fundamental program at the high school level.
Belcher Elementary in Clearwater will be the first public school in Pinellas to offer voluntary boys-only and girls-only classrooms. The pilot program for children in second and third grade will test the results of that concept, which may mean adding fourth grade to the mix next year. Coed classes still will be available in each grade.
The federal government mandated new nutritional and wellness guidelines for all U.S. school districts. The policy developed in Pinellas will affect everything from physical education in elementary school to deep-fat frying in middle school to vending machine contents in high school. Parents still will be able to pack their children's lunches as they wish, but students won't be allowed to share low-nutritional food with classmates.
Parents who have waited until now to register their children for school should call or visit a Family Education and Information Center as soon as possible to receive a school assignment. To make the registration process easier, during the week of Aug. 7-11 parents also may visit the nearest school to register and receive an assignment to a school with available seats.
Whether they call or visit, parents should be prepared to give the following information: the date the child will start school, the child's name, the child's legal residential address in Pinellas County, the child's current grade level and any services the child requires such as ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) or ESE (exceptional student education). Parents will receive a registration reservation for their child at a school within their attendance area and be told about the requirements to officially enroll.
Any questions about bus transportation should go to the District Call Center at (727) 587-2020. Phone lines for transportation questions are open Monday-Friday 6 a.m.-8 p.m. Parents new to the county and others who need a school bus assignment should contact the assigned school.
To officially enroll, parents need to take the following documents to the assigned school: birth certificate or other acceptable proof of age, proof of residency such as a utility bill or rental agreement, the child's Social Security number, the child's latest report card if entering grades 1-12, a physical exam report that is no more than 12 months old and a Florida certificate of immunization. For more information about acceptable documents, go to www.pinellaschoice.org or call an FEIC at (727) 552-1595 or (727) 298-2858.
Construction projects are planned at the following locations - High Point Elementary, Dunedin Elementary, Azalea Middle (old city library), Tarpon Springs Elementary, Tyrone Elementary, Tarpon Springs High Culinary Arts Academy and Boca Ciega High. There also will be work in progress at the Meadowlawn School Services Center in St. Petersburg and the Bernice Johnson Student Services Center in Clearwater.
Pinellas County Schools' personnel plan to build on the successes of the past as they look to the challenges of the future.
- The percentage of third-graders in Level 3 (reading) and above on the FCAT increased from 58 percent in 2002 to 76 percent in 2006.
- The percentage of fourth- and fifth-graders in Level 3 and above on the FCAT increased by 10 percent and 14 percent, respectively.
- The percentage of third-graders in Level 3 (math) and above on the FCAT increased from 60 percent in 2002 to 74 percent in 2006.
- The percentage of fourth- and fifth-graders in Level 3 and above on the FCAT increased by 19 percent and 15 percent, respectively.
- Sixteen middle schools earned an "A" grade from the state, five earned a "B" and no school scored lower than a "C."
- The total number of high school students taking Advanced Placement, dual enrollment, honors or IB classes increased by 6,855, an 18.4 percent jump.
- St. Petersburg High and Palm Harbor University High were recognized by Newsweek magazine among the Top 100 high schools in America.
- Artwork by nearly 2,500 K-12 students was selected for exhibit by area museums and galleries.
- More than 4,000 students participated in the Florida School Music Association music performance assessments, and 95 percent of all musical groups from Pinellas County's public schools earned excellent or superior ratings.
- Thirty-two 2006 graduates were named National Merit semifinalists, and two were named National Merit Achievement Scholars.
- More than 300 teachers have earned National Board certification.
- For the second time in three years, Pinellas County Schools' Support Employee of the Year was named the state School-Related Employee of the Year.
- The school resource officer at Largo Middle School was named the Florida School Resource Officer of the Year.
- Pinellas County Schools took 24 state awards in the annual Jim Harbin Student Media Festival competition for student-produced videos.
- In 2005-06, 29,452 volunteers donated 1,087,287 hours of service to the public schools.
- Last year, nearly 5,000 participants did more than 16,000 presentations for the Progress Energy Great American Teach-In. In the 12 years of the Teach-In, 57,744 participants have done 141,174 presentations for students in Pinellas public schools.
