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Students head back to class on Tuesday
Article published on Sunday, Aug. 19, 2007 |
PINELLAS COUNTY – About 107,000 students in grades K-12 are expected to walk into Pinellas County public schools Aug. 21 as classes begin for the 2007-08 school year.
Two schools will open in new buildings, a new initiative will seek to increase parents’ interaction with their children, and high schools will be on the road to starting Centers of Excellence for their students.
Superintendent Clayton Wilcox plans to board a bus at the High Point Compound and visit Palm Harbor University High, Dunedin Elementary, Palm Harbor Middle and several other sites next Tuesday when the district’s 145 schools and six charter schools begin classes.
There are expected to be approximately 713 buses on the roadways Tuesday, carrying more than 46,000 students to and from more than 19,000 bus stops.
About 15,000 breakfasts and 52,000 lunches are expected to be served in school cafeterias. About 15,000 employees will be on the job in schools and around the district, ready to do their best for each student. Twenty-one schools start the year with new principals.
New initiatives
Dunedin Elementary and High Point Elementary will begin the school year in new buildings. Dunedin will have a grand opening celebration beginning at 5 p.m. Aug. 20, and High Point will dedicate its new site later in the fall. The two schools have state-of-the-art facilities that have been long and patiently awaited by their communities, faculties and students.
The Early College Program, a partnership between St. Petersburg College and Pinellas County Schools, will offer new and innovative options for high school students. Students entering grades 11 and 12 in Pinellas County high schools, as well as private and home-schooled students who meet dual enrollment eligibility standards and reside in Pinellas County, have the opportunity to attend the Early College program.
Home school and private school students were required to enroll in a public high school to participate. Students will remain dual-enrolled in their home high schools (allowing them to participate in all extracurricular activities) and in classes at the college while participating in a course progression leading to simultaneous completion of the high school diploma and the associate of arts degree. Close to 100 students are expected to participate.
Scheduled to be in every high school by 2010, Centers of Excellence will provide students with a 21st Century industry-based education and allow them to graduate with a high school diploma and industry certification. Representatives from 10 high schools spent a week in early August in sessions to help them plan Centers of Excellence for their schools. Some schools will open centers in the spring while others will use this school year to develop a plan for their school’s center and the resources to develop it.
Safety Harbor Middle is offering the district’s first Mandarin Chinese program. Sixty-five students are participating, primarily seventh-graders. The teacher is a native speaker from China.
Ridgecrest Elementary Gifted Program is piloting a partial Spanish language immersion program. Thirty-six of the school’s first-graders are taught the curriculum in English for half of the day and in Spanish for the other half of the day. This pilot program is funded through a federal grant.
Pinellas County Schools is launching a parent involvement campaign called Be There, designed to encourage direct parent involvement in their children’s education. Research proves that parent involvement has a significant impact on student success.
Be There is a media campaign that promotes simple ways for parents to connect with their children during everyday moments of life – driving to school, preparing a meal, doing the laundry, shopping for groceries, making eye contact, smiling, asking a question, giving a hug or reading a story. School administrators, teachers and PTA members will be asked to incorporate the Be There message when communicating with parents this year. For more information, visit www.bethere.org.
Code of student conduct
Building on last year’s emphasis on civility and discipline, the “Code of Student Conduct” remains the same. The dress code still requires attire that does not distract from the business of learning. The code can be found on the district website by clicking on “parents” at the top and then clicking it on the left of the “parents” page.
Transportation
Students who live more than two miles from the assigned school are eligible to ride a bus. Those who have not received a postcard with school bus information should contact the district call center at 727-587-2020 or go to www.pinellas.k12.fl.us/is/trans/disclaimer.html to find the nearest existing temporary bus stop. If the postcard has an incorrect address or the child has moved since July 12, parents should contact the assigned school. For answers to frequently asked questions about transportation, visit www.pcsb.org.is/trans/home.html.
School assignment and enrollment
Parents with a child who does not have an assigned school for the Aug. 21 opening day need to contact the call center at 727-587-2020 to get a school assignment reservation. Phone lines for student assignment reservations are open 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Parents should be prepared to give the following information: 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 then will receive a registration reservation for the child at a school within their attendance area. However, parents of students who require special services may be referred to other district offices for screening before their child can be assigned to a 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 if entering grades 1-2, a physical exam report that is no more than 12 months old, a Florida certificate of immunization and an Individual Education Plan (IEP) if the child participates in exceptional student education. For more information about acceptable documents, go to www.pinellaschoice.org or call the child’s assigned school.
Points of pride
Pinellas County Schools was the only district in the country to be chosen a 2007 National Schools of Character award winner by the Character Education Partnership. Only 10 schools or districts receive the award each year.
On its 2007 School Lunch Report Card, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) graded the district’s school lunches an “A” and ranked them first in the U.S. for promoting the health of children. The district tied for second in the nation on last year’s PCRM report card.
Seventy-five percent of 120 graded public schools received an “A” or a “B” in Florida’s A+ Plan.
Twenty-one schools improved a letter grade or more, and 73 schools stayed at the same grade in the June 2007 state report.
Forty-two graduates were named National Merit semifinalists, 19 received National Merit college-sponsored scholarships, and two received $2,500 National Merit scholarships.
The Center for Advanced Technologies at Lakewood High and St. Petersburg High were recognized by Newsweek magazine among the Top 100 high schools in America.
Pinellas County Schools has 364 National Board-certified teachers.
The district won the Career Academy Champion Award from the National Career Academy Coalition.
Four elementary magnet programs earned top national awards from Magnet Schools of America, and one officially became an International Baccalaureate World School.
Tarpon Springs Fundamental was named a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education, the only school in the Tampa Bay area to achieve this recognition during the last school year.
Pinellas County Schools was judged to be the home of the best elementary and middle school students’ newspapers in the U.S. by the Weekly Reader.
The National Association for Multicultural Education selected Pinellas County Schools’ Principal’s Multicultural Program Award winner for the past school year.
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Article published on Sunday, Aug. 19, 2007
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