Sarasota County Schools News

LEADERS IN NEW ROLES: Newly appointed principals at Sarasota County schools are, left to right, Mark Grossenbacher, Englewood Elementary; Steve Dragon, Southside Elementary; Jack Turgeon, Venice High; David Jones, McIntosh Middle; Wendy Katz, who will serve as acting principal at Tatum Ridge Elementary starting in November; Pamela Buchanan, Gocio Elementary; Kathy Wilks, Brookside Middle; and John Weida, Brentwood Elementary. Weida served as Brentwood’s acting principal last year.

SARASOTA COUNTY – Newly appointed principals at several schools, new start and end times at three schools and other changes await students when the 2010-11 school year gets under way in Sarasota County public schools, Monday, Aug. 23.

The principals will lead Englewood Elementary (Mark Grossenbacher, former assistant principal at Sarasota Middle), Gocio Elementary (Pam Buchanan, former principal of Englewood Elementary), Southside Elementary (Steve Dragon, former principal of Gocio Elementary), Brookside Middle (Kathy Wilks, former assistant principal at North Port High), McIntosh Middle (David Jones, former assistant principal at Sarasota High) and Venice High (Jack Turgeon, former principal of Brookside Middle).

John Weida, who served last year as acting principal of Brentwood Elementary, has been named that school’s principal. Wendy Katz, a former principal who currently leads the district’s Leadership Development Program to identify and train new administrators, will begin serving as acting principal of Tatum Ridge Elementary in November when current principal Sandra Russell retires.

The schools with new start and end times are Brookside Middle and Venice Middle/Oak Park South, which will now be in session from 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., and Gulf Gate Elementary, which will observe new student hours of 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.
Other changes around the school district include the following:

• Ashton Elementary in Sarasota has a new sign out front featuring the school’s astronaut mascot, Astro, symbolizing that Ashton students are, in the words of the school’s motto, “Reaching for the Stars.” The school also has new carpeting in the library and main hallway. New signage with character education messages is now located throughout the campus.

 
• At Englewood Elementary, there are new welcome banners on the light poles outside the front office, new flooring in the cafeteria and new furniture in the media center.

• New roundabouts installed by Sarasota County Government on Honoré Avenue near Fruitville Elementary in Sarasota will change the traffic flow leading to the school, which is located between Fruitville Road and Bahia Vista streets. The roadwork is scheduled to be completed by the Friday morning before the first day of school, but motorists are urged to exercise caution with the new traffic pattern. More information about the roundabouts and a temporary detour, in place until Friday morning, is available at the school’s website at www.SarasotaCountySchools.net/Fruitville

• Families of Glenallen Elementary in North Port will see the completion of a four-year renovation, including the interior remodeling of all classrooms and computer labs and the removal of 12 portable classrooms from the campus.

• Toledo Blade Elementary students will see renovated classrooms throughout the campus. Missing from the North Port school will be more than 50 portable classrooms, which were removed to make way for the creation of athletic fields.

• At Laurel Nokomis School in Nokomis, the district’s only K-8 school, parents now have the option of purchasing school uniforms for their students. The voluntary uniform shirts are polo-style and feature the school’s logo.

• Students at Booker High in Sarasota will start to see changes in their campus this year as part of a three-year rebuild of the school. The project will begin with the demolition of one of the school's oldest buildings, the former Amaryllis Park Elementary School, to make room for the re-routing of Orange Avenue along the east side of the campus. Construction of new campus buildings will start in early 2011. The history of Booker High School and Amaryllis Park Elementary School is being preserved through videotaped interviews with former students and staff. Displays planned for the new campus will include the videotaped memories and memorabilia.

• Motorists driving to Booker High should note that access to Myrtle Street from Washington Boulevard (U.S. 301) is temporarily blocked due to work on U.S. 301 that is unrelated to the school rebuild. Drivers must turn on 35th Street (just south of Myrtle Street) and follow the detour signs to BHS. Myrtle at 301 is expected to reopen in late September or early October.

• The rebuild of Venice High has begun. The preliminary site work is under way. New parking and traffic patterns will be complete by the beginning of school. Construction of the new academic building and cafeteria will start in September.

• The Cyesis program for pregnant teens, young parents and their children has moved from its old location at Beneva and Wilkinson roads to Riverview High in Sarasota. Students in that program are now RHS students. The former home of Cyesis now houses YMCA Triad, an alternative school.

News about back-to-school events, including student orientation and meet-the-teacher opportunities, is available at individual school websites, which are accessible from the district website at www.SarasotaCountySchools.net/schools.aspx

Information about bus routes and back-to-school bus safety reminders for motorists and students are available at www.SarasotaCountySchools.net/transportation

 

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ASHTON STARS: Aryn Whittaker, a new kindergarten student, and her brother Hayden Whittaker, who is entering second grade, show off the new sign at Ashton Elementary in Sarasota. The sign features the school’s astronaut mascot, Astro, symbolizing that Ashton students are, in the words of the school’s motto, “Reaching for the Stars.” 
 

 
HOMEWORK BOUND: McIntosh Middle School eighth-grade student Madi Driscoll, left, accepts the first desk donated by Desks for Success from the project’s founder, Grier Ferguson.

SARASOTA - Desks for Success, a new project dedicated to providing home desks for middle school students to help them be successful at school, donated its first desk Aug. 11. The lucky student was McIntosh Middle School eighth-grader Madi Driscoll. The donation kicked off the Desks for Success pilot project at the school.

“I’ll be ready to do my homework because I’ll have my very own desk,” said a beaming Driscoll.

Desks for Success, founded by McIntosh and Sarasota High graduate Grier Ferguson, was created to provide desks to eligible middle school students who can use the boost of having their own desk at home. McIntosh was selected as the pilot school for the project; Ferguson hopes to expand it eventually to other middle schools in the district and possibly beyond. 

“We hope that a desk will not only be practical, but that it will also help motivate students to succeed, inside and outside of the classroom,” said Ferguson, now a sophomore at the University of Florida.

David Jones, the new principal of McIntosh added, “We’re thrilled to be part of this exciting new project.” Jones knows Ferguson from his years as an assistant principal at Sarasota High. He welcomed the chance to work with her to help launch the Desks for Success project.

FIRST DESK FOR SUCCESS: McIntosh Middle School staff join recipient Madi Driscoll, seated, and Desks for Success project founder Grier Ferguson, far right, to celebrate the donation of the project’s first desk Aug. 11. Staff members pictured are, from left, guidance counselor Rick Nastan, business teacher Jeri Cocchi, guidance counselor Jeffi Westberry and Principal David Jones.

“When we looked for a student to receive the first desk,” said Jones, “our guidance counselors Rick Nastan and Jeffi Westberry, as well as our business teacher Jeri Cocchi, thought of Madi immediately. She is an awesome kid who is highly regarded here at McIntosh.”

Driscoll, who is involved in the Leadership Club at McIntosh, was the center of attention when her family members and friends gathered Aug. 11 to be part of the desk presentation.

“It’s nice that we could do something for such a special kid. I’m really proud of her,” said Cocchi. “We look forward to helping many more students like her.”

As Desks for Success gears up this school year, teachers, counselors and administrators at McIntosh will identify additional students who can benefit from receiving their own desk.

A $60 donation will underwrite the cost of one Desk for Success, but donations of any amount are welcome. For more information about Desks for Success, visit www.desksforsuccess.org, call 941-726-7026 or send an e-mail to desksforsuccess@earthlink.net. 


 
 

COMPOSING THEMSELVES: Fruitville Elementary School third-grade gifted program teacher Dee Dee Rice, left, and Fruitville music teacher Emily Garske perform a rhythmic composition they created using common items such as paper and sticks. The exercise was part of a music workshop held Aug. 11 at the Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center during the institute, "The Arts: Language for Learning."

SARASOTA – Twenty-seven Sarasota County teachers from six elementary schools and two middle schools experienced in-depth, interactive lessons in the visual arts, music, theatre and dance the week of Aug. 9 at an institute hosted by some of the region’s leading cultural organizations.

The event, titled “The Arts: Language for Learning” was made possible by a grant awarded to the Sarasota County School District from the National Endowment for the Arts to provide educators with an integrated arts/language arts professional development experience. It was one of only four such NEA grants awarded to Florida-based organizations, and the only one that was awarded to a school district in the state. Teachers from Alta Vista, Bay Haven, Fruitville and Taylor Ranch elementary schools, Booker and Heron Creek middle schools and Pine View School participated.

Presenters and facilitators at the institute helped teachers learn how to use an inquiry process to understand various works of art and connect this artistic learning to language arts. The teachers also created artwork in hands-on exercises. The goal was a better understanding of these creative disciplines so they can effectively apply them to classroom teaching in ways that will excite their students.

After opening day Aug. 10, which took place at the Ringling Museum of Art, the institute moved on Aug. 11 to the Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center, 709 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota (the home of the Sarasota Orchestra), where the teachers learned about the process of creating a musical composition. On Aug. 12 the scene shifted to the Asolo Repertory Theatre, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, where the teachers explored the elements of theatre and drama.

The institute’s presenters included:

 
Aug. 10: Ringling Museum: Ron Yrabedra, professor emeritus of art and art history, Florida A&M University; professional artist

Aug. 11: Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center: David Brunner, professor and director of choral activities at the University of Central Florida; national clinician and composer 

Aug. 12: Asolo Repertory Theatre: Karen Erickson, national workshop leader for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; actress, director and international consultant

The institute will continue with a dance element at Booker Middle School in October. In January, the three-teacher teams from each school will make presentations about how they incorporated the ideas from the institute into their classroom lessons. 
 

SARASOTA – The Sarasota County School District maintained its A grade from the Florida Department of Education in the 2010 school grade report released Aug. 6. Eighteen of the district’s elementary schools maintained their A grades.

Four elementary schools dropped one letter grade. Statewide, 33 percent of elementary schools dropped a letter grade.

The district's middle and charter schools also performed better than others around the state. Six of the district’s seven middle schools earned an A for the second straight year. Seven of the district’s eight elementary and middle charter schools were rated as A or B schools.

Grades for high schools and combination schools with high school students will not be released until a new high-school accountability component is calculated that includes factors such as graduation rate, the number of students taking advanced-placement courses and indications of student readiness for college. High school grades are scheduled to be released in November.

State Education Commissioner Eric Smith said that the statewide drop in elementary school grades is a concern, but it is within an acceptable range of fluctuation from year to year. He said the overall trend of student performance since the grading process began in 1999 continues to be positive.

Smith said a decline in the rate of learning gains among the lowest-performing 25 percent of elementary students, particularly in grades four and five, accounted for many of the grade losses among elementary schools. A school cannot earn an A if fewer than 50 percent of its students in the lowest-performing quartile do not show learning gains.

He said the slowing of improvement among students most in need of help was likely related to funding cuts that have eliminated reading coaches and other supports for low–performing students. “Money in education does matter,” Smith said. He said it is most unfortunate that budget cuts affect the lowest-performing students first.

Detailed information regarding school grades is available at http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/. 

 

SARASOTA - The Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice has funded a comprehensive project to improve student participation and achievement in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) courses in Sarasota and Charlotte county schools. The foundation plans to invest up to $500,000 a year for five years at eight secondary schools to provide professional development for teachers in STEM programs and to encourage students to take STEM classes.

More than 9,000 students are expected to benefit directly from the grant program. The participating Sarasota County Schools are Venice and North Port high schools and Woodland, Heron Creek, Venice and Laurel-Nokomis middle schools. In Charlotte County, Lemon Bay High School and L.A. Ainger Middle School will participate in the project.

Foundation president and CEO Teri Hansen said: “Research indicates that 15 of the 20 fastest-growing jobs through 2014 will require substantial math and science preparation, but Florida, as well as the United States, is failing to develop an adequate supply of STEM‐capable workers. While our economy demands a larger and more proficient STEM workforce, enrollment and success in those courses is rapidly declining.

“”As a community, state and nation, we are falling behind. Florida's students trail national averages in math and science, and lag far behind a long list of quickly-developing countries,” Hansen said. “The time for action is now and the foundation is creating a community-based coalition to tackle this issue."

The foundation developed its project strategies with input from Sarasota and Charlotte County district administrators, principals and teachers. Parents, students, economic development organizations and employers also helped plan the project.

A significant portion of the grant funds will be invested in accelerating teacher preparation to meet Florida’s new Next Generation math and science standards, which will require teachers to present more rigorous materials and to employ new instructional techniques. Project planners have gathered data on best practices and are developing materials with math and science leaders statewide.

Grant funds also will be invested in improving opportunities for students to increase achievement in STEM courses and prepare for postsecondary programs and careers in STEM-related fields. Schools also are expected to collaborate with employers to expose students to real-world experiences in STEM careers and to involve families in encouraging students to participate in STEM programs.

STEM Florida
Over the past year, organized initiatives have been formed in Florida to ensure the availability of a work force with STEM skills. A Florida STEM Council, funded by a $580,000 grant from Workforce Florida, is connecting business, education, workforce and economic-development leaders.

The Council's mission is to support innovation in existing and emerging industries by promoting a competitive workforce. STEM Florida, a collaborative partnership program led by the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations, was selected to receive the grant funding from Workforce Florida to implement its multi-component strategy.

About Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice
Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice is the largest community foundation in Florida. It has awarded $104 million in grants since 1996 in the areas of arts and culture, health and human services, education, civic affairs, and the environment.  

 

SARASOTA – The Sarasota County School District has been approved to receive more than $43 million from a federal bond program that will fund nearly three-quarters of the cost of rebuilding Booker High School with little or no interest cost to the district. The $43 million bonding authority represents the largest single allocation to a Florida school district in 2010 under the $115 million Florida Department of Education program.

The Qualified School Construction Bond program is part of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Subject to approval by the School Board of Sarasota County, the QSCB funding will provide an interest rebate on about 74 percent of the $58 million budgeted for the rebuild of BHS.

The QSCB program was intended to help school districts finance qualified school construction projects in areas with specific needs. The age of the existing school buildings, safety and security issues and the demographics of the communities in which the projects are being built all were important considerations in the selection of qualified projects. BHS is a high-priority project because it includes re-routing Orange Avenue so students will no longer have to cross a street to move between classes.

“This is great news for the school district and for the citizens of our community,” said Shirley Brown, chairwoman of the School Board of Sarasota County. “By taking advantage of the district's bonding ability due to our excellent credit rating, we now have an opportunity to help jump-start our local economy at a time when it not only was most needed for our community, but also most advantageous to the district. It will mean jobs for hundreds of workers as we take advantage of current low interest rates and low construction costs.

“It’s truly a win-win-win scenario. The district gets Booker High built at a lower cost, the dollars help our local economy and our students will have updated facilities in which to learn the skills they will need to compete in our new global, technology-based economy.”

The Booker High rebuild and other school construction projects under way, including rebuilds of Venice High School and the Sarasota County Technical Institute, come at a time in which the district’s annual capital projects revenue available through property and sales taxes has dropped from $162 million to $81 million since the 2007-2008 budget year.

To keep the new school projects on track and to take advantage of low construction costs, the district has borrowed against future capital revenues.The QSCB authorization will enable the district to save several million dollars in interest costs.

The Booker High rebuild project will begin in August with the realignment of Orange Avenue. Building construction is scheduled to begin in early 2011 and to be completed in 2013.

SARASOTA – PALS Partners in Education has teamed up with Borders to deliver new books to struggling readers this summer. The Borders bookstore at Paradise Plaza, a Sarasota County Schools business partner, has donated more than 1,250 new books purchased by their customers specifically for this project. The PALS office and Community Advisory Board is sorting the books this week (July 5-9) and coordinating delivery later this month to students at four summer-school sites and at Newtown Estates Park, which will host a “reading buddies” program July 22-Aug. 5 that pairs tutors with children.

The idea is to help struggling readers appreciate the joy of reading for pleasure by giving them a book of their own for their home library. The books will be delivered to students in voluntary pre-kindergarten, third-grade reading camps and students with learning disabilities at Gocio Elementary, Wilkinson Elementary and Oak Park School in Sarasota as well as Glenallen Elementary in North Port. PALS also will deliver books to children in a Sarasota County Parks and Recreation summer camp program at Newtown Estates Park in Sarasota.

“PALS trains volunteers as reading tutors and coordinates the work of the many business partners who help our schools, so this project is a perfect match with our mission,” said Ron Carr, president of the PALS Community Advisory Board. “I like to tell people that volunteerism is priceless, because its value is given freely. Business partners who work with our school system have given freely of their time, material and financial resources to enhance the lives of the young people in our community. The PALS Community Advisory Board encourages strong and sustainable relationships between our business community and our schools, because those volunteer partnerships are crucial to education and to the academic success of our students.”

Deborah Dennis, general manager of the Sarasota Borders store, said this is one of many local book drives the store has sponsored that have brought thousands of new books to area children.

 
“We’re proud to team with PALS and Sarasota County Schools on this important effort that will directly benefit students in our schools,” she said. “Developing early literacy skills sets the stage for a lifelong love of reading and brings a level of confidence students need to succeed in all areas of academic achievement. Because our customers understand the importance or reading, many of them have contributed to this project by purchasing a book to donate to a child who is struggling with early literacy skills. Our customers and staff are excited about making a difference in our community.”

 
Anyone interested in learning more about becoming a business partner or serving as a reading tutor or other volunteer in Sarasota County public schools may call the PALS Partners in Education office of the Communications & Community Relations Department at 941-927-4009 or visit the PALS web page.