More than 200 parents and children turned out to a community meeting to find out more about Pasco County Schools’ plan to open the district’s first magnet school in Land O’ Lakes.
Sanders Memorial Elementary School, scheduled to open next school year, will be known as a STEAM school, which stands for science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics.
Unlike other district schools, this one won’t have an attendance boundary, Superintendent Kurt Browning said.
Applications for the school will be accepted for students throughout the county, but the district is considering whether to give preferential admission to students living within one mile of the school — students now attending Connerton or Oakstead elementary schools — and those who have siblings that have been accepted. Both Connerton and Oakstead are overcrowded and need relief, Browning explained, so the district may use Sanders to help address that issue.
While Sanders will open next year, the district has not yet decided how it will handle transportation to the school, Browning said. It may continue to send buses through neighborhoods to pick up students in the morning and drop them off in the afternoon. Or, it may establish a hub system, where parents take children to a location where district buses pick up and drop off children.
The district hopes to have the principal for Sanders named by November and to have the teaching staff selected by February or March, Browning said.
Sanders will be different from other schools in many respects. For one thing, the school’s design includes large spaces next to classrooms. They are intended to encourage collaboration between students, between teachers and students, and between classrooms.
Even the school’s furniture will accommodate a greater degree of teamwork. The chairs and desks will move easily to accommodate clusters of learners tackling various tasks.
Sanders also will feature the latest in technology. And, every student will be equipped with an electronic device.
The district hasn’t decided yet whether all of the students will have the same kind of device, or if kindergarten through second-graders will have iPads, and third- through fifth-graders will have laptops.
“We know that this generation of children already has advanced ability in the use of technology,” said Dave Scanga, executive director of the Central Region of Pasco County Schools.
Sanders will infuse technology into every aspect of learning. The school also will give students more opportunities to do environmental observations, as the school takes advantage of a wetlands area to help nurture a deeper understanding of nature.
It’s not clear yet whether Sanders will open with a fifth-grade program, Browning said. The district plans to survey parents of fourth-graders to see if there’s enough interest to open the school with fifth grade, or to wait a year for that grade.
The superintendent said he understands that parents may be reluctant to move their child to Sanders during their final year of elementary school, so the district wants to find out what parents think before making that decision.
Like other public schools, Sanders will have children from diverse economic, ethnic and racial backgrounds. It also will have students with varying degrees of ability.
Sanders will adhere to Florida’s educational standards, Browning said. It also will offer a fee-based childcare program, before and after school.
Sanders is Pasco’s first magnet school, Browning said, but it won’t be its last.
“Parents want choices about the way their kids are educated,” the superintendent said. Schools like Sanders give parents another option.
The district also understands that children who attend Sanders for elementary school will need to transition into a middle school program that meets their needs, and work is under way to address that issue, Browning said.
Sanders will have a capacity of 762 students, and the school district will accept applications throughout December.
The school district funded the redesign of Sanders in 2008, but the project was put on hold because the housing market crashed.
When completed, Sanders — located at 5126 School Road — will be almost entirely new. Just three of the former school’s buildings remain on site. The rest were demolished.
Besides being the district’s first magnet, Sanders also will benefit from an agreement between the school board and Pasco County government officials. The arrangement aims at providing more recreational opportunities for schoolchildren and the community at large, while also broadening learning opportunities and providing a venue to accommodate community gatherings.
The Pasco County Commission has approved spending $2.4 million to improve the Land O’ Lakes Community Center at 5401 U.S. 41. That center is adjacent to the Sanders property. The improvements include the construction of a restroom, concession area and meeting room, a picnic shelter, sports fields, a basketball court, parking, and a trail.
Sandy Graves, president of the Heritage Park Foundation, is pleased with the county’s funding, but said work continues to raise about $200,000 needed to build a stage on the park property, next to the community center, that could be used for large community events.
Graves hopes a major sponsor will step forward to make a sizable donation, which could be matched through community fundraising efforts.
Graves has pushed this project for years, and is confident that eventually the vision will become a reality.
“It will be built,” Graves said.
Published October 1, 2014
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