Vice president named for new office
Saint Leo University’s president, Dr. William J. Lennox Jr., has appointed Dr. Senthil Kumar as the school’s vice president for the newly created Office of Global Engagement and International Affairs.
Prior to this position at Saint Leo, Kumar served as vice president of enrollment management and dean of international programs at Bay State College, Massachusetts, and dean of enrollment management and director of institutional advancement at The National Graduate School of Quality Management.
Kumar also served as vice president (consultant) of global strategy at Juesheng Education Group, in China.
Hillel appoints new director
Hillel Academy, the Tampa Bay area’s only accredited Jewish school, has appointed Cantor Beth Schlossberg as director of Jewish Life and Curriculum.
Schlossberg comes to the academy after most recently serving as co-director for the religious school of Congregation Kol Ami, where she built a comprehensive, creative elementary and middle school Hebrew and Judaics curriculum.
In 2003, she enrolled in the Jewish Theological Seminary and began studies at the H.L. Miller Cantorial School.
After being invested, Schlossberg spent four years with Beth El Synagogue in Omaha, Nebraska.
Afterward, she and her husband, Michael, moved to Tampa to join Congregation Kol Ami.
Teacher certification
Pasco-Hernando State College is accepting applications for individuals who want to pursue a career in teaching.
The Educator Preparation Institute, an approved program by the Florida Department of Education, provides an alternative route to a Florida Professional Educator’s Certification for those who already have a baccalaureate degree and want to teach kindergarten through 12th grade.
The college will be training a new group of teachers this fall.
The deadline to apply and complete testing requirements is July 20. Classes start Aug. 20.
For information, call Melissa Burr at (727) 816-3471, or visit Educator-prep.phsc.edu.
Student wins national scholarship
Camellia Moors, a senior International Baccalaureate student and member of the National Honor Society at Land O’ Lakes High School, was named one of 500 national semifinalists in the National Honor Society Scholarship program.
Moors was chosen from more than 11,000 applicants to receive a $2,850 scholarship.
While at Land O’ Lakes High, Moors has been founder of the Green Club, president of Model UN, and treasurer of the National Honor Society, while heading several service projects, including bringing county libraries to LEED status, a $9 million bond vote and fundraising endeavor.
Moors plans to attend Princeton University to study global affairs and environmental policy.
Five Pasco schools named the best
The U.S. News & World Report list of 2018 Best High Schools included five from Pasco County: Land O’ Lakes, J.W. Mitchell, Wiregrass Ranch and Sunlake high schools, and Pasco e-School.
Less than 30 percent of high schools in the country qualify for the list.
Four of the schools earned Silver badges, an honor only 11 percent of the U.S. high schools can claim.
In Florida, Land O’ Lakes was ranked 50th, based on its 87-percent graduation rate and 53.5 ranking for college readiness.
J.W. Mitchell ranked 90th with an 85-percent graduation rate and 44.5 college readiness ranking.
Wiregrass Ranch came in at 117 with a 91-percent graduation rate and 37.4 for college readiness.
Sunlake’s 86-percent graduation rate and 37.3 college readiness score ranked it 119th.
Pasco e-School earned a Bronze badge, with a 100-percent graduation rate, but had no college readiness ranking. Only 16 percent of U.S. schools fall into the Bronze badge category.
For information, visit USNews.com/education.
