LAND O’ LAKES – Pasco Schools Superintendent John Legg informed school board members on Feb. 18 that work is underway to install walls to enclose up to 700 classrooms in schools in the district.
The reason for this, Legg told board members, is to decrease the amount of distractions occurring within classrooms without walls while making those classrooms safer for students and teachers.
“We need to ensure every classroom is a distraction-free environment,” Legg said.
Fox Hollow Elementary School is the first school in which the walls are being installed.
Fox Hollow, which was built in 1991, used an “open schools” concept featured at that time. Its purpose was twofold: to make it easier for students to work with children in other classes and to allow teachers to collaborate.
Now, however, the collaborative setting is distracting, according to Principal Jessica Pitkoff.
Walls have already been installed in Fox Hollow’s kindergarten pod and work was underway in its fifth-grade section when Legg informed board members of his decision.
There are about 700 open classrooms throughout the school district. It will take about two years to enclose all of them at an estimated cost of $2.1 million, or $3,000 each, according to school board records.
District maintenance and construction workers will be used to do the work, according to Legg.
“It’s going to be driven from the principal level and the classroom level,” Legg said. “Some schools may not want the classrooms closed in.”
He added, though, that the concept of “open schools” was a model that “no longer functions in our current age.”
Board member Megan Harding said she supported the idea. She taught at Fox Hollow before being elected to the board. Harding said she disrupted things when they occasionally ran from a class into the shared area.
Board member Jessica Wright said safety was one of her concerns. She has two children who attend another elementary school without classroom walls.
Walls are also being erected in schools without walls in Pinellas County.
Outstanding educator
Laura Carlson was recognized as an Outstanding Educator for the 2024-2025 school year.
She was introduced and praised by Colleen Wilkinson, principal of New River Elementary School.
Carlson was a founding member of New River Elementary School when it opened in 2007. Prior to that, Wilkinson said, Carlson had begun her educational journey at Centennial Elementary School.
Carlson has a master’s degree in special education, which has equipped her to consistently demonstrate a passion and enthusiasm for teaching that is truly inspiring, Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson described Carlson as “an invaluable member of our New River family.”
Recognizing volunteers
Three volunteers were also honored for outstanding things they have done for Pasco County Schools.
- Keri Bethel was honored as Outstanding Volunteer of the Year. Bethel was recognized for all that she does to support students and staff at Shady Hills Elementary School.
- Victor Kodish was honored as the Outstanding Senior Volunteer. Kodish retired after working at Pine View Middle for more than 40 years but returned to the school as a volunteer.
- Grace Carlton was honored as the Outstanding Youth Volunteer of the Year. Grace, a student at Gulf Middle, volunteers at Richey Elementary each week after school.
