The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Lutz since 1964 and Pasco since 1981.
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Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

New River Elementary School

Public schools to go back in session — remotely

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Florida students in kindergarten through 12th grades will remain off school campuses until at least April 15 because of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

While students will remain off campus, they will receive some type of online or remote instruction beginning at the end of March, according to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Superintendent Kurt Browning provided a March 22 update on the situation in Pasco County Schools, in via a video posted on the district’s website (Pasco.k12.fl.us).

“At this time, our campuses are closed until Wednesday, April 15. However, starting on Tuesday March 31, learning will resume — even through the time our schools are closed. That’s when we’ll transition to distance learning.“

Browning then explained the chain of events that will occur.

The district already has sent a newsletter to parents, providing how-to instructions to help them and their children navigate distance learning, Browning said.

On March 27, the district’s instructional staff will return to school, virtually, to receive a four-hour training, relating to distance learning.

Then, on March 30, the district will distribute devices to parents who do not have a computer at home.

“This will take place at the school your student attends,” Browning said. “We don’t have enough devices to provide a computer to every student in our district, but we will do everything we can to provide appropriate devices to families who don’t have them. We want all of our students to have the ability to go online and continue learning.”

On March 31, the district will transition to distance learning.

“That means school is in session on March 31. Not in our physical classrooms, but online,” the superintendent said.

“Our distance learning plan is designed to keep students on track, so that learning continues, even though our schools are closed.

“This is not optional. We expect our students to be engaged and learning,” Browning said.

Hillsborough County is having its Set Up for Success week, March 23 to March 27, which will give teachers and parents a chance to get comfortable with eLearning, finalize lesson plans and get access to devices and computers, according to the district’s website.

Classwork during Set Up for Success week will not be graded. Graded work and full eLearning will begin on March 30.

For more details on Hillsborough’s plan, visit the district’s website at SDHC.k12.fl.us.

Where to find meals for children:
These school feeding sites in The Laker/Lutz News coverage area are providing meals for children under 18 years old. The children must be present to receive a meal.

Pasco sites, operating 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., through March 27, include:

  • New River Elementary School, 4710 River Glen Blvd., in Wesley Chapel
  • Pasco High School, 36850 State Road 52in Dade City
  • Zephyrhills High School, at 6335 12th St., in Zephyrhills

Hillsborough sites, which operate 9 a.m.to 1 p.m., opened on March 23. They include:

  • Wharton High School, 20150 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., in Tampa
  • Mort Elementary School, 1806 E. Bearss Ave., in Tampa
  • Paul R. Smith Middle School, 14303 Citrus Pointe Drive in Tampa

More area school news:

  • All Florida public and private K-12, and career and technical center campuses are closed through April 15.
  • All remaining assessments for school readiness, voluntary prekindergarten and K-12 assessments are canceled for the 2019-2020 school year.
  • Requirements for graduation and promotion, and final course grades will be evaluated as though those assessments that were canceled did not exist.
  • K-12 school grades will not be calculated for 2019-2020 and schools in turnaround may continue their current status for 2020-2021 to avoid disruption to school leadership and operations.
  • Eligibility for Florida Bright Futures scholarships shall be based on available data and results. Tests that were not available to be taken shall not be counted.
  • All Florida College System institutions are providing virtual or other remote learning to students for the remainder of the 2020 spring semester.

Published March 25, 2020

New River kids tackle cooking challenge

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Four New River Elementary students are getting set to take off their “thinking caps” and put on their “chef’s caps.”

Fourth-graders Payton Furman, Cameron Keehn, Payton Leidy and Charyn Maldonado will compete as a team in the third annual Gridiron Cooking Challenge at One Buc Place, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers training facility, on May 14 from 9 a.m. to noon. Other regional competitions are being held at the Miami Dolphins’ and Jacksonville Jaguars’ facilities on separate dates.

From left, program advisor Kathy Gillooly and fourth-graders Cameron Keehn, Payton Furman, Payton Leidy and Charyn Maldonado. (Kevin Weiss/Staff Photo)
From left, program advisor Kathy Gillooly and fourth-graders Cameron Keehn, Payton Furman, Payton Leidy and Charyn Maldonado.
(Kevin Weiss/Staff Photo)

The challenge was created by the Florida Dairy Farmers and is part of Fuel Up to Play 60, an in-school nutrition and physical activity program launched by the National Dairy Council and the NFL to help encourage youth to lead healthier lives.

The team from New River Elementary, located in Wesley Chapel, was named as one of four central Florida finalists in March after the students’ recipe — “Cheesy Chicken and Bacon Quesadilla with Yogurt Veggie Dip” — was judged and chosen by members of the Dairy Council of Florida.

The four students decided to create a quesadilla recipe, since they all enjoy the entrée, and knew the contest required entrants to make an original recipe that included dairy products.

To make the Mexican classic healthier, they opted to add a few veggies — peppers and chopped spinach— to the recipe.

“I wasn’t sure about the peppers or the chopped spinach, but then I did end up liking it, because all of it was good together,” said Leidy, 10. “I don’t like them separate, but I do like them together.”

The New River students are one of four regional finalists chosen for the third annual Gridiron Cooking Challenge for their recipe, ‘Cheesy Chicken and Bacon Quesadilla with Yogurt Veggie Dip.’ They will prepare the recipe at One Buc Place on May 14. (Courtesy of Kathy Gillooly)
The New River students are one of four regional finalists chosen for the third annual Gridiron Cooking Challenge for their recipe, ‘Cheesy Chicken and Bacon Quesadilla with Yogurt Veggie Dip.’ They will prepare the recipe at One Buc Place on May 14.
(Courtesy of Kathy Gillooly)

The team will have 60 minutes to prepare and present the quesadilla and veggie dip in front of the judges at One Buc Place. After making the meal once before, they are confident they can get the finished product complete in 45 minutes or less.

To do so, group member has been assigned a job, whether it’s making the veggie dip, flipping the quesadilla or cutting it into football shapes.

“It’s fun cooking, but the best part is eating it,” Maldonado said with excitement.

“I like how we get to cook at One Buc Place. That’s my favorite part, and cooking in front of other people and the judges,” said Keehn, a fan of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

If the New River students win first place, they’ll each receive a tablet, and the school will receive a $2,500 prize pack.

The team’s program advisor and school’s P.E. teacher, Kathy Gillooly, said the entire initiative is beneficial, because it helps students learn about healthy habits and helps the school obtain additional funding.

“Since we brought this aspect into the school, I think it really helps them because they know “fuel up” means eating well, and “play 60” means they’re supposed to exercise for 60 minutes,” said Gillooly, who’s been an advisor for the cooking challenge all three years.

“I really think it’s an advantage that they’re doing this for kids. It’s also an advantage for schools getting that grant money,” she said.

Third annual Gridiron Cooking Challenge
What: Young chefs compete in a cooking challenge, which is part of Fuel Up to Play 60.
When: May 14, 9 a.m. to noon
Where: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Training Facility, One Buc Place

Published April 6, 2016

Teaching the art of business through small transactions

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The children on the covered play court behind Chester Taylor Elementary School were having a blast.

They were learning the ins and outs of business without even realizing it.

As the kids made their way from station to station, they could earn money by asking questions.

Crystal Enger enjoyed showing off a sports car from Wesley Chapel Nissan to children at Chester Taylor Elementary in Zephyrhills. Enger said the kids seemed to enjoy asking her questions about the car, and she enjoyed seeing them have a chance to think about things they might not have considered before. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Crystal Enger enjoyed showing off a sports car from Wesley Chapel Nissan to children at Chester Taylor Elementary in Zephyrhills. Enger said the kids seemed to enjoy asking her questions about the car, and she enjoyed seeing them have a chance to think about things they might not have considered before.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

They could then spend their earnings on games of chance to win prizes.

Of course, the money was paper money, and the prizes were things like candy, tiny balls and pencils — but the experience gave kids a chance to interact with area businesses, learn a bit about their operations and have some fun at the same time.

The event’s main goal was to pave the way for elementary school children to develop a greater interest in business, said Rene Martinez, a teacher at Weightman Middle School in Wesley Chapel.

Martinez, Gregg Clapp and Ryan Prieto, all serve as advisors to the Future Business Leaders of America chapter, which meets as a club at Weightman Middle.

Chester Taylor Elementary, in Zephyrhills, was just one of the elementary schools included in the American Enterprise Project organized by the Weightman Middle School chapter.

Other schools they included were Wesley Chapel Elementary, Seven Oaks Elementary, Double Branch Elementary and New River Elementary.

By the time they’d finished their rounds, thousands of children in nearly 75 classes had the opportunity to learn about local businesses and have some fun.

“Every year, each FBLA chapter has to do something called the American Business Enterprise. And the kids have to come up with a theme and an idea and put it together and organize it,” Martinez said.

“Right now, Weightman Middle School is the only middle school in Pasco County that has an FBLA chapter. It’s our first year. We’re really small,” Martinez said.

Chapter members were wondering how they could expand, and they came up with the idea of reaching out to elementary schools, Martinez said.

Prieto, a student at Pasco-Hernando State College, was involved in FBLA at Wesley Chapel High and he saw the need to get more students involved at the middle school level, Martinez said.

The club came up with the idea of using the game Monopoly as a model, and filling each of the spaces with a local business.

The kids would make their way around the board, spending money at the various stops.

Their aims were a bit ambitious, Martinez said.

“There’s 22 squares on a Monopoly board. Do you what it’s like to get 22 businesses?” Martinez said.

But he admires their optimism.

“That’s the beauty of children. They reach for the moon. They really do.”

They didn’t get 22 business, but they did get Sagat Computer Inc., Parks Fiat of Wesley Chapel, Hyundai of Wesley Chapel, Wesley Chapel Nissan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, Busch Gardens, Pilote Bank and Bright House.

The FBLA members also experienced something that businesses encounter all of the time, Martinez said. If one plan doesn’t work, you come up with another one.

“This is real-world stuff,” said Martinez, who teaches sixth-grade World History.

Crystal Enger was there from Wesley Chapel Nissan, showing off a black 370Z Nissan.

The kids lined up for a turn to sit inside the car.

As they waited for their turn, they asked questions. “Does that have a lot of torque?” one student wanted to know. “How much horsepower does it have?” asked another.

Enger was clearly enjoying herself.

“I think it’s nice,” she said. It gives students a chance “to think about things they’ve never thought about before,” she said.

Seth Raigoza, a member of Weightman’s FBLA chapter, said he was having a good time.

“The kids get to play games and to hear about business.”

Published January 21, 2015

Pasco schools get good news in reading, science

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Florida schools are transitioning into the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards, and some proof of the success of that move already is showing up in the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test scores.

Pasco County schools showed improvement in reading and science, but has room for improvement when it comes to math, based on test details released by Pasco County Schools on Friday.

“We are seeing that what we are doing is starting to pay off,” said Vanessa Hilton, director of teaching and learning with the school district, in a release. “We are starting to see strengths in the cohorts of students who have been receiving instruction based on the new Florida Standards as they progress from grade to grade.”

Several schools demonstrated significant improvement on the FCAT 2.0 Reading sections in 2014 compared to the year before. The biggest increases came from local elementary schools like Taylor, Pasco, Cox, New River, West Zephyrhills and Watergrass. They also improved with seventh graders at Academy at the Farm, and underclassmen at Pasco eSchool and Wesley Chapel High School.

For science, 52 percent of students in fifth grade were performing at or above satisfactory scores, while 52 percent of students in eighth grade had similar results. This is up 49 percent from the previous year in fifth grade, and 48 percent in eighth grade.

A little more than 25 elementary schools in the county maintained or increased the percent of students scoring at or above satisfactory levels, joined by 11 middle schools. Odessa, Pasco, Seven Oaks and Watergrass elementary schools were some of the local schools that had significant improvement in science, along with Pasco and Stewart middle schools.

The picture wasn’t so rosy when it came to math, however. The percentage of elementary school students in Pasco scoring at satisfactory levels was below the statewide percentage. However, some schools had some marked improvement in math, including Centennial, Odessa, Cox, New River, San Antonio, Taylor, Watergrass and West Zephyrhills elementary schools. Pasco and Long middle schools also had strong improvement in math, as did Academy at the Farm.

“This was a year of transition, and we know that our teachers have been focusing on the new Florida Standards in the classroom,” Pasco superintendent Kurt Browning said, in a release. “It will be important for us to consider not only these scores, but also additional data that our schools have been collecting to make decisions as we move forward.”

School district uses surveys to gauge progress

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Superintendent Kurt Browning plans to use annual surveys by the Gallup organization to help gauge the progress of Pasco County Schools.

The district’s school board in February heard a review of the Gallup Student Poll and the employee engagement survey findings in February, and according to the Gallup report, the district’s results were in the same ballpark as national findings.

Since the surveys had not been taken before, they will serve as a baseline.

Browning said he expects next year’s results to be interesting, because the district will be using the same survey tools. But even this year’s results are helpful, Browning said. They help the district to see, “Where are we doing well? Where are we not doing so well?”

It’s important to have an outside party take an objective look at the district, using statistically valid survey tools, Browning said.

School board member Joanne Hurley agrees. She said the surveys can help the district address areas needing improvement with the goal of helping students perform better academically and be better prepared for life beyond school.

Gallup is an internationally respected company, Browning said. The district’s contract with the company runs through September. The cost of the student and school-based surveys and analyses was $125,000. The district spent $19,000 more on a district office staff survey.

Browning anticipates an extension of the district’s contract with Gallup, but those details have not yet been worked out.

Gallup’s student poll measures indicators of future success, the superintendent said.

“I keep saying that we’re concerned about the success of our kids not only through high school, but after high school,” Browning said.

The Gallup Student Poll is a 20-question survey that measures the hope, engagement, and well-being of students in grades five through 12. Gallup defines hope as ideas and energy for the future; engagement as involvement with and enthusiasm for school; and well-being as how people think about and experience their lives.

The survey company said hope, engagement and well-being can be measured and are linked to student achievement, retention and future employment.

The Gallup Student Poll was conducted online in Pasco County Schools during the school day from Oct. 15 through Oct 31, with 31,740 students completing the survey.

District students’ results showed scores of 52 percent in the hope category; 53 percent in engagement; and 63 percent in well-being.

That compares to average results nationwide of 54 percent for hope; 55 for engagement; and, 66 percent for well-being.

“When you look at district overall results (for students), they look very similar to U.S. overall data,” Tim Hodges, director of research for Gallup, told school board members, according to a district release.

The staff survey measures factors that are critical to creating an environment that serves students, said assistant superintendent Amelia Larson.

The employee engagement survey measured attitudes that correspond with the most successful work places, based on more than four decades of research by Gallup.

The survey measured employee engagement, which Gallup defines as involvement with and enthusiasm for work.

Gallup used a 12-question employee survey to measure employee engagement.

The research company says an employee’s level of engagement links to employee retention, parent engagement, student retention, student achievement and other outcomes.

The employee engagement survey was conducted online in Pasco County Schools, from Nov. 15 through Nov. 22 and also Jan. 13 through Jan. 17 of this year, with 3,896 employees taking part. That represents a 79 percent response rate.

The results show that 26 percent of the school district’s employees are engaged in their jobs, compared to 30 percent of U.S. workers. Fifty-three district employees are not engaged, compared to 52 percent of workers nationally; and 21 percent of district employees are actively disengaged, compared to 18 percent of U.S. workers.

Looking only at district-level staff, 33 percent are engaged; 56 percent are not engaged and 11 percent are disengaged.

During the school board workshop, Hodges told the board, “to look at the rest of the U.S. working population, this is what we tend to see as a starting point.”

“This is a valuable tool for our administration,” Hurley said. “I think there is just a treasure trove of information contained within the Gallup results.”

School board member Steve Luikart agreed that the survey will be useful.

“Any feedback is always good. I do congratulate them on doing that,” he said. “I know it’s going to be used to get the temperature in different areas – how people feel and what people think.”

Teachers are facing huge challenges, Larson said.

“We want to keep track of student engagement,” Larson said. “We really are facing a crisis in education. Now, kids have every type of information available to them 24/7. The kids are not willing to wait (for instruction), so the teachers cannot wait” to deliver it, she said.

The district already has made some leadership changes at places such as Connerton Elementary and Sunlake High schools, which apparently are making a difference, Larson said.

New River Elementary School also is on an upswing, she said.

“That is like a well-oiled machine,” Larson said. “It scored a 65 percent engagement rating. You can really tell when you walk in there.”

Strategies that are being used at schools with high engagement ratings may be shared with schools that do not fare as well, Larson said. There also may be some coaching to help schools perform better, she said.

Published Feb. 26, 2014.