The Laker/Lutz News

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

Pine View Elementary

Serving meals to children in need

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Efforts are ongoing to keep children fed during this time of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

As school district officials know, for many children their school meals are their only reliable source of food.

So, both the Pasco and Hillsborough County school districts have set up meal distribution sites and have been providing meals to students ages 18 and under.

At the Pasco County School Board’s April 21 audio meeting, Betsy Kuhn, assistant superintendent of support services, provided this update.

“Today (April 21) was our fifth week in meal service, since schools closed,” she said.

During the week of March 23, the district served approximately 5,500 students per day, with prepackaged meals at its original feeding sites.

On March 31, it began distributing prepackaged meals once a week, with each student receiving five breakfasts and five lunches for the week. That week, it served 80,680 meals to over 8,000 students at 27 sites and 16 bus stops.

On April 21, it served 143,000 meals to 14,300 students, which was slightly less than the week before.

All in all, the district has served more than 536,200 meals since the school closure began, Kuhn said. The district has received some donations, to add to its prepackaged foods, she said, noting it has received fresh corn and cucumbers.

She also noted that Connerton Elementary was scheduled to be added on April 28, as one of the district’s distribution sites.

“We have had a huge demand in the Central Area,” Kuhn said, noting that 1,400 students were served on April 21 at Pine View Elementary.

The Pasco distribution program will cease on May 19, but is set to begin again on June 2, with some modifications.

In other news, Pasco Schools Deputy Superintendent Ray Gadd said the district will be joining

Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco, Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano, State Rep. Ardian Zika and State Sen. President Wilton Simpson to initiate a food drive.

“Even though we’ve been very successful at feeding our students, we remain concerned that as summer approaches, it’s going to become more difficult,” Gadd said.

He noted that Fasano is donating a substantial amount of food.

He also said “we’ve also reached out to some not-for-profits around the state that are shipping fresh produce throughout the state, and we’re trying to make connections with them, and we’re very optimistic that that’s going to occur.”

School board members Allen Altman and Cynthia Armstrong expressed appreciation for the ongoing efforts.

“I think it’s never been more evident that our schools are much more than education opportunities. What this system, what our employees and community support have done to support families in the last month, is nothing short of amazing,” Altman said.

He also noted that he hopes when the pandemic passes, “people will remember how much the public school system contributed to the community.”

Armstrong said it has been heartwarming to see the gratitude expressed by people receiving the food.

“Seeing the handmade thank you signs that the students have made and they hold up in the windows, really makes you appreciate what we’re able to do for our students’ families,” Armstrong said.

Meanwhile, in Hillsborough County, on April 15, the district began distributing food one day per week—with students receiving one week of food at a time.

“Due to new CDC guidelines and a statewide stay-at-home order, our district wants to minimize contact between Student Nutrition Services workers and our families. We believe one-day-a-week food distribution will be safer for the community as a whole,” the website says.

“Families will be able to pick up a week’s worth of nutritious meals every Wednesday at the same 147 sites, between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. This will include one pound of lunch meat, a loaf of bread, milk, juice and nutritious snacks.

“Students will receive enough food for each school day. Buses also will be transporting foods into specific neighborhoods for pick up every Wednesday.

Each student will receive a bag of food that needs to be refrigerated, and one that can stay at room temperature.

“It’s important to note that these food bags will weigh over 10 pounds together. If you are walking up or riding a bike to a Grab-and-Go site, please have your child bring their empty backpack to provide a simple way to transport the food,” the website says.

For a list of frequently asked questions, visit HillsboroughSchools.org.

Feeding  sites
Additional sites have been added to Pasco County Schools’ drive-thru feeding sites. Here is the current list of active sites within The Laker/Lutz News coverage area. The sites are open Tuesdays only, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Bags of food include breakfast and lunch for five days, for each student.

The sites are:

  • Chester W. Taylor Elementary
  • Connerton Elementary
  • New River Elementary
  • Pasco High School
  • Pasco Middle School
  • Pine View Elementary
  • Quail Hollow Elementary
  • Rodney B. Cox Elementary
  • San Antonio Elementary
  • West Zephyrhills Elementary
  • Zephyrhills High School

Published April 29, 2020

Central Pasco changes being considered

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A number of land-use and zoning changes are being considered on properties within Central Pasco County.

The proposals were considered by the Pasco County Commission and its advisory body, the Pasco County Planning Commission last week.

The County Commission:

  • Transmitted to the state Department of Economic Opportunity and reviewing agencies a request to amend the county’s land-use plan from a designation allowing one dwelling per acre to one that allows six dwelling units per acre on 39.93 acres at the southwest corner of Ehren Cutoff at Caliente Boulevard. The site is about one-quarter mile to the northwest of Land O’ Lakes Boulevard. The applicant is proposing 120 single-family dwelling units, which would be regulated by an associate Master Plan Unit Development zoning.

The proposed 120-unit subdivision would result in 22 students for Pine View Elementary, 12 students for Pine View Middle and 15 students for Land O’ Lakes High School

Commissioners are expected to consider the final adoption for the land-use change on May 21.

  • Adopted a change to the county’s land-use map to allow a commercial development on 2.51 acres that previously was designated for residential use. The site is east of Land O’ Lakes Boulevard, and 778 feet south of Wilderness Lakes Boulevard. The applicant is proposing 8,600 square feet of office uses and 9,800 square feet of office/retail, for a total of 18,400 nonresidential uses.

The county’s planning staff and its planning commission recommended approval of the request. The project is consistent with surrounding Wilderness Commons, Shamrock Plaza and Caliente Resort, according to planners.

The Planning Commission:

  • Approved a request by the Susan A. MacManus Living Trust to rezone a 5-acre site on the west side of Collier Parkway, about 300 feet south of Weeks Boulevard, extending west to Old Collier Road. The current zoning is agricultural. The proposed zoning would allow a professional office district. The current site is unimproved; the applicant proposes a 43,000-square-foot professional office park. The surrounding area is characterized by educational and religious institutions, mixed commercial and residential. County planners recommend approval. The Pasco County Commission, which has final jurisdiction, is scheduled to hear the request on April 23, at 1:30 p.m. at the Government Center in New Port Richey.
  • Approved a request by Starkey Ranch Investment Company LLC to rezone 2.86 acres at the northwest corner of Starkey and Rangeland boulevards. The current zoning is agricultural; the proposed zoning is neighborhood commercial. Planners recommended approval of the request. The Pasco County Commission, which has final jurisdiction, is scheduled to hear the request on April 23 at 1:30 p.m., at the Government Center in New Port Richey.

Published April 17, 2019

Grades slip at numerous local schools

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The Florida Department of Education has released its annual school grades, and the news was not good for numerous Pasco County schools in The Laker/Lutz News’ coverage area.

“As soon as I saw the information, I was pretty distraught,” said Pasco County School Board member Alison Crumbley.

“This has to really be broken down,” she said, noting she has requested a school board workshop to address the issue. “We need to pick this apart. This is priority one — priority one, to figure this out.”

The district needs time to analyze the results, Crumbley said, so she requested the workshop be held following the board’s Aug. 2 meeting.

Overall, 10 central and east Pasco elementary schools slipped by one letter grade. Six elementary schools maintained the same grade as last year, and two improved by a letter grade. Pine View Elementary had the biggest drop, slipping from an A to a C. Sanders Elementary, which opened last school year, received a B. Quail Hollow, which reopened last year, received a C.

All seven middle schools, meanwhile, maintained the grades they received last year, including three As, at Rushe, John Long and Pine View.

But, the news was not as good at the high school level. Four high schools in east and central Pasco dropped a grade, while two remained the same.

No Pasco high school within the newspaper’s coverage area received an A grade. Last year, Wiregrass Ranch High, Land O’ Lakes High and Sunlake each received an A, but this year, they each dropped to a B. Wesley Chapel High, which had a B last year, dropped to a C.

Meanwhile, each of the Pasco charter schools, serving the newspaper’s coverage area — Academy at the Farm, Countryside Montessori and Imagine School at Land O’ Lakes —received an A, mirroring the score they each received last year.

Crumbley said she’s trying to understand why some schools performed at the same level, or even improved, while others slipped.

“Nothing is really straight up, cut-and-dried, in this business, and I do know that,” Crumbley said. “But by the same token, we have to get to the bottom of this. We have to. Period.”

School board member Steve Luikart also expressed concerns.

“Some of the schools slipped and the district slipped. We went from B to C,” Luikart said.

On one hand, Luikart said, “it’s hard to throw mud at something, when you’ve got a change of criteria every year … It’s impossible to nail down data, when the criteria is not consistent.”

On the other hand, he continued: “We’re still competing with everyone else in the state,” he said.

“We’re going to have to look at what we’ve got to do differently to head it back in a different direction. There’s no doubt about that,” he said.

“I’m definitely concerned. It’s very disappointing,” Luikart said.

This chart provides scores for east and central Pasco County schools.

Elementary schools
Centennial Elementary                         2016: D           2015: C
Chester W. Taylor Jr. Elementary                   2016: C           2015: C
Connerton Elementary                         2016: C           2015: B
Denham Oaks Elementary                               2016: C           2015: B
Double Branch Elementary                             2016: B           2015: A
Lacoochee Elementary                         2016: D           2015: F
Lake Myrtle Elementary                                  2016: B           2015: A
New River Elementary                                    2016: B           2015: B
Oakstead Elementary                                       2016: A           2015: A
Pasco Elementary                                            2016: D           2015: D
Pine View Elementary                         2016: C           2015: A
Quail Hollow                                                  2016: C           2015 (Not open)
Rodney B. Cox Elementary                             2016: D           2015: F
San Antonio Elementary                                 2016: C           2015: C
Sanders Elementary                                        2016: B           2015 (Not open)
Seven Oaks Elementary                                  2016: B           2015: A
Veterans Elementary                                       2016: B           2015: A
Watergrass Elementary                                    2016: C           2015: B
Wesley Chapel Elementary                              2016: A           2015: A
West Zephyrhills Elementary                          2016: D           2015: C
Woodland Elementary                         2016: D           2015: C

Middle schools
Centennial Middle                                           2016: C           2015: C
Charles S. Rushe Middle                                2016: A           2015: A
Dr. John Long Middle                                    2016: A           2015: A
Pasco Middle                                                  2016: C           2015: C
Pine View Middle                                           2016: A           2015: A
Raymond B. Stewart Middle School               2016: C           2015: C
Thomas E. Weightman Middle School            2016: B           2015: B

High schools
Land O’ Lakes High                                       2016: B           2015: A
Pasco High                                                      2016: C           2015: C
Sunlake High                                                  2016: B           2015: A
Wesley Chapel High                                       2016: C           2015: B
Wiregrass Ranch High                                    2016: B           2015: A
Zephyrhills High                                             2016: C           2015: C

Charter schools
Academy at the Farm                                      2016: A           2015: A
Countryside Montessori Academy                  2016: A           2015: A
Imagine School at Land O’ Lakes                   2016: A           2015: A

Published July 20, 2016

 

Using technology to enrich learning

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There was a quiet buzz around the room, as teachers conferred with their colleagues.

They were working in teams, planning projects they will use in the coming year that will infuse technology into their daily teaching.

The 20 teachers, from across Pasco County, were part of the Teacher Technology Summer Institute that recently wrapped up at the University of Saint Leo, near Dade City.

Kristen Fuqua and Alyse Buckalew, teachers at Pine View Middle School, both took part in the Teacher Technology Summer Institute at Saint Leo University. The institute aims to help teachers harness the power of technology in their classrooms. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Kristen Fuqua and Alyse Buckalew, teachers at Pine View Middle School, both took part in the Teacher Technology Summer Institute at Saint Leo University. The institute aims to help teachers harness the power of technology in their classrooms.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

They were there on their own time — eager to learn how they can take advantage of technology to improve student learning.

In selecting teachers for the technology institute, the university wasn’t looking for evidence of “tech wizardry” in the applications, said Holly Atkins, associate professor of education at Saint Leo. Rather, it was seeking “teachers who are very student-centered, and really eager and open to learning more.”

Saint Leo fully understands the value of infusing technology in classrooms, Atkins said.

“We have a foundation of people who have the idea that the best use of technology is when it moves from the teacher’s hands to the students, so that they are engaged and they are creating,” she said.

“We not only encourage, we require, our student teachers to really become proficient at using the technology,” Atkins said.

But, the university has noticed it students often face a different scenario when they begin their student teacher experiences.

“Some of these students (student teachers) said, ‘My teacher doesn’t know how to use the tools. My teacher doesn’t let me use the tools,’” Atkins said.

The technology institute is part of the university’s service to the community, Atkins said.

“But, it also serves our education department and our own students, because the teachers that are in there (the institute) right now, almost all of them have received clinical instructor training. This enables them to host a student teacher,” Atkins said.

Teachers at the institute each could choose a technological tool to take back to their classroom. Their options were a class set of Virtual Reality headsets, a Microsoft Surface Pro, an iPad or a MimeoTeach, which is a toolbar that turns any whiteboard into an interactive whiteboard.

The institute addresses the four elements that teachers need to be successful at infusing technology into their teaching, Atkins said.

Teachers need the technological tool, they need training, they need time to practice using it and they need teams — so they can encourage and help each other enhance their skills.

“A teacher’s toolbox today should be broadening, rather than shrinking,” Atkins said. “So, it should be filled with chart paper and markers and all that good stuff, and also iPads and interactive whiteboards. It’s not an ‘either/or’ it’s an ‘and.’,” she said.

Like any other tool, technology needs to be used when it’s appropriate, Atkins said.

“So, just like any kind of skilled craftsman, the accomplished teacher looks at student learning needs, opens up his or her toolbox and says, ‘What’s the best tool to make this happen?’”

Atkins said.

This year’s crop of 20 teachers came from schools including Pine View Middle School, Pine View Elementary and Sanders Memorial S.T.E.A.M. Magnet Elementary in Land O’ Lakes and Quail Hollow Elementary in Wesley Chapel.

They were enthusiastic about the opportunity to build on their technological skills.

“Being at Sanders, we’re very fortunate. We already have a 1-to-1 ratio with devices,” said Megan Bender, a third-grade teacher.

But she was delighted to learn more about various apps and websites, and to hear the creative approaches used by other teachers.

“Getting all of these ideas is so exciting,” Bender said.

Mitzi Whitaker, another Sanders teacher, noted that both teachers and students came to the magnet school from across Pasco County.

So, they arrived there with various levels of technical knowledge, Whitaker said.

Even with a year of experience behind them, technology is constantly evolving, she said.

“We’re going to always be changing up our game,” Whitaker said.

This is the third year that Saint Leo has hosted the technology institute, which was paid for with grants the first two years and from the university’s budget this year.

The university also added a Teacher Technology Leadership Institute, also paid for through university funds.

The leadership institute involved 10 teachers who had completed the technology institute, Atkins said.

As part of their leadership development, those teachers will serve as mentors during the coming school year to the teachers who just finished the technology institute.

The teachers in the technology institute will be conducting a research project throughout the school year, measuring the success of a particular technology tool in connection with student learning.

They’ll convene at the the end of the school year to see how the research went.

Jennifer Ippolito and Desi Krell, teachers at Pine View Middle, welcomed the chance to work on teams for the research.

They said they already work together on projects, and the institute has helped them take that collaboration to the next level.

Julie Saez, a teacher at Watergrass Elementary School, was thrilled when she was selected to be part of the leadership institute.

She said she knew it would be worthwhile because of her positive experience at the technology institute.

“The collaboration with everybody was exactly what I needed,” she added, noting that she formed lasting friendships and established valuable professional relationships.

“We’re like-minded people — always looking for new, upcoming technology,” Saez said.

Published July 13, 2016

Enrollment growth in Pasco highest since recession

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Drive through Pasco County and it’s easy to see the signs of growth.

New houses are popping up in subdivisions. New apartment complexes are being built, and land is being cleared for more development.

And now that school is back in session, some of that growth is beginning to show up in classrooms, too.

These children are among the 718 students who arrived at Sanders Memorial STEAM Magnet Elementary School on the first day of classes in the 2015-2016 school year. This is the Pasco County school district’s first magnet school. (Courtesy of Sanders Memorial STEAM Magnet School)
These children are among the 718 students who arrived at Sanders Memorial STEAM Magnet Elementary School on the first day of classes in the 2015-2016 school year. This is the Pasco County school district’s first magnet school.
(Courtesy of Sanders Memorial STEAM Magnet School)

For the first time since 2007, the enrollment figures for the first day of school in Pasco County Schools increased by more than 1,000 students compared to the first day of school during the previous year.

Countywide, the district’s enrollment was 66,059, on the first day of classes, not counting four schools that had not yet submitted enrollment figures.

District schools gained a total of 1,138 students, while charter schools operating in the county picked up 441 — bringing the total to 1,579.

The increased enrollment exceeded the district’s expectations. Officials had projected an increase of 1,490.

Elementary schools experienced the biggest gain, picking up 672 more than last year. Middle schools experienced a slight decline, tallying seven fewer students than the previous year, and high schools gained 526.

The district’s education centers also saw a slight decrease, dropping by 53 students.

Some schools experienced increases, while others saw declines across The Laker/Lutz News coverage area.

The opening of Sanders Memorial STEAM Magnet School, with 718 students, in Land O’ Lakes had an impact on enrollments at several area schools.

Connerton Elementary School’s first day enrollment was 770, down from last year’s first-day count of 890.

Oakstead Elementary also experienced a decline from its enrollment of 1,123 on the first day of school last year, compared with 1,000 this year.

Pine View Elementary, also in Land O’ Lakes, reported an opening day enrollment of 530, down 100 students from the prior year.

Lake Myrtle Elementary, also located in Land O’ Lakes, had a decline of 73 students, going from 639 last year to 566 this year.

Denham Oaks Elementary, in Lutz, saw its enrollment drop by 56 students, going from 669 last year to 613 this year.

Other schools experienced enrollment declines as Quail Hollow Elementary reopened in Wesley Chapel, with 380 students on its first day.

Watergrass Elementary School’s first-day enrollment of 592 reflects a decrease of 114 students from its first-day figure last year.

Wesley Chapel Elementary’s first-day enrollment dropped by 191 students, as compared to last year.

Two elementary schools reported enrollment gains of 50 students or more. Sand Pine Elementary, in Wesley Chapel, increased by 51 students and Woodland Elementary, in Zephyrhills, experienced an uptick of 83 students.

Most of the middle schools in the central and east portions of Pasco County saw changes that were within 25 students of last year, plus or minus.

Pine View Middle School was the only school that experiencing a bigger change. Its first-day enrollment decreased by 65 students, compared to last year.

Among high schools in central and east Pasco, those charting the largest gains were Land O’ Lakes High, with an increase of 155 students, Zephyrhills High, with a boost of 119 students, and Sunlake High, with an uptick of 78 students.

Charter schools in the newspaper’s coverage area also reported gains. Academy at the Farm picked up 119 students, Imagine School in Land O’ Lakes reported 50 additional students, and Countryside Montessori, also in Land O’ Lakes, increased its first-day enrollment by 29.

The largest elementary schools in the newspaper’s coverage area are Oakstead, with an enrollment of 1,000; Seven Oaks, with an enrollment of 1,065; and Woodland, with an enrollment of 929.

The largest middle schools in central and east Pasco are John Long, with an enrollment of 1,665; Rushe, with an enrollment of 1,299; and Weightman, with an enrollment of 1,102.

All of the high schools in east and central portions of the county having enrollments exceeding 1,450, with Wiregrass Ranch High topping the list, with an opening day count of 2,272.

Published September 2, 2015