The Jan. 15 deadline is approaching for applications to Sanders Memorial STEAM Magnet School – Pasco County’s first magnet school.
So far, the district has received around 1,400 applications for the school, at 5126 School Road in Land O’ Lakes. It is scheduled to open in August.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
The school — which will emphasize science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics — is being built to accommodate 762 kindergarten through fifth-grade students.
As a magnet school, there are no attendance boundaries. Any elementary school student throughout the school district is eligible to apply.
A weighted lottery system will be used to select students. Pupils from nearby Connerton and Oakstead elementary schools, as well as children of Sander’s staff members, will have a higher priority for admission because Connerton and Oakstead are overcrowded.
Siblings of students accepted to Sanders also will be given extra weight in the lottery.
Once accepted, a student will be able to attend Sanders through fifth grade.
The district expects to notify parents of their child’s acceptance by email before Feb. 6.
Although the standards for the students will be the same, the learning approaches will be different.
The design of the school also will foster a greater degree of collaboration between students, and between students and teachers. A wetlands area with a boardwalk also will give students a chance to get up close with nature, creating opportunities for outdoor learning.
Sanders will use materials that are similar to those in traditional schools, except there will be a greater emphasis on technology, collaborative learning and independent thinking.
Sanders students will have some type of device allowing them to use technology to help solve problems and enhance learning. They also will have the arts infused into a curriculum that aims to create independent thinkers and learners.
Sanders’ design aims to encourage collaborative learning. When construction is completed, the school will have individual classrooms flanking both sides of a large space where students can work together on projects, where groups of children can work with teachers, and where larger presentations can be given.
Classrooms will have wireless technology. They also are set up to accommodate experiments. Space also will be provided within the school to allow students to store projects they are working on.
The school district also plans to send buses through neighborhoods within a five-mile radius to pick up students for Sanders. Those living farther away will use transportation hubs at Veterans, Moonlake and Trinity elementary schools, where they can catch a bus in the morning to Sanders and return there after school.
In a news conference that was held when the application period opened, Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning said the district is committed to the success of its first magnet school.
He also made it clear that the district recognizes its need to compete for students and will be adding more educational choices in the future.
For more information, and a virtual tour, visit PascoSchools.org, and click on the Sanders banner at the top.
Published January 7, 2015
