The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Rushe Middle School

Crews busy building schools in Pasco

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Wiregrass Elementary School is set to open this fall in Wesley Chapel.

Construction is well under way on a new high school on Old Pasco Road, which will open initially as a high school and a middle school.

That campus is expected to open in 2017-2018.

Construction also has started on a new elementary school that’s also expected to open in 2017-2018 in Bexley Ranch, off State Road 54 in Land O’ Lakes.

Construction activity is well under way on a new high school on Old Pasco Road, which will open initially as a high school and a middle school. (Images courtesy of Pasco County Schools)
Construction activity is well under way on a new high school on Old Pasco Road, which will open initially as a high school and a middle school.
(Images courtesy of Pasco County Schools)

Meanwhile, a major renovation project is planned for 2017-2018 at Land O’ Lakes High, on Land O’ Lakes Boulevard in Land O’ Lakes, said Chris Williams, director of planning for Pasco County Schools.

In addition to renovating the school, the project calls for adding a wing to increase the school’s capacity.

The district is still considering various options for where Land O’ Lakes High School’s students will be housed during its major renovation.

“Anytime you’re doing construction with students on campus, it gets more expensive. The project takes longer,” Williams said. “It’s harder to do.”

The school district continues to search for a high school site and an elementary site between Sunlake and Mitchell high schools, off of State Road 54.

As the district prepares to open new schools next year, it will begin holding boundary committee meetings in the fall, followed by parent meetings, and then eventually the Pasco County School Board, to determine the boundaries for the new schools.

This is what the new high school being built on Old Pasco Road is expected to look like, at completion. The school initially will be used for a high school and a middle school, because Pasco County Schools needs to accommodate more middle and high school students, but cannot afford to build schools for both.
This is what the new high school being built on Old Pasco Road is expected to look like, at completion. The school initially will be used for a high school and a middle school, because Pasco County Schools needs to accommodate more middle and high school students, but cannot afford to build schools for both.

The new high school is expected to affect the boundaries for Wiregrass Ranch, Wesley Chapel and potentially Sunlake high schools, Williams said.

The new middle school is expected to affect the boundaries for Weightman, John Long and potentially Rushe middle schools.

The new elementary in Bexley Ranch is expected to affect the boundaries for Oakstead and Odessa elementary schools. Meanwhile, the district may also consider shifting the boundaries between Oakstead and Lake Myrtle elementary schools, to provide additional relief to Oakstead and to help increase Myrtle’s enrollment, since it can accommodate more students, Williams said.

While the district needs new schools to provide a place for students to learn, the practice of drawing boundaries for them always sparks controversy. Passions run high, as parents outline the various problems they envision if their child is reassigned to a new school, or — in some cases — is not. Sometimes the complaints are about academic opportunities, but often they involve daycare or the ability to be involved in school activities.

Published July 27, 2016

 

Imagine School at Land O’ Lakes gains enrollment

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The Pasco County School Board has approved an enrollment increase for Imagine School at Land O’ Lakes, a charter school on Sunlake Boulevard, across the street from Sunlake High School and Rushe Middle School.

The school was operating at 728 students, but will be able to increase the enrollment to 800 students for the coming school year.

This photo was taken when the seventh-graders from Imagine School at Land O’ Lakes traveled to Tallahassee to take part in the ‘Rally in Tally’ for charter schools. (Courtesy of Imagine School at Land O' Lakes)
This photo was taken when the seventh-graders from Imagine School at Land O’ Lakes traveled to Tallahassee to take part in the ‘Rally in Tally’ for charter schools.
(Courtesy of Imagine School at Land O’ Lakes)

Principal Aimee Williams said the school requested an increase, because it has been operating with a continuous waiting list of 400 to 600 students.

In its backup materials, the school district staff noted that Imagine is a highly performing charter school.

Williams credits the school’s success to two key factors: “Retention of staff and retention of families.”

More than 30 of its staff members have been there for five years or longer, she said.

There’s not much turnover in students, either.

Next year, the school will be graduating its first crop of eighth-graders who have been at the school since kindergarten.

Imagine opened nine years ago in a business park in Ballantrae and moved in January 2012 to what was then a new school building.

The school’s charter was renewed in 2013 for 15 years, extending the charter to 2028.

The school has a STEAM-certified staff.

It received the 2016 Promising Practice Winner by Character Counts and was 2015 runner-up in the National School of Character competition by Character Counts. It also was 2015 runner-up for National School of the Year by Imagine Schools.

Imagine’s students come primarily from Lutz and Land O’ Lakes, but also from Wesley Chapel, New Port Richey and as far away as Brandon in Hillsborough.

The opening of Sanders Memorial Elementary STEAM School and the scheduled opening of a charter school in Lutz next year doesn’t worry Williams.

The principal thinks that families choose to keep their children at Imagine because of the quality of education they receive, and the relationships that have developed between the families and staff.

“We’ve proven our worth, and the families are committed,” Williams said.

Published May 18, 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

Higher school impact fees coming to Pasco?

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A discussion has begun in Pasco County that could lead to higher impact fees paid by new residential development to address growing demands for school construction.

Increased school impact fees might provide a source of revenue that could help plug the growing gap between the revenue the district receives and its construction needs, according to district officials.

But the idea of an increased school impact fee is a long way from reality.

The swarm of students passing through school corridors at Wiregrass Ranch High School is like a traffic jam. (Courtesy of Wiregrass Ranch HIgh School)
The swarm of students passing through school corridors at Wiregrass Ranch High School is like a traffic jam.
(Courtesy of Wiregrass Ranch HIgh School)

Any increase would have to be recommended by the Pasco School Board and adopted by the Pasco County Commission.

The last time the school board sought a school impact fee increase in 2007 it fell flat.

The current rate is $4,356 per single-family unit. A recommendation was made in 2007 to increase the single-family home impact feet to $8,606.

That proposed increase was rejected.

No new rate has been proposed yet, but the district has hired Tischler Bise, to conduct an impact fee update study.

Tischler Bise has done work on these issues for a number of Florida school districts, including DeSoto, Lee, Manatee and Seminole counties. It also did the Pasco school district’s study in 2007.

Carson Bise of Tischler Bise gave school board members an overview of the current situation at a July 7 workshop.

The district’s school construction funding has been declining for a variety of reasons, Bise said.

Property value declines have led to lower revenues, he said. For instance, in 2007-2008, the district received $42.3 million for capital projects, compared to the $32.4 million in 2014-2015, Bise said.

Other sources of state funding have been cut drastically, or eliminated entirely, he added.

The sluggish economy also reduced Penny for Pasco proceeds, Bise said.

The first time the optional penny sales tax passed, the school district’s share yielded $145.1 million.

The second penny, which took effect in 2015, is expected to generate about $226 million. But, that money cannot be spent on new school construction. It can only be spent on maintenance and new technology.

School impact fees, which are collected only from new residential development, can be spent to purchase land, to buy buses, furniture and portables, to construct facilities or for debt service.

As of the end of 2014, the district has collected $120 million in school impact fees.

Since 2002, however, the district has built 22 new schools at a cost of $301 million, Bise said.

Oakstead Elementary, Dr. John Long Middle, Double Branch Elementary, Charles S. Rushe Middle, Wiregrass Ranch High, Sunlake High, New River Elementary, Veterans Elementary, Watergrass Elementary and Connerton Elementary schools are the new schools that have opened in The Laker/Lutz News’ coverage area since 2002.

Elementary School W in Wiregrass Ranch is slated to open in 2016, and Elementary B in Bexley Ranch South and High School GGG on Old Pasco Road are scheduled to open in 2017.

Bise told officials that impact fee revenue must earmark money for specific capital projects, which encourages disciplined capital improvement planning.

He also noted that the revenues help to ensure adequate public facilities, which is a plus for homebuilders who are seeking to attract buyers to a particular market.

“In our experience, the smart developers like impact fees because it (the fee) guarantees that they’re going to be in business,” Bise said. “They get the fact that having a great school system, or a great road network or a great park system makes the community attractive and makes their product marketable, and also helps from an economic development perspective, as well.”

It’s not difficult to see that more schools will be needed, as growth ramps up in Pasco County.

During a discussion of the district’s construction plan, immediately prior to the impact fee workshop, school board member Alison Crumbley voiced concerns about providing schools for children who will be living in the new subdivisions that are on the drawing boards, or sprouting up in the county’s State Road 54/State Road 56 corridor.

Superintendent Kurt Browning echoed those sentiments.

Even without that new construction, the district is feeling the squeeze.

This fall, Wiregrass Ranch High School is expected to have around 2,500 students. It is going to a 10-period day to help manage the number of students on its campus. The entire student body will be there just three periods of the day, with the impacts lessened because roughly 500 of those students will be eating lunch during any particular time.

Deputy Superintendent Ray Gadd told school board members that district already is making efforts to ensure that the building community is part of the impact fee discussion.

Bise also reminded school board members that even their support would not be enough.

“Although you are your own taxing entity, you don’t control your destiny in terms of impact fees. The Board of County Commissioners sets that rate for you,” he said.

He also noted that Florida is the only state where his firm does impact fee studies where that’s the case.

Published July 22, 2015

Land O’ Lakes student captures top art prize

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For the second consecutive year, a Land O’ Lakes High School student has won top honors in U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis’ Congressional Art Competition.

By winning the competition, Izzie Brown will receive two free airline tickets to Washington D.C., to attend a reception, and her work will be on display at the Capitol building for a year.

Izzie Brown, a sophomore at Land O’ Lakes High School, won Best of Show with this entry in U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis’ Congressional Art Competition. (Courtesy of U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis)
Izzie Brown, a sophomore at Land O’ Lakes High School, won Best of Show with this entry in U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis’ Congressional Art Competition.
(Courtesy of U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis)

Last year, Trevor Nichols won the honor for a pencil drawing of Coach Kris Keppel, who was suffering from pancreatic cancer at the time. Keppel died on Jan. 25, and the portrait that Nichols did was on prominent display at the coach’s funeral at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Land O’ Lakes.

The Congressional Art Competition included artworks by students in Pasco, Pinellas and Hernando counties.

Brown won Best of Show for a work entitled “Moods of Izzie.”

Bilirakis commented on the annual contest, in a news release.

“I believe the arts are an important component of a well-rounded education, as they stimulate creativity and innovation while allowing students the opportunity to express themselves in a meaningful way,” he said.

“I am glad to be able to bring this special opportunity to the students in my district,” Bilirakis added.

Besides her artistic pursuits at Land O’ Lakes High, Brown also has her own business called Word Tangles.

That business grew out of an assignment from her eighth-grade art teacher at Rushe Middle School. The teacher asked her to create a portrait of the Jamaican singer Bob Marley, which Brown did — using the titles of Marley’s songs to form his image.

Since then, Brown has created portraits of numerous famous personalities using words or, in the case of Albert Einstein, numbers, to shape the image.

Brown said she hasn’t had much time to devote to her business lately because she’s been quite busy doing the work she needs to complete for her Advanced Placement Art class.

She credits her teacher, Cynthia Smith, for helping her manage her time to meet the Advanced Placement workload requirements.

Brown is looking forward to her trip to Washington D.C.

“My mom will be with me in D.C., for the ceremony,” said the high school sophomore, who plans to spend some additional time in the area for vacation.

After leaving Washington D.C., she’ll travel to the national Future Business Leaders of America competition.

While she still has two years left of high school, Brown is already thinking ahead to college.

At the moment, she’s interested in studying abroad at the University of Oslo.

She thinks that would be her ideal school. However, she knows that the competition will be stiff.

“They only accept 60 international students,” she said.

Published May 20, 2015

Rushe Middle goes extra mile to encourage reading

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Students from Rushe Middle School traipsed through Barnes & Noble at The Shops at Wiregrass, on a scavenger hunt to solve a riddle.

They went from place to place picking up new clues in a search that finally led them to the discovery of the selection for the book the We Be Book’n club will read over the next few months.

Sgt. Robert Loring, a veteran who served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, unveils the book that the We Be Book’n book club is reading at Rushe Middle School. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Sgt. Robert Loring, a veteran who served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, unveils the book that the We Be Book’n book club is reading at Rushe Middle School. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

The big unveil took place on Nov. 11, and the school-wide book club will read the young adult adaptation of “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand. It tells the story of Olympian Louis Zamperini’s journey from airman to castaway to captive.

Students, accompanied by their parents, dropped by a table to get pointers on how the scavenger hunt worked, and picked up their first clue. As they solved one clue in one part of the bookstore, they received another clue that led them to a different part of the bookstore.

They concluded their search by meeting former Sgt. Robert Loring, a veteran who was a qualified parachute jumpmaster in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.

Rushe faculty members Dawn Gilliland and Kelli Rapaport came up with the idea of creating a school-wide book club, according to school principal David Salerno. The principal was quickly onboard with the idea, and Rushe’s teachers, staff and parents have been great supporters, Gilliland said.

Gilliland — an information and communication technology literacy coach at Rushe — and Rapport, an intensive reading teacher, said the book club aims to motivate kids to read. So far, more than 100 students have joined the voluntary club.

“It’s just for fun,” Rapaport said. “We just want to get kids excited about literacy.”

Both women view themselves as avid readers and want to pass along their love of the written word to Rushe’s students. They selected an informational text because they want to help students develop the ability to read for information. They also wanted students to see that these kinds of books can be fascinating.

“We see kids who just aren’t reading, especially informational texts,” Gilliland said. “They don’t have that passion.”

Hillenbrand’s book recounts a story about perseverance, Salerno said. It’s a character trait he hopes students will develop.

The message Salerno hopes students will get from the book is this: “No matter what barriers you have, you can overcome them.” Salerno thinks the book is a good choice because it introduces students to a genre they don’t normally read.

The big reveal at Barnes & Noble capped weeks of buildup. Rushe staff members helped create a sense of excitement through dramatizations during which they pretended to beg for the book title’s name, offered bribes for the name, and even broke down crying.

Yet, Gilliland and Rapaport refused to give out the title.

At one point, they wrapped copies of the book in brown paper and marked them with the words “confidential” and “top secret,” and placed them at various places around the school. Teachers also talked up the big reveal.

Rapaport and Gilliland worked with the managers at Barnes & Noble to plan the event. Gilliland’s husband Jeff joined the teachers to developer the clues.

“Every clue has to go with what’s in the book,” Rapaport said. “It’s really previewing the content for them ahead of time.”

Jennifer Kosowski, whose daughter Brooke is a seventh-grader at Rushe, appreciates the efforts the school is making to encourage reading.

“It’s fun,” she said. “It gets them in here and gets them interested in reading.”

Brooke said she had fun figuring out the clues, noting some of them weren’t very easy.

The Barnes & Noble event is just one of many activities the school has planned for the book club. Over the next few months, as they read the book, a number of special events will take place that center on the book’s themes.

For instance, the school will have a mock Olympics because the book’s main character was an Olympian. The final event will be a lock-in at the school’s David Estabrook Collaboration Center, where students and staff members will spend the night playing games, watching movies, and having a chance to win prizes.

Published December 3, 2014

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Weightman students hope to stamp out tobacco use

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The students come streaming into the media center at Weightman Middle School before school started, and went straight to work making posters.

They were creating messages for the middle school’s Red Ribbon Week, an effort to discourage drug use.

Fourth-grader Siena Bracciale enjoys helping Weightman’s Students Working Against Tobacco club on its projects. She is the daughter of Weightman principal Brandon Bracciale. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Fourth-grader Siena Bracciale enjoys helping Weightman’s Students Working Against Tobacco club on its projects. She is the daughter of Weightman principal Brandon Bracciale. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

Some kids arrived at the library at 8 a.m. sharp, others drifted in over the next 20 minutes or so. Whether they arrived early or late, though, it was clear they wanted to be there.

The students belong to a school club called Students Working Against Tobacco, or SWAT for short. Their primary goal is to discourage tobacco use, but they’ve also branched into other areas, said Cpl. Kevin Brantley, the school resource officer at the Wesley Chapel middle school.

“We meet in here every Wednesday,” said Brantley, who launched this chapter of the club three years ago when he was stationed at Weightman.

The club gets bigger each year. It started with a dozen kids, then doubled in size.

Now, it has up to 50 members, with about 30 kids turning out any given week.

Besides spreading the word on the dangers of smoking and other forms of tobacco use, Brantley said the kids also pitch in on community cleanups and other volunteer efforts.

On Oct. 29, they created posters with a couple of different themes. One set of posters proclaimed, “Reddy to say no to drugs.”

“We’re playing on the word ‘red,’” Brantley explained, in honor of the school’s Red Ribbon Week.

The other posters said, “These paws don’t touch drugs.”

To help raise awareness of dangers posed by tobacco use, the club had an event last year where 88 people lined up, then fell, as if to their death. The dramatization signified the 88 people who die each day in Florida from medical conditions stemming from tobacco use.

The club plans to stage a similar event this year, Brantley said. The school resource officer likens these kinds of dramatizations to the Truth commercials from the American Legacy Foundation that appear on television to give people a reality check about the dangers of tobacco use.

Club member Jasmine Thoey said she belongs to SWAT because she wants to be a part of positive change.

“I don’t want other people to get sick,” she said.

She thinks the club appeals to other kids because it helps them feel that they can make a difference.

“We can do it,” Thoey said. “We can change the world.”

Beyond participating at school, Thoey and members of other SWAT clubs also make public appearances, speaking against the use of tobacco. She makes appearances before state lawmakers, city councils and other groups in the effort to stamp out tobacco use.

A group of SWAT students made an appearance earlier this year before the Pasco County school board asking for smoking to be outlawed on school campuses. Kenny Blankenship, president of United School Employees of Pasco, said the current contract allows schools to conduct surveys to see if they want to become tobacco-free. Under that contract, however, if even just one school employee wants to retain smoking on campus, the right to do so is protected.

But those who would ban tobacco use on school district grounds could see a major shift, if language in contract negotiations gains approval. USEP has agreed to the proposed elimination of tobacco use on district property effective July 1, 2016.

While contract negotiations continue at the district level, fourth-grader Siena Bracciale enjoys helping Weightman’s SWAT team on its projects. The daughter of principal Brandon Bracciale, she recently was at Weightman working on a poster.

Bracciale wants to discourage people from smoking or using drugs.

Besides spreading a message against tobacco and drugs, the club also gives kids a chance to meet other kids and to make friends, Brantley said. The Weightman club is part of a statewide youth organization that works to achieve a tobacco-free future.

Pasco County’s clubs have more than 250 active students. Besides Weightman, schools on the eastern and central portions of the county with SWAT clubs include Long Middle School, Pasco High School and Rushe Middle School.

Published December 3, 2014

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In Print: New Lowe’s adding traffic light to State Road 54

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When the new Lowe’s store opens next March, it not only will bring more jobs to State Road 54 in Land O’ Lakes, but more traffic congestion as well.

To accommodate the new store, Pasco County will link the Lowe’s parking lot to the Village Lakes Shopping Center across the street, complete with the first traffic light between Collier Parkway and Land O’ Lakes Boulevard.

But that does mean some parking spaces at Village Lakes have to go, and traffic patterns through the parking lots there will be adjusted as well. In return, the area will get new crosswalks — one of the few places pedestrians can legally cross along the nearly two-mile stretch.

Want details of what this new intersection will entail? Check out reporter Michael Hinman’s story in this week’s print edition of The Laker/Lutz News, available on newsstands and in many home driveways right now. Or you can check out the complete paper online with our free e-edition by clicking here.

He may not look like Kris Kringle, but Bob Loring feels he might be a little like Old Saint Nick, considering how many toys he delivers each year.

Bob Loring will do whatever it takes to get the word out for his annual local Toys For Tots campaign. (Michael Murillo/Staff Photo)
Bob Loring will do whatever it takes to get the word out for his annual local Toys For Tots campaign. (Michael Murillo/Staff Photo)

Loring leads the local Toys For Tots chapter, part of a national program that distributes toys to needy children, run by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve for more than 65 years.

“I’m the head elf,” Loring recently told reporter Michael Murillo. “It’s a thrill. Personally, it’s so rewarding. I get to work with and be around the neatest people in Pasco County.”

Loring first took over in 1999, and that first year, delivered toys for nearly 400 children just in time for Christmas in the Dade City area. Since then, the program has been expanded across the county, aiming to help 4,000 children.

Find out more about the program, and how you can help, in this week’s print edition of The Laker/Lutz News, available now. You also can read all about it with our free online e-edition, which you can find right here.

And finally, Rushe Middle School is going the extra mile when it comes to reading. The school has started a We Be Book’n club, and is looking for new ways to introduce young people to books in today’s digital age.

That includes a recent trip to Barnes & Noble where students took part in a scavenger hunt to find out what they’ll be reading next.

“It’s just for fun,” one of the teachers, Kelli Rapaport told reporter B.C. Manion. “We just want to get kids excited about literacy.”

It’s not the last thing — or even the biggest thing — the We Be Book’n club has planned for the coming school year. Want to see what else is up the sleeves of teachers like Rapaport and Dawn Gilliland? Then check out this week’s print edition of The Laker/Lutz News, or do some reading of your own in our free online e-edition by clicking here.

All of these stories and more can be found in this week’s The Laker/Lutz News, available in newsstands throughout east and central Pasco County as well as northern Hillsborough County. Find out what has your community talking this week by getting your local news straight from the only source you need.

If The Laker/Lutz News is not coming to your door, call us to see where you can get your copy at (813) 909-2800, or read our free e-edition by clicking here.

Estabrook’s knack for collaboration receives honor

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As an educator, Dave Estabrook was known for his ability to look at issues from various vantage points and collaborate with others to solve problems and help people thrive.

On Oct. 2, his contributions to education and to the Land O’ Lakes community were honored at a ceremony to dedicate the first phase of the David R. Estabrook Center for Collaboration at Charles S. Rushe Middle School on Mentmore Boulevard in Land O’ Lakes.

Dave Estabrook, an educator for 35 years, is honored for his many contributions to Pasco County Schools and the Land O’ Lakes community. (Courtesy of Pasco County Schools)
Dave Estabrook, an educator for 35 years, is honored for his many contributions to Pasco County Schools and the Land O’ Lakes community. (Courtesy of Pasco County Schools)

Rushe principal David Salerno, who followed in Estabrook’s footsteps at two points in his career, described Estabrook’s leadership style.

“Immediately, I observed a leader who made it his mission to seek input from many stakeholders — as many stakeholders as possible — when making decisions,” he said. “Not only that, he specifically sought out people that he thought may have a different point of view. He believed in the importance of considering all aspects of problems before recommending a solution.”

Estabrook hired Salerno to be an assistant principal at Pine View Middle School after Estabrook moved up to become the school’s principal. Salerno would later follow Estabrook as principal of Rushe.

“I learned from him that the best way to effectively collaborate, to bring about a meaningful change, is to build strong relationships centered on both communications and trust,” Salerno said.

The ceremony to honor Estabrook was carried over the school’s closed-circuit television. Superintendent Kurt Browning, Assistant Superintendent Ray Gadd and Chief Financial Officer Olga Swinson were there. So was school board member Joanne Hurley.

Estabrook’s wife Lori, his daughter and son-in-law Mallory and Chris Mullis, and Lori’s daughter and son Amy Harris and Geoff Hartwig, were there, too.

The ceremony marked the dedication of the David R. Estabrook Center for Collaboration.

“This is quite an honor,” Estabrook said. “It was quite an honor to be the first principal of Rushe Middle School, too. It was truly significant serving in a school that was named after someone who was just an outstanding leader — Chuck Rushe — and a friend of mine, as well.”

Opening and managing a school presents many kinds of challenges, Estabrook noted.

“We worked through them and worked collaboratively, and made this a great school. And it continues to be a great school under Principal Salerno’s leadership,” he said. “Collaboration, to me, is not exclusive to just adults. It should be incorporated into the teaching and learning process.”

Salerno said it is fitting that Rushe’s media center be renamed in Estabrook’s honor because the retired educator was a master at collaboration.

In keeping with his desire to help others to grow and thrive, Estabrook and his family donated $19,000 to help create the center for collaboration that now bears his name. The Pasco Education Foundation matched that gift.

Helping students collaborate with each other is precisely what the new center aims to do, Salerno said.

“About a year ago, we decided we wanted to do something with collaboration and technology,” he said. “We received input from teachers, students and parents, and the overwhelming consensus is that we wanted to make sure that we increased technology and made sure that we have students collaborate.”

Many people remember the old school library, Salerno said.

“In those school libraries, it often was forbidden to utter a sound,” he said. “You were hushed and sent to the principal’s office. You found yourself sent back to class.

“Fast-forward to today, where our goal is to see places like this, and it’s alive with learning.”

The goal is for students to lead study groups, Salerno said, and use technology to help them research real-world issues. The center now has collaboration stations that are equipped for students to work together to tackle a variety of challenges.

They can go to websites and use different apps to develop various skills. For instance, there’s a Crime and Puzzle app that aims to help them learn to make inferences, to form a hypothesis, and to analyze evidence.

Other learning opportunities focus on improving vocabulary and grammar skills, and becoming skillful of supporting each other’s efforts. They also are given opportunities to develop their research skills through challenges that go beyond reading from a single source.

The center is just in its first phase, Salerno said. He expects to add more equipment later, as funding allows.

He envisions a place where students want to visit, not just during class, but before and after school.

He pictures it as being a place that welcomes students to gather — kind of like having a Starbucks or a Barnes & Noble on campus — but without the snacks and coffee.

Published October 8, 2014

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School grades not what Pasco had hoped for

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Report card grades are important for students, especially at the end of the year. But they’re just as important for the schools themselves, with Pasco County Schools seeing some room for improvement.

Schools in the district saw grades drop this year, with fewer schools receiving marks of A and B, and more getting the dreaded marks of D and F, according to a release.

However, five schools rose a grade, including Taylor, Lacoochee and Giella elementary schools, as well as Pasco and Rushe middle schools. The elementary schools and Pasco Middle stepped up from Ds to Cs, while Rushe improved from a B to an A.

There remains some question on what the final elementary school grades are going to be, the district said, especially since Pasco is among several districts questioning fourth-grade writing scores. Some superintendents, including Pasco’s Kurt Browning, believe it has caused lower-than-expected grades for elementary schools in the district, where 15 maintained their grades, and 25 actually saw their grades drop.

Overall, six elementary schools earned an A, eight received a B, 14 a C, 12 a D, and five an F. Of the 15 middle schools, three were graded an A, another three a B, two a C, six a D, and none received an F. Both Long and Seven Springs middle schools maintained their A grades.

“These are very challenging times,” Browning said, in a release. “Providing stability and clarity to the school accountability system during the transition to new standards is almost impossible as we attempt to prepare for the future and continue to test the past.”