Photos and story by Tamas Mondovics
District Welcomes New Educators For 2017-2018 Season
Hillsborough County Public Schools officials, including Superintendent Jeff Eakins, School Board Chair Cindy Stuart, as well as other School Board members and district staff welcomed nearly 600 educators last month to take part in the annual Hillsborough Educators Institute.
The event, hosted by Gaither High School, was designed to assist teachers with gaining insight into the district and learning to be the most effective teacher in the classroom.
Following the opening remarks, teachers transitioned into sessions organized by area, by school and by grade level.
Day two, of the program offered participants a variety of sessions from increasing engagement in everyday classroom activities, classroom management and knowing your students through data.
According to school officials the theme of the Hillsborough Educators Institute is “Learn, Grow, Thrive” and is the first opportunity for new hires to learn about the more than 212,000 students they will be welcoming in to their classrooms on the first day of school, August 10.
District Boasts Of More “A” Schools
Hillsborough County Public School officials were pleased to posts the results of the 2016-2017 school grades, released last month by the Florida Department of Education, which showed students making tremendous gains.
This release demonstrates that Hillsborough County Public Schools administrators, teachers and support staff are dedicated to student success and advocate for every child, officials said.
During the 2016-2017 school year, 51 traditional schools were graded “A”, up by 10 from 2016.
In 2017, 38 traditional schools were graded “B” 15 traditional schools improved their grade from a “D” to a “C” and there were fewer “F” traditional schools, dropping to three from seven in 2016.
Seven of the district’s turnaround schools, as defined by the state, have improved and are now in a monitoring status. Just Elementary went from a “D” to a “B”, while Jennings and Van Buren Middle, and Gibsonton, Lockhart Magnet and Reddick Elementary Schools all went from a “D” to a “C”.
Superintendent Jeff Eakins emphasized that there is still more work to be done, but said that he is committed to supporting the efforts of our school staff as we all work to prepare students for life.
“We are committed to student success,” he said. “The school grades show we are doing something significant in the way students are learning and how they are achieving. We have people in our schools who are creating the right culture in our schools, advocating for students and building relationships,” said Superintendent Jeff Eakins.
The 2016-17 school grades, district grades and school improvement ratings are now available at http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/.
Thompson Elementary Welcomes You To Breakfast To Learn About Volunteering
If you have a little extra time each week, please consider volunteering at Thompson Elementary School. Various opportunities are available and will be discussed at a free Volunteer Breakfast on Wednesday, August 23 at 9 a.m. in the Thompson Media Center.
All returning volunteers and new recruits are welcome to attend and bring a friend or neighbor along. Different ways to help the children and teachers will be discussed. Grandmas and grandpas make perfect volunteers too.
Thompson Elementary is located at 2020 E. Shell Point Rd. in Ruskin; (next to Lennard High School). For more information, call 938-1203.
