Thursday, February 7, 2013
On Feb. 5 at its regular board meeting, the Hillsborough County School Board named Susan Burkett principal of Bloomingdale High School.
For many students at Bloomingdale High School, the school's new principal is an old friend. A large portion of the high school's students attended Burns Middle School where newly named Bloomingdale Principal Susan Burkett served as principal since 2009. The Hillsborough County School Board named Burkett principal of the high school at 1700 Bloomingdale Ave., Valrico, on Feb. 5. She will assume her new duties Feb. 18. Burkett replaces Mark West, who was appointed principal of Armwood High School in Seffner in December. She is the fourth principal to serve at the helm of the 25-year-old high school, following in the footsteps of West, who was principal of the school for seven years, B.J. Stelter and the school's founding principal, Charley …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
At the Jan. 15 school board meeting, the board also voted to fire a teacher's aide and Exceptional Student Education assistant for negligence in the death of Jenny Caballero.
While conceding that they aren't the only ones responsible for the death of Rodgers Middle School student Jenny Caballero, the Hillsborough County School Board voted on Tuesday, Jan. 15 to demote Rodgers Middle School's principal and assistant principal and fire a teacher's aide and Exceptional Student Education attendant. The action came after a lengthy debate over who should ultimately be held accountible for the Oct. 22 drowning of the 11-year-old girl with Down syndrome. Under the supervision of five aides and attendants, Jenny Caballero wandered out of the Riverview school's gymnasium. Her body was found hours later in a nearby pond. Following an investigation by both Hillsborough County Sheriff's Child Protective Investigative …
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
The board turned down Superintendent MaryEllen Elia's recommendation to hire 130 security officers until it can get a better handle on the best way to ensure the safety of public school children.
Like a lot of moms around the country, the Dec. 14 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., stood as a wakeup call for Tampa resident Bridgitte Kramer. "I'm very concerned about the safety of my children," said Kramer, whose children attend Oak Grove Elementary School on North Armenia Avenue, Tampa. In fact, Kramer was so alarmed by the shooting, she sat through a five-hour Hillsborough County School Board meeting Tuesday, Jan. 15, with her two antsy children in tow, to find out if the board would agree to hire armed security guards for public elementary schools. It was a sacrifice Kramer willingly made for her own kids as well as all the other children in Hillsborough County schools. As president of the …
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Superintendent MaryEllen Elia has a plan that calls for a review by a security expert, and an additional 130 armed personel at Hillsborough schools. The extra staff would cost $4.1 million.
After continuing the law enforcement presence at Hillsborough County schools when students returned from winter break, school officials announced a long-term plan on Wednesday to continue enhanced security measures in the wake of last month's shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn. During a press conference at the Raymond O. Shelton School Administrative Center in downtown Tampa before PTA officials and local principals, schools Superintendent MaryEllen Elia discussed a "multi-faceted proposal" that will be brought to the school board at the next meeting on Jan. 15. The plan, which school officials outlined in a document passed out to the crowd, is as follows: "I wish that it wasn't necessary," said Elia. "Our lives have …
Superintendent MaryEllen Elia is expected to recommend disciplinary action for Rodgers employees in the death of 11-year-old Jenny Caballero.
Hillsborough County Schools Superintendent MaryEllen Elia has called a press conference for 2:30 p.m. today where she is expected to discuss disciplinary action in the death of a Rodgers Middle School student in October. The press conference comes after an extensive investigation into how 11-year-old Jennifer Caballero, a special-needs student with Down syndrome, managed to leave the Riverview school's gymnasium under the supervision of a teacher and five aides on Oct. 22. The body of the little girl was later found in a nearby pond. The death prompted protests calling for better training of school personnel and increased supervision of special-needs students in Hillsborough County schools. At the press conference, Elia will release the …
Thursday, November 22, 2012
This is Griffin's first time serving as chairwoman of the Hillsborough County School Board.
The Hillsborough County School Board selected a new chair and vice chair and recognized outgoing chair Candy Olson with a commendation for her service at its reorganizational meeting Nov. 20. "It's been a very interesting year for all of us," said Olson. "We've had great tragedies and challenges but when we focus on what is best for our students, we do great work." April Griffin was elected as school board chair, and Carol Kurdell was elected vice chair. The votes by their fellow board members were unanimous. This is Griffin’s first time as chair. Griffin represents the District 6 at-large seat on the school board. First elected to the board in 2006, Griffin was re-elected in 2010. Kurdell represents the District 7 at-large seat on the …
Friday, November 9, 2012
The school district will form a task force to look at its policies and procedures regarding students with special needs.
Eleven months after the death of Sessums Elementary School second-grader Bella Herrera, Katharine Bower of Riverview still tears up when she talks about the 7-year-old girl. "She was so sweet. It just breaks my heart. She didn't have to die," said Bower, who joined other parents and concerned residents Thursday afternoon on the steps of the Hillsborough County School District headquarters to protest the deaths of two Riverview students while in the care of the school district. Herrera, who had muscular dystrophy, died in January after she was found choking on a Hillsborough County school bus. Her parents have filed a lawsuit against the school district, saying the girl, who was bound to a wheelchair, was not properly restrained to keep her…
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Brandon resident Terry Kemple is challenging longtime school board member Carol Kurdell.
He's a grandfather, a Christian and an American. As such, Brandon resident Terry Kemple said he's very much concerned about the future of children, especially when it comes to their education. And watching the Hillsborough County School Board at work over the years has only heightened his concern, prompting him to run for election to the school board. This is Kemple's second bid to fill a school board seat. Two years ago, he ran for the District 6 seat and was defeated by April Griffin. This year he's taking on longtime school board member Carol Kurdell for the District 7 seat. The two are in a runoff for the seat, which will be decided in the General Election Nov. 6. Growing up in the central New Jersey area, Kemple attended the U.S. …
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
The rally was organized by Hillsborough County conservative groups to protest the school board's policy permitting groups such as CAIR to speak at public schools.
A rally intended to protest the Hillsborough County School Board’s policy to allow organizations such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations to speak at public schools drew demonstrators on both sides of the controversy to the steps of the Hillsborough County School District headquarters in Tampa on Sept. 11. The rally was part of a daylong 9/11 remembrance organized by conservative groups including the Community Issues Council, the Education Coalition, the Tampa 912, the Tampa Tea Party and the Pinellas Patriots. The group kicked off the remembrance with a prayer vigil at Joe Chillura Park in downtown Tampa and then headed over to the school district for the CAIR protest. There, they were met by a crowd of CAIR members and …
Athletes won't be allowed to play sports for a year after transferring schools.
The Hillsborough County School Board is making it a lot more difficult for a student-athlete to switch high schools to play for another sports team. Following the scandal earlier this year surrounding the Armwood High School football team, on Sept. 11 the school board adopted a new participation policy for student-athletes who transfer to another school. Under the new policy, students won’t be eligible to play sports for a year after the transfer. The new policy is aimed at preventing students from transferring so they can play for a specific sports team. In May, the Florida High School Athletic Association determined that Armwood football players had faked their addresses so they could play for the championship team. Under the new policy…
Jery Elliott
9:49 am on Thursday, February 7, 2013
Congratulations to Susan Burkett! As a proud graduate of both Burns Middle and Bloomingdale High Schools this is welcome news. We will miss Mark West, but know he is an excellent choice to clean up the mess at Armwood. Who is taking over at Burns? more ›