Sarasota County Schools News

SARASOTA – Booker Middle School is hosting a Family Literacy and Magnet Night from 6-8 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 2, for all current students, prospective students and their families. This is the first year the two events will be held on the same evening.

The evening will begin with a program in the cafeteria, which will include performances by the students in the Visual and Performing Arts Program. Families will then be directed to the various locations to preview the programs offered by the school. Tables in the gym and media center will feature information on the various academic programs, VPA and gifted magnet programs offered at the school and staff will be available to answer questions about admittance into these programs and the VPA auditioning process.

The Literacy program will include three 20-minute workshops. Parents will be able to rotate through two of the three workshops which are being offered: Improving Your Student’s Reading, presented by Florida Studio Theatre; Saturday School and Supplemental Educational Services Tutoring; and training for parents to use the school district’s online resources to get information about their student’s academic progress. Literacy games will be ongoing in the gym and in three classrooms.

The highlight of the evening will be the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the school’s art gallery, immediately following the opening program. Student artwork from all disciplines will be on display throughout the year.

Second-quarter report cards will be available for pick-up and refreshments will be served at the end of the evening in the cafeteria.

Booker Middle School is located at 2250 Myrtle Street in Sarasota. 

SARASOTA – During the first two weeks of February, five Sarasota County public schools will conduct what school officials call a “site analysis” as the first step in the district’s process for selecting a new permanent principal. A site analysis is an opportunity for parents, staff and community members to provide information to district administrators on the accomplishments of the school, the challenges it faces and the characteristics the school community would like to see in their new leader.

The schedule for the site analyses being conducted this year is as follows:

Jan. 31 Taylor Ranch Elementary (Venice) 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Feb. 1 Tatum Ridge Elementary (Sarasota) 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Feb. 2 Toledo Blade Elementary (North Port) 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Feb. 6 North Port High (North Port) 6-7:30 p.m.
Feb. 7 Booker Middle (Sarasota) 6-7 p.m.

Four of the site analyses will be held in the school media centers. The North Port High site analysis will be in the cafeteria.

At each site, district administrators will ask participants four questions:

1. What is going well at the school?
2. What traditions and programs should be retained?
3. What challenges will the new principal need to address?
4. What leadership and personal qualities will distinguish the best candidate from others?

Responses will be recorded and compiled into reports from each meeting that district officials will review. The reports also will be considered by the selection committees involved in screening applications and interviewing candidates for the principal positions at each site.

Parents or others who would like to participate in a site analysis but are unable to attend the meeting at their school may pick up a site analysis form in their school office. The form should be completed and returned by the close of business on the day of the site analysis meeting at that school.

Anyone interested in further information about the site analysis process should call the school district's Communications and Community Relations Department at 941-927-4009. 

SARASOTA –Young scientists at the elementary, middle and high school levels will showcase their scientific hypotheses, research and conclusions as their exhibits are judged this week for the annual Regional Science Fair. Volunteer judges will review elementary school projects from 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Tuesday (Jan. 31). Middle and high school judging will take place 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Thursday (Feb. 2). All judging will be at Robarts Arena in Sarasota.

Sarasota County has had a regional science fair for more than 20 years. Because the district is affiliated with the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, students who are judged to have the top two high school science fair projects will have the opportunity to participate in the Intel ISEF.

All schools in Sarasota County, including those in public, charter, alternative, virtual, private and parochial schools, as well as home-schooled students, may participate in the regional science fair. This year, participating private and parochial schools include New Gate Field School, Incarnation Catholic School, Epiphany Cathedral School, Goldie Feldman Academy, Tabernacle Christian School, and The Out-of-Door Academy.

The Science Fair encompasses 14 categories, including biological, environmental, physical and earth/space sciences, as well as math, engineering, computer sciences, and behavior and social sciences. Projects promote the development of inquiry process skills that are essential for learning.

The fair is a community effort; many organizations and individuals contribute their time and talents to support and nurture scientific talent in students of all ages. Participating organizations include the Sarasota Agricultural Fair Committee, which allows the district to use Robarts Arena at no charge for four days for the judging of the exhibits. The committee also donates lunch for students, chaperones and judges; donates award ribbons; and provides space to display the award-winning exhibits at the Sarasota County Fair each year in March.

The Education Foundation of Sarasota County underwrites the expenses for the regional fair, the county’s affiliation with the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, travel for winning students to attend the Intel ISEF, and numerous cash awards made possible by community sponsors. Leading sponsors this year include The Faulhaber Foundation and the Dart Foundation.

Mote Marine Laboratory and New College of Florida provide members of the Safety Review Committee and mentors for students. G.WIZ, the Hands-On Science Center, offers workshops for students and parents. Sarasota Memorial Hospital contributes in a number of ways, including encouraging staff members to serve as judges. The hospital’s renowned neonatologist Dr. Washington Hill serves as a judge; he especially enjoys seeing how his “grown babies” are developing as scientists.

SARASOTA – Victor Fernandez, a music teacher and orchestra director at Booker Middle School in Sarasota, was named the Teacher of the Year for the Sarasota County School District in an evening ceremony held Jan. 26.

Teachers, administrators, school board members, sponsors and guests gathered at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota to celebrate the naming of the district winner from among three finalists and to honor candidates from schools throughout the county (click here for a list of all 41 Teachers of the Year from participating schools). A partnership between the Education Foundation of Sarasota County and the Sarasota County School District produces the annual event.

“As an immigrant to this great country, with English as my second language, it is so very humbling for me to be standing here speaking to all of you,” Fernandez, a native of Cuba, told the audience after being named the district’s Teacher of the Year. “The scope of our jobs, in my view, lies far beyond scores and statistics, as every child we teach has, in essence, unlimited potential for greatness, success, happiness and joy. If we could impact every child in the world today in this way, it is beautful to think of the world we would all share tomorrow.” (Click here for the complete text of Fernandez's acceptance speech.) 

Fernandez will represent the school district at the Florida Department of Education–Macy's Teacher of the Year gala and serve as the community spokesperson for the teaching profession throughout the 2012-2013 academic year. He was selected from three finalists, who also included Jessica Gardner of Gocio Elementary School and Danielle Fisher Tanaka of Venice High School.

Fernandez began teaching at Booker Middle in August 2010, after teaching middle and high school in Tallahassee for three years. He also conducts the Sarasota Youth Orchestra and has conducted the Tallahassee Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Wiregrass Youth Symphony Orchestra in Dothan, Ala.

“Victor inspires students with a sense of purpose as he helps them build the skills, attitudes, habits and the behaviors they need to be successful,” Booker Middle School Interim Principal LaShawn Houston said. “He takes students on a journey that allows them to experience music on a deeper level, teaching music by using reading, writing and math in the classroom.”

Fernandez said, “I approach teaching and music as I approach life. As I explain to my students, ‘the more you put into anything, the more you get out of it.’ It works in music and it works in life. As I think of my students becoming adults and creating the rest of their lives, I aim to teach ‘beyond the notes,’ and that truly shapes the way I teach music.”

In addition to his work with the Booker Middle School Orchestra and the Sarasota Youth Orchestra, Fernandez also volunteers his time to teach musical skills to students at Gocio Elementary. He earned a master’s degree in Music Education and bachelor’s degrees in Music Education and Music Performance from Florida State University. 

In school districts across the nation, the Teacher of the Year program focuses attention on the contributions of teachers and honors those who have the gift of inspiring a love of learning in their students. Time after time, by most every test and measure — reading, writing, math, and college readiness — Sarasota County students place at the top in the state of Florida. The district is rated “A” by the Florida Department of Education, which recently ranked Sarasota County the fourth highest of the state’s 67 school districts in student performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). These achievements reflect the quality of the teachers in the county’s public schools.

The Sarasota County Teacher of the Year program is made possible through the funding and support of community partners. This year’s Presenting Sponsor is Verizon. Premier Sponsors include Nova Southeastern University, Publix Super Markets Charities and Sunset Chevrolet Buick GMC. Gold Sponsors are the Notre Dame Club of Greater Sarasota, Prudential Retirement, Sarasota County School-Based Administrators Association (SBA) and VALIC. Sarasota County School District Administrators (SDA) and Herff Jones-Steve Kline are Silver Sponsors.

Each of the three finalists receives $500 cash awards from the Education Foundation of Sarasota County and the Sarasota County Classified/Teachers Association ($500 to the overall winner; $250 each to the other two finalists) as well as scholarships from Nova Southeastern University. Each of the 42 Teachers of the Year from individual schools receives $150 in Professional Development vouchers to continue learning about best practices in education.

The overall Teacher of the Year will attend the Excellence in Teaching Conference at the University of Notre Dame, all expenses paid, courtesy of the Notre Dame Club of Greater Sarasota. The individual selected as the district’s top Teacher of the Year also receives a 2012 Chevy Cruze to use for the year from Sunset Chevrolet Buick GMC. All 42 individual schools’ Teachers of the Year receive a variety of gifts, including a quality professional portrait by Prestige Portraits by Lifetouch.

About the Education Foundation

Dedicated to quality education for all children, the Education Foundation of Sarasota County was founded in 1988 as an independent, not-for-profit organization working in partnership with Sarasota County Schools and the community. With the support of individuals, families, businesses, civic groups and foundations, the Education Foundation awards more than a million dollars each year to initiatives that elevate our public schools to the top of Florida’s education system: teacher classroom grants, fine arts programs, scholarships and mentorships, Literacy for Life, the Texcellence Home Computer Donation Program, Teacher of the Year, Academic Olympics and the Regional Science, Engineering and Technology Fair. More information is available at www.EdFoundation.net or by calling 941-927-0965. 

  
 

SARASOTA –Accompanied by a brass band, high-stepping cheerleaders, two mascots, assorted dignitaries and a gymnasium full of enthusiastic readers from all grade levels, Florida First Lady Ann Scott kicked off the 2012 statewide Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida! at Sarasota Middle School on Jan. 23. The event included presentations by local and state officials, a popular author of young adult fiction and Mrs. Scott.

The presenters all shared their passion for reading and its importance in their professional and personal lives. Sarasota County Superintendent of Schools Lori White said, “Reading is the foundation of all we do in education.”

Roxie Jerde, the president of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, said the foundation is investing more than $260,000 a year in middle school literacy programs. She said she is pleased to see that more books are being checked out of media centers and that FCAT reading scores are improving.

Stuart Greenburg, the executive director of the Florida Department of Education Just Read, Florida program, said he was very pleased to see the enthusiasm for the kickoff event demonstrated by the students, faculty and administration in Sarasota. “This is the most extravagant kickoff event we’ve ever had,” he said. “I am amazed at your enthusiasm, passion and knowledge for reading.”

Greenburg introduced Mrs. Scott as a great supporter of literacy who approached the Department of Education as soon as the governor took office to see what she could do promote reading. “She visits schools, reads to students and supports literacy throughout the state,” he said.

Mrs. Scott shared her lifelong passion for reading and introduced the central motivational activity of Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida!, the Million Minute Marathon. She called the marathon the “biggest collaborative reading effort in state history.”

The name is something of a misnomer because students actually read 17 million minutes during the 2011 literacy week. The goal for this year is to have students read 20 million minutes.

The students and adults at the kickoff event started the marathon with five minutes of reading from books everyone brought to the kickoff. Students, staff and parents are being asked to read an extra 20 minutes a day during the celebration week and to report the time they read back to their schools. The statewide total will be recorded and publicized at the end of the week.

The theme of this year’s reading event is “Take the lead and read.” The theme is related to the sponsorship of the Daytona International Speedway for this year’s event. The speedway has provided a race car that will appear at many of the reading festivities across the state during Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida!. The car was on display at SMS following the kickoff ceremony and also appeared at an afternoon reading event at Englewood Elementary School.

NOTE: On Jan. 23 the Florida Department of Education issued a news release about the first numerical ranking of school districts in the state, ranked by student achievement. The Sarasota County School District was ranked fourth highest among the state's 67 county-wide school districts.

Sarasota County Superintendent Lori White said, “We are pleased that the Florida Department of Education has ranked our district as one of the best in the state. This recognition is a testament to the hard work of students, teachers, administrators, parents and volunteers. Community support also is a key factor in the success of our public schools, and we are very grateful.” 

The FLDOE news release follows below:

FLORIDA SCHOOL DISTRICTS RANKED BY STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
~ Ranking allows parents and taxpayers to compare performance district-by-district ~

TALLAHASSEE – Parents and taxpayers now have a new way to view the performance of school districts in Florida. The Florida Department of Education today released a numerical ranking of the state’s 67 school districts, one of the first such in the country. The district-by-district ranking is the first phase of an initiative that will soon include a list of all of the schools in the state ranked by number within the three main school groupings: elementary, middle and high school. The goal is to make it easier for parents to assess school district performance.

“I applaud Commissioner Robinson on these rankings. We all wish to ensure students have the opportunity to get a good education that will prepare them for a good job,” said Governor Rick Scott. “Ranking school districts by performance allows taxpayers to see their investment in education at work.”

The numerical ranking is based on each school’s total points derived from FCAT scores. The total is the sum of scores for reading, math, science and writing; learning gains in reading and math; and scores for learning gains in reading and math among the lowest 25 percent of students in each school. The school district ranking is determined by the school grade points they earned based on the assessment scores of all students in the district that were enrolled for the full year.

“Florida is considered a national leader when it comes to measuring the success of our schools,” said Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson. “The Florida Department of Education developed the first-ever school grading program in 1999, and since then we have provided our model to other states that wish to replicate our exceptional accountability system.”

Commissioner Robinson added that using education performance data is essential for measuring student progress and school effectiveness to ensure that Florida’s educational system continues to move in the right direction.

“Ranking districts and schools based on data-driven results demonstrates Florida’s focus on ensuring students receive a high quality education and provides another helpful tool for parents, educators and taxpayers,” he said.

The department expects to publish a listing of schools throughout the state ranked by number in the near future.

The district rankings can be found at http://www.fldoe.org/SchoolDistrictRanking/. Commissioner Robinson’s comments regarding the rankings may be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/educationfl. 

SARASOTA – Christopher Renouf, who has served as principal of Toledo Blade Elementary in North Port, has been named to succeed Bill Muth as principal of Ashton Elementary in Sarasota. Muth is retiring from the school district. The appointment of Renouf, effective July 1, is expected to be approved by the School Board of Sarasota County at an upcoming meeting.

Renouf served as the principal of Ashton Elementary from 1998 to 2006, when he was selected to lead Toledo Blade in North Port. Muth has been principal of Ashton since 2006; he also served as principal of Wilkinson Elementary (1986-2006) and as an assistant principal at Gulf Gate Elementary (1984-86).

At Toledo Blade, Renouf increased staff retention, improved parent and community partnerships and enhanced student and staff recognition programs. He helped establish the SOAR program for gifted and talented students and guided the school to achieve adequate yearly progress, as defined by the national No Child Left Behind Law, for five consecutive years.

In October 2011 Toledo Blade was recognized as a Florida Title I Distinguished School by the Florida Department of Education and the National Association of State Title I Directors — one of only six schools in the state among 1,853 Title I schools and the only school in southwest Florida to receive the honor for the 2010-11 school year. The schools selected to be Title I Distinguished Schools must have a poverty rate of at least 35 percent for the selected year (making them eligible Title I schools), must have demonstrated high academic achievement for two or more consecutive years, and must have met or exceeded state standards for making adequate yearly progress for two or more consecutive years.

“I will cherish the many memories from my time at Toledo Blade,” Renouf said. “In just six years, Toledo Blade has gone from a No Child Left Behind ‘School in Need of Improvement’ to a ‘Title 1 Distinguished School’ as a result of the incredible efforts of our students, staff and school community. I’m sure the school will keep soaring to new heights.”

Renouf called his return to Ashton “an incredible opportunity. I am honored and proud to once again join the Ashton family. I look forward to working with everyone as the school continues to reach for the stars.”

Beginning in February, the school district will conduct a site analysis with Toledo Blade faculty and staff, parents and community members to identify the qualities they would like to see in the school’s next principal.