Sarasota County Schools News

Alafia River Basin Board member Cheryl Johnson (left) and SWFWMD Deputy Executive Director Lou Kavouras present award to former Phoenix Academy teacher Stephanie Dunda (center) for the school's water resources education program. Photo courtesy SWFWMD

TAMPA - The Southwest Florida Water Management District has recognized Phoenix Academy for its outstanding water resources education program. The project was one of 26 that were recognized by SWFWMD Nov. 19 during the Partners in Watershed Education Conference at the Crowne Plaza Tampa East Hotel.

Phoenix Academy, a Sarasota County public school opened in 2004, gives struggling eighth-, ninth- and 10th-graders new opportunities for academic success. The school’s 10th-grade class studied Florida-friendly gardens and created a hydroponics system for the school after conducting research at Selby Botanical Gardens and the Sarasota Garden Club. After completing the research in fall 2007, students designed a landscape for a Florida-friendly garden in spring 2008. The hydroponics system, called Hydro-Stackers, was used to grow Florida native plants. The students then took these plants home to use in their own yards.

Phoenix Academy also worked with Mote Marine Laboratory to implement a hands-on experience with their eighth- grade students. Students conducted experiments and collected data on local watersheds surrounding Sarasota Bay and the Myakka River, performing water quality tests in these areas. Studies included macro and micro diversity analysis of plants and animals, as well as the human impact on estuarine ecosystems.

Research was conducted under the leadership of teacher Stephanie Dunda, who accepted the award on behalf of Phoenix Academy. This year science teacher Sue Forrest will carry on the hydroponics and water quality studies with Phoenix Academy’s eighth-grade and ninth-grade students.

To select the awardees, SWFWMD staff reviewed school projects funded through the Splash! mini-grant program and grants applied for by community members, local governments and non-profit groups through the community education grant program. SWFWMD-sponsored programs that use volunteers to educate others about water conservation were also considered.

Sarasota County SWFWMD projects are funded by the District's Manasota Basin Board, which also includes Manatee County. Many of SWFWMD’s grant projects focus on various aspects of all four of the water management district's areas of responsibility — water supply, water quality, natural systems protection and flood protection.

Lamarque Elementary School, North Port

SARASOTA COUNTY – In a presentation to the School Board of Sarasota County at its Nov. 18 meeting, school district energy managers reported that Lamarque Elementary School in North Port has received the Energy Star rating from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The designation recognizes products and companies for energy efficiency and environmental protection.

The Energy Star rating for Lamarque is one result of an overall energy-saving program by Sarasota County Schools that has helped the district reduce the energy costs in its schools and facilities by an estimated $3.1 million in the past 18 months — saving taxpayer dollars while protecting the environment.

Many people recognize the Energy Star label from home appliances, but buildings also can earn the same award for being among the top 25 percent of facilities in the U.S. in terms of energy efficiency. Commercial buildings that earn the Energy Star label use an average of 40 percent less energy than a typical building and release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Thirty-one schools in Florida, including Lamarque, have earned the Energy Star award. Eighteen of these schools are partners with Energy Education, which is also the energy consulting firm for Sarasota County Schools.

Lamarque Elementary first welcomed students in August 2006. As part of the process of preparing the school to open, an engineer from Energy Education confirmed that lighting levels, air circulation and other aspects of the school’s operation were at optimum levels for the safety and comfort of students and staff, while ensuring the efficient use of energy. The school’s grade on these and other measures also made it a candidate for Energy Star status.

"Our school is not only beautiful and a great place for learning,” Lamarque Principal Sally Mancheno told the School Board during the presentation of the Energy Star award, “it is also a great example of how we can all contribute to saving energy in simple ways, such as turning off lights when we leave a room. We will display the Energy Star award proudly at our school.”

To ensure that energy is being used efficiently at all schools and offices, district energy specialists perform energy audits at each site to evaluate consumption and make recommendations for changes that will result in savings. New schools, such as Woodland Middle School in North Port, and schools under construction, such as Elementary I in North Port and the new Riverview High School in Sarasota, are built with energy-saving features such as those promoted by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The “green” features at some of the district’s new schools and facilities include:

• Regional building materials
• 20 percent recycled-content materials
• Materials with low volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
• Efficient storm-water management
• Water-efficient landscaping (no irrigation once foliage has been established)
• Water-use reduction, dual-flush water closets, reduced-flow lavatories, waterless urinals
• Energy-efficient air-conditioning system
• Enhanced refrigerant management
• Occupancy sensors to detect motion, turn lights off and on automatically
• Reflective roofing
• Light-pollution reduction

Public transportation access and alternative-transportation features, including bike racks and shower/changing rooms

Throughout the school district, energy specialists evaluate the use of heating and air conditioning equipment, such as chillers, air handlers, exhausts and pumps to determine whether changes in the usage times and frequency could affect the district’s power bills. The expensive task of air conditioning 43 schools and a number of district facilities has been made less costly and more efficient by making ice at night during low-demand energy hours, then storing the ice in thermal energy storage tanks. Water is circulated over the ice during the day to create the chilled water needed for air conditioning.

The district’s custodial staff also helps identify potential savings and avoid potential loss at each site. Resources are well maintained to ensure optimum performance. Teachers and staff are coached to make sure lights are out when a room is not being used, windows and doors remain closed while air conditioning is in use, and electronic equipment is turned off each night.

“Saving taxpayer money while saving the environment is a win-win,” said Alisha Miller, an energy manager for the school district’s Facilities Services team. “Our energy-saving program is sure to keep paying dividends for everyone, and the Energy Star rating for Lamarque Elementary is just one of the signs that this program is working.”

SARASOTA – The graduation rate for students in Sarasota County public schools rose to 86 percent in 2007-08, while the dropout rate fell to an all-time low of 2.1 percent. The results for all 67 districts in the state, as well as overall statewide percentages, were released by the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) Nov. 19.

Sarasota County’s graduation rate rose 2.5 percentage points from the 2006-07 rate of 83.5 percent. The statewide graduation rate also rose, from 72.4 percent to 75.4 percent. The 2007-08 Sarasota graduation rate is 10.6 percentage points higher than the state graduation rate of 75.4 percent.

In addition to the overall increase in the rate for Sarasota County, the graduation rates for all ethnic groups also increased. The rise from 2006-07 was 6.5 percentage points for black students, 4 percentage points for Hispanic students and 2.4 percentage points for white students.

Florida's high-school graduation rate is the percentage of students who graduated within four years of their initial enrollment in ninth grade. Incoming transfer students are included in this calculation, based on their grade level and year of entry into ninth grade. Deceased students and students who withdraw to attend school in another school system (public, private authorized home education program, or adult education program) are removed from the calculation. Each student in the remaining, adjusted group receives a final classification as a graduate, dropout or non-graduate.

Sarasota County’s high-school dropout rate of 2.1 percent reflected a decrease of 0.6 percentage points compared to 2006-07. The district’s dropout rates decreased 1.2 percentage points for black students, 0.6 percentage points for Hispanic students and 0.5 percentage points for white students. The state dropout rate also decreased, from 3.3 percent in 2006-07 to 2.6 percent in 2007-08. The Sarasota dropout rate is 0.5 percentage points lower than Florida’s dropout rate.

According to the FLDOE formula, the dropout rate is an annual snapshot of the percentage of students in grades nine through 12 who leave school for any reason other than transfer to another school or graduation.

For Sarasota County, the long-term trend indicates a steady increase in the graduation rate, accompanied by a steady decrease in the dropout rate. School district administrators believe that the decrease in dropout rates may be due to a continued emphasis on efforts to measure academic progress and problems for all students, and to provide help for students who are identified as struggling.

School Board Chairwoman Caroline Zucker

SARASOTA – At the annual reorganization meeting of the School Board of Sarasota County Nov. 18, members of the board elected Caroline Zucker as chairwoman, succeeding Kathy Kleinlein. Zucker will serve until the board’s next annual election of the chair in November 2009.

After completing a year as the School Board’s vice chairwoman, Zucker was elected as the new chair after a swearing-in ceremony to begin her new term as a board member. She was re-elected to the District 2 of the School Board in August for another four-year term. Frank Kovach also was sworn in for a new term as a board member; he was unopposed for the District 3 School Board seat in the August election. Chief Judge Lee Haworth of the 12th Judicial Circuit of Florida administered the oath of office for Zucker and Kovach.

“Despite these challenging economic times, I remain optimistic about the future of our excellent public school system in Sarasota County,” said Zucker. “Now more than ever, the whole community needs to work together to support our schools. I’m looking forward to serving as chair of the School Board to help rally this support.”

Zucker has served for 10 years as a School Board member (1992-2000 and 2006-2008). She previously served as chairwoman in 1995-96.

She is director of Community Outreach and Volunteer Services for Jewish Family and Children’s Services of Sarasota-Manatee. In Florida, she previously served as director of business development for the Family Counseling Service and owned and operated a full-service floor covering business.

Before moving to the state in 1988, Zucker managed a nationwide communications program for an international chemical company, produced a video with Dr. Michael DeBakey of the Houston Baylor Medical Center on how to prevent heart attacks and edited a children’s magazine for Waldenbooks.

She has served as treasurer of the Sarasota County Juvenile Justice Council and a board member of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, Circuit 12. She has served on the Sarasota County Mentoring Task Force and the Education Foundation’s Evening of Excellence Committee. She is president of “Do the Right Thing,” a youth recognition program; has acted as a celebrity waiter to raise funds for the Mental Health Community; and has been active with the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce and the Venice Area Chamber of Commerce.

Zucker holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Economics from Marymount College in Tarrytown, New York. She is married to Michael Zucker; they have three children and seven grandchildren.

At the same annual School Board reorganization meeting Nov. 18 in which Zucker was elected chairwoman, Shirley Brown was elected vice chairwoman.

Above, Larry Thompson and Kathy Kleinlein co-sign agreement for the School Board to lease Historic Sarasota High School (shown with new SMOA banners) for 99 years at $1 a year to Ringling College of Art and Design for an adaptive re-use project, the Sarasota Museum of Art. Photos courtesy Ringling College of Art and Design and Athena Torri, class of 2011.

SARASOTA — The School Board of Sarasota County handed the keys to the historic 1926 Sarasota High School building to Ringling College of Art and Design in a Nov. 17 ceremony, in front of the local landmark. The symbolic key exchange marked the beginning of a new era for the iconic building, which the School Board has leased to Ringling College for 99 years at the rate of one dollar per year to house the Sarasota Museum of Art (SMOA), a division of the college.

In the ceremony, new banners were revealed on the building, signaling another step in the transformation from historic Sarasota High to the Sarasota Museum of Art. School Board Chairwoman Kathy Kleinlein co-signed the lease with Ringling College President Larry Thompson, then handed the keys to Thompson. He, in turn, presented the keys to Sarasota Museum of Art (SMOA) President Wendy Surkis. Also attending the ceremony were current Sarasota High Principal Jeff Hradek; state, county and city officials; trustees of Ringling College; board members of SMOA and supporters of the efforts to save the historic building.

“This is a great example of organizations working together to benefit all our citizens,” said Kleinlein. “After the School Board selected Ringling College and the museum proposal, everyone connected with this project has worked diligently to make sure this vision becomes a reality. We’re proud that the historic Sarasota High School building will continue to be a central part of this community and that it will continue to focus on education.”

When completed, SMOA will visually juxtapose a collegiate gothic architectural exterior, with a contemporary three-story glass enclosed entryway to the rear of the building. The project preserves and celebrates the past while exposing visitors to the present and leading them on the pathway of contemporary arts education in the future.

About Sarasota Museum of Art (SMOA)

SMOA will be housed on the second floor of the historic Sarasota High School and will be a dynamic center for exhibiting modern and contemporary art of the 20th and 21st centuries. The museum and the Visual Arts Education Center (VAEC) will interweave exhibitions, educational programs and community outreach initiatives to engage a diverse audience and serve as a center for creative discovery and discourse.

“I am eagerly anticipating the new life that we will bring to the halls of this iconic treasure,” said SMOA President Wendy Surkis. “Both the historic Sarasota High School and the visual arts are integral parts of Sarasota’s distinguished heritage. This new ‘center for visual learning’ with SMOA as the centerpiece will have immeasurable benefits for people of all ages. We are working hard to make it happen.”

A comprehensive fundraising campaign is underway for Ringling College of Art and Design. The target amount includes a $22 million goal to fund the transformation of the historic Sarasota High School into VAEC/SMOA and an operating endowment for the museum. To date, $9.5 million has been raised toward that goal. A specific opening date has not been set, but the museum is expected to welcome visitors 14 to 18 months after the funding goal has been met.

“The passion the SMOA board members have for this project is energizing,” said Ringling College President Larry Thompson. “To get to this stage — with nearly half of the funding raised in just a few years — is evidence that Sarasota has embraced the idea of this exciting new museum.”

Restoring historic Sarasota High School

In October, 2004, the School Board of Sarasota County voted to lease the historic Sarasota High School to the Ringling College of Art and Design for an adaptive re-use of the facility as the VAEC and SMOA. The vote followed a two-year process of community involvement and consensus-building, the Sarasota High School New Life Initiative, in which over 200 potential uses of the historic building were considered.

The school board stipulated that any adaptive reuse would include the preservation of the defining characteristics of the 1926 structure. Since that time, the school district has continued to maintain the building and, with the state grant, is restoring elements of the building.

State grant helps prepare old SHS for new life

To prepare for the rebirth of the building as SMOA, Sarasota County Schools completed an initial phase of the restoration of the historic 1926 Sarasota High School in preparation for its rebirth as a visual arts center and art museum, thanks to a $350,000 grant from the Florida Division of Historical Resources.

The grant funded the construction of an accessible entrance to the Collegiate Gothic-style building in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the restoration of a bank of lockers to their original appearance, the removal of barriers to mobility into classrooms on the first floor, and the opening and restoration of four loggias (covered walkways with exterior arches) in the back of the building’s first and second floors.

It is believed that the loggias were designed to be open to a courtyard when the school was built. The loggias were enclosed in concrete soon after the school was opened in 1927 in the year following its construction, to protect the building from inclement weather. The grant project allowed for the loggias to be opened for the first time in almost 80 years. Large sheets of tempered glass now encase the open area to protect the building from the elements.

More information is available at www.Ringling.edu/SMOA. The historic Sarasota High School is located at 1001 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota.

SARASOTA – All 530 students at Emma E. Booker Elementary School will receive a new book Friday, courtesy of the employees of OptaComp. Company associates will be on hand from 8:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14, to give books to the students.

Students will filter into the school’s media center in 15-minute intervals, two classes at a time. Three OptaComp employees will read a story to them, give each child a book and treat the students to juice and cookies. The company also is donating books to classroom libraries at the school — a total of over 1,500 books for the students and the school.

“We are delighted that our students will be receiving books to take home, read and cherish, thanks to the generosity of OptaComp,” said Principal Dawn Clayton. “We’re also happy that the company is donating books for the school for our students to share.”

OptaComp, which provides workers’ compensation services to Sarasota County Schools, is a subsidiary of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida.

“It has been a pleasure working on this project,” said Carmen Rosa-Brooks, chairwoman of OptaComp’s Diversity Business Council. “Literacy is something that is very close to our hearts, because it makes a world of difference in the life of a child.”

Emma E. Booker Elementary School is located at 2350 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Sarasota.

SARASOTA – The 2008 presidential election is over, but it sparked a renewed interest in politics and government among even the youngest Americans. On Nov. 7, Fruitville Elementary students had a chance to learn more about local government from Sarasota County public servants in a “town hall” format.

Participants included Sarasota County Commissioner Paul Mercier, Sarasota County Sheriff William F. “Bill” Balkwill, Sarasota County School Board member Carol Todd, Sarasota Mayor Lou Ann Palmer and Sarasota City Commissioner Fredd “Glossie” Atkins. The public officials talked to students about what they do and how their jobs help the community. Questions from students followed the panel discussion.

“The purpose of this town hall meeting was to make our students aware of our local elected offices and the people who hold them,” said Fruitville teacher Lauren Johnson, who organized the event. “With all the excitement focused on campaigning recently, we wanted to emphasize to our young students that the task of governing involves listening to the public and serving citizens on a day-to-day basis, from repairing potholes in the street to keeping our community a safe and desirable place to live.”

Fruitville Elementary School is located at 601 Honore Ave.