Sarasota County Schools News

SARASOTA COUNTY — Students in Sarasota County’s public high schools outperformed their peers in other Florida districts, on average, in the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) taken in the 2007-08 academic year. Local averages were higher than state averages in all three sections of the SAT — mathematics, critical reading and writing skills. District scores were higher than national averages in math and reading.

Nationwide results for the class of 2008 were announced Monday, Aug. 26 by The College Board, the not-for-profit organization that administers the voluntary test. The SAT is the most widely taken standardized college admissions test in the U.S. According to The College Board, the number of SAT takers nationwide rose to more than 1.5 million in 2008, an 8 percent increase from five years ago and a 29.5 percent increase from 10 years ago. The Florida Department of Education reports that nearly 100,000 students across the state took the SAT this year.

In Sarasota County public high schools, 1,648 students, or about 66 percent of the class of 2008, took the SATs. The number represents a significant increase over the 61.5 percent of students in the class of 2007 who took the test. The percentage of SAT test-takers among the class of 2008 was 54 percent statewide and 45 percent nationally.

Other details of the SAT results include the following:

• Sarasota County average scores are 19 and 23 points higher than state averages in critical reading and mathematics, respectively, and 12 points higher in writing.
• Compared to seniors nationwide, average scores for the district are 13 points higher than the national average in reading, and 5 points higher in math. The national average is one point higher than the district average in writing.
• Average SAT scores increased in mathematics and decreased in reading at the state and district levels. Nationally, average scores in 2008 remained the same as in 2007 for all three sections of the test.

SARASOTA COUNTY – Although the Sarasota County Schools expect enrollment to be about 450 students below projections for the 2008-2009 school year, the district has been able to adjust staffing without laying off teachers. Superintendent Lori White said Wednesday that good news was largely the result of prudent planning by school principals.

Because principals anticipated low enrollment, they reserved enough positions that all teachers displaced in schools who lost students could be offered jobs in schools that gained students or had positions open for other reasons.

Although the Sarasota County schools budget office projected having fewer students enrolled than last year, the actual number of students who enrolled was even lower than projected. Based on the student count on the sixth day of school, district officials expect about 450 fewer students than projected to be enrolled during the second week of October, when enrollment is reported to the state for funding purposes.

Having fewer students generally means a district needs fewer teachers. In the normal course of staff turnover, however, vacancies are continuously being created. Because principals were very cautious about filling vacancies over the summer, enough were available to absorb all of the teachers who were displaced by declining enrollment or were on the layoff list.

The North Port area has been particularly hard-hit by declining enrollment. All seven North Port schools had fewer students enroll than projected. At the same time, some Sarasota-area schools have enrolled more students than expected. District officials have no definitive explanation for the migration from south to north within the county, but have speculated that it may be a function of the increasing cost of commuting and decreasing rents in Sarasota.

Superintendent White said the district used the six-day count to adjust staffing rather than waiting until the 10-day count that has been used in years past because she wants teachers’ classroom assignments to be settled when school reopens after the Labor Day weekend. She said it is important for students that any changes in teacher assignments happen as early as possible.

Principals were notified Wednesday of staffing adjustments that would be required at their schools. District staff will notify the affected teachers Thursday so reassignments can be completed before Tuesday.

SARASOTA — Local high school students will get the chance to meet representatives from more than 100 colleges and universities from across the U.S. when Sarasota County Schools hosts the 2008 College Fair. The event will be held from 6-8:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 4, at Robarts Sports Arena in Sarasota. Admission is free.

Schools scheduled to send representatives include the 11 post-secondary institutions in the State University System of Florida as well as public and private colleges and universities from around the nation.

“This is an annual event we sponsor as a benefit for our students and parents,” said Katrina Ward, guidance specialist for Sarasota County Schools. “It’s a great opportunity for students who are planning their next steps after high school to explore a number of options by going to one place.”

Robarts Sports Arena is located at 3000 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota. More information about the 2008 College Fair is available by calling the Student Services department of Sarasota County Schools at 941-927-4036.

TEAM EFFORT -- Tom Peacock, the Riverview High School project director for W.G. Mills, Inc. Construction Managers and Contractors, presents Darrin Trent of American Plumbing with the First-to-Show-Up-Every-Day Award, one of dozens of awards and prizes presented to construction workers at the Aug. 8 topping out party for the new Riverview High School.

SARASOTA - Sarasota County Schools officials and senior staff of W.G. Mills Inc. Construction Managers and Contractors joined about 400 construction workers Aug. 8 for a “Topping Out” party for the new Riverview High school. "Topping out" is the term used by ironworkers to indicate that the final piece of steel is being hoisted into place on a building, bridge, or other large structure. The project is not completed, but it has reached its maximum height.

The celebration at Riverview included a catered barbeque lunch in the school’s partially completed gymnasium, awards for outstanding workers on the project and door prizes. School Board members and senior district administrative staff attended the celebration to honor the construction workers.

W.G. Mills Executive Vice President Tim Hensey said that since the project began in October, 2007, an average of 320 workers a day have been on the Riverview site. In that time they have poured 16,000 cubic yards of concrete and set more than 1,000 tons of steel to keep the project on time and within budget.

“The applause goes to the workers today,” Hensey said. “This is a day to honor you and thank you.”

Hensey also thanked Riverview Principal Linda Nook and her staff and students for their support and cooperation through the disruption of a major construction project. He also thanked the Sarasota County School Board and the community for moving ahead with the project during a difficult economic period. “The number of jobs this project has created is a significant economic driver for the community in these difficult times,” he said.

SARASOTA - When students return to Sarasota County School District high schools on Monday, Aug. 18, they should plan to follow the rules. As part of a continuing effort to improve the learning environment, minimize distractions and promote academic success for all students, high school principals in the Sarasota district have committed to consistent and strict enforcement of key school rules in the coming school year.

Executive Director of High Schools Steve Cantees said administrators and teachers will be paying particular attention to the rules regarding attendance, dress and cell phone use. Though school staff have enforced those rules in the past, Cantees said, standards of compliance will be higher and more consistent this year.

Attendance is a particular concern, he said. Though it may not be immediately apparent that one student’s absence affects other students, every absence causes the entire class to lose ground academically when teachers have to take additional time for review.

All high school principals are sending telephone messages to parents to remind them that school attendance should be their highest priority and, with rare exceptions, absences are only excused when students are ill. Appointments, trips and other activities should be scheduled outside school hours whenever possible.

Parents also are being asked to check that students are dressed appropriately when they leave for school. School dress codes do not allow students to wear clothes that are too revealing, suggest associations with gangs or convey inappropriate messages.

Students are permitted to carry cell phones at school as a convenience, but district policy requires that they must be turned off and kept out of sight during school hours. Parents are being asked to set the example of respecting class time by not calling students’ cell phones while they are at school.

The complete district Code of Conduct is included in the 2008-2009 Student & Family Handbook that all students will be given to bring home during the first week of school. The handbook containing the Code of Conduct also is available on the district web site at www.SarasotaCountySchools.net. Parents are being asked to read the handbook and return a form to their school verifying that they have done so. They also are being encouraged to review and discuss school rules with their students.

Cantees said he hopes parents and students understand that the increased attention to enforcing school rules is not intended to be unreasonably restrictive, but to support a learning environment that will help all students achieve greater success.

SARASOTA - The Sarasota Police Department will begin aggressive enforcement of traffic laws near schools starting on Monday, Aug. 18, when school starts. Officers will be in marked vehicles, unmarked vehicles, on motorcycles and sometimes on foot, operating speed-measuring devices.

There will not be any warnings given, only citations. Passing a stopped school bus is a $179 fine. Going 25 miles per hour in a school zone is a $179 fine. Going 30 mph in a school zone is a $204 fine. During all of 2007, the Sarasota Police Department issued 22,598 traffic citations.

Citizens are reminded that many students will be on foot or on bicycles as they travel to bus stops or schools. Citizens should leave ample time in their routine as they travel to and from work each day.

SARASOTA COUNTY — Superintendent Lori White will begin her first school year as superintendent of Sarasota County Schools on Monday, Aug. 18, as the district welcomes a projected 42,037 students to its 55 schools for the 2008-2009 school year. The numbers for students and schools include alternative, charter, adult education and special-needs schools.

Two district schools, Suncoast Polytechnical High School in Sarasota and Woodland Middle School in North Port, will open their doors to students for the first time. Imagine School at North Port, a new charter school, will begin classes for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

"Despite the current challenges we face, including lower enrollment than we originally expected and reduced funding from the state, this is still an exciting time to be in public education in Sarasota County,” said White. “I am proud of our schools, our administrators, our teachers and of course our high-achieving students. We couldn’t accomplish any of this without the tremendous support we receive from parents and the community. I look forward to a great first school year as superintendent.”

Suncoast Polytechnical High School, on the campus of the Sarasota County Technical Institute on Beneva Road, is a magnet school dedicated to career and technical education. The high school’s first class of 150 students, drawn from throughout Sarasota County, will be joined by an equal number of freshmen each year, as the original class progresses toward graduation in 2012. Plans call for the school’s total enrollment to be kept at a maximum of 600. Jennifer Putnam, principal of SPHS, has served as a high school principal of a charter school in Fort Myers and as principal of a Michigan high school ranked by U.S. News and World Report as one of the top 100 “Outstanding American High Schools.”

Students at SPHS will study subjects in the core high school curriculum, including math, science, English and U.S. and world history, but teachers will emphasize the ways economics, business and marketing relate to these subjects. The Sarasota County Economic Development Corporation and several local businesses are supporting the school in a number of ways. Putnam and the school’s teachers participated in “job shadowing” this summer, to incorporate information from the local business community in their classes and better prepare students for the workforce.

Woodland Middle School, under the direction of Principal Kristine Lawrence, a former assistant principal at Heron Creek Middle School, will open with the middle-school grades of six, seven and eight, and — for this school year only — a fifth-grade class of about 200 students in a separate wing of the school. These fifth graders will be based at the WMS campus this year to reduce the enrollment at Toledo Blade Elementary until the fifth North Port elementary school opens in August 2009. Under this temporary arrangement, there will be an estimated 1,200 students on the Toledo Blade campus and a projected 970 students at Woodland Middle for 2008-2009.

Imagine School at North Port, one of 52 Imagine public charter schools and independent schools in 11 states, will welcome about 500 students. Justin Matthews, former assistant principal of Imagine School at Weston in Fort Lauderdale, is principal of the new school. Sarasota County Schools has oversight responsibility for all charter schools within the county, but they function largely independently under the terms of their contract, or charter, with the district.

Two existing district schools have new principals this year. Veteran educator William Bolander, who served as principal of elementary, middle and high schools in Indiana for 16 years, is the new principal at Heron Creek Middle School. Dawn Clayton, a former assistant principal at Fruitville Elementary, takes charge at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota.