THINKING CAP
In our September edition...
Clear your calendar for Saturday, September 28. That's the day of our free district Health Fair
Great deals for our amazing staff—especially if you're looking to take a day trip
Enter to win FIVE free meals, courtesy of our friends at PDQ
PREPPING FOR DORIAN—OUR STAFF STEPS UP FOR THE COMMUNITY!
“Welcome to our classroom! Please treat our classroom like it is your home! Be safe and enjoy your stay!”
Those words were written across a whiteboard in an elementary school classroom over Labor Day weekend—a message of love to anyone who would have to use the school as a shelter from Hurricane Dorian.
That Friday afternoon, after meeting with emergency officials, Superintendent Jeff Eakins made the call to cancel school for Tuesday, September 3.
Many of our schools are used as shelters, not just for us in Hillsborough County, but also for anyone who might need to evacuate from the east coast.
Immediately after the superintendent made the call, staff at those shelter schools jumped into action. They started moving desks, putting all their supplies into cabinets and making their rooms as homey as possible for anyone who might have to stay.
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS AND HEALTH FAIR
Saturday, September 28, 9am-12pm at Jefferson High School
- Speak with: Hillsborough Schools Benefits staff, Humana representatives
- Get FREE: Go365 Biometric Screenings, flu shots, routine mammograms (register for your appt)
- FREE vision, skin and bone density screenings
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
GOING FOR THE GOLD 90X20
Attend one of our Walk to Run clinics and join the HCPS 90x20 Team at the Gasparilla Distance Classic. Find out more!
2020-2021 SCHOOL CALENDAR APPROVED
TAMPA BAY ROWDIES HILLSBOROUGH SPIRIT NIGHT
SeaWorld Orlando is offering FREE admission to all active & certified Florida teachers
SuperShuttle-ExecuCar is offering 10% discount to HCPS employees
Free admission to Kennedy Space Center's Educator Resource Center
TEACHER FEATURE: SULLIVAN ELEMENTARY'S KELLIE TAYLOR
In her own words, teacher Kellie Taylor explains how her students' resilience through homelessness & other challenges inspires her.
This is the happiest I’ve been teaching. This school brings joy just to see these kids want to learn.
Sullivan Partnership is a school in which we have partnered with Metropolitan Ministries, and have the children living in the shelter. It’s a unique place where the children come with unique needs. Typically, some students have been homeless at some point, some living in bus shelters, cars, or have been going from home to home. You never know what you’re going to get every day when the kids come to school. They witness violence, whether it’s within their families or in the neighborhood, and when they get to school you can see them calm down immediately. They know that this is a safe place.
Their whole mindset changes when they finally open up and start talking about things they have gone through in their life. As we start listening to these children’s stories and what they have been through, even as adults we couldn’t fathom to get up the next morning and keep going, and they just keep going. It’s rewarding for us as teachers and makes us keep coming every day. The students feel connected to everyone in here. We are one big family at this school.
The atmosphere here is we are going to work, and we are going to try. We can further their education as well as their social needs altogether. All the students are more than capable of being whatever they want to be when they grow up.
I’m here because I love the kids. I think that’s why we’re all here – we love the kids.
Give the students the chance – give yourself the chance – because as a teacher, I think you can do a lot more than you think with these students, and they will teach you more than what you can teach them.
This is Why #WeAchieveTogether.
WE ASKED AND YOU ANSWERED!
Every month in Thinking Cap we ask for nominations of staff who go above and beyond. Below are just a few of the amazing people in our Hillsborough Schools family...
Kathy "Nikki" Counce, Social Worker at Rampello K-8
"Ms. Counce has such a passion for her job! She goes out of her way to make connections with students and build positive relationships that make students want to be at school and know that there are people here that care about them. She not only provides parents with resources, but will follow up to support them and also help them in completing applications for community services. Ms. Counce has implemented school-wide programs to encourage and recognize great attendance and promptness to school. There is just so much that she does that I have never in 20 years of education seen another school social worker do."
Nominated by: Shelby-Roxanne Young, Rampello AP
Shante Lowe, Nurse at Lomax Elementary Magnet
"Nurse Lowe not only cares for our students but she helps with clothing if needed or lunch or breakfast if a child comes late. She runs to get students who can't make it to her... or walks them back when no one else can. She speaks to all the parents that come through our office. She is loved by all."
Nominated by: Nilda Osorio
David Rivas, ASD Teacher at Lopez Exceptional Center
"Mr. Rivas works with a group of students that have severe behaviors related to ASD. He is always engaging and trying to be upbeat for both students and staff. He is the first to help others in difficult situations. He makes the staff feel safe while at the same time making sure the students are actively engaged. He also works hard to improve the behavior of our most challenging students through careful planning and collaboration with the rest of the high school staff."
Nominated by: Anonymous
Priscila Cedeno, Media Specialist at Pride Elementary
"I am so very fortunate to work with Ms. Cedeno. We have been working together for 10 years now and she is now my family. She anticipates every need in our media center and makes all the necessary preparations for every reading program, book fair, family night and special event. I brainstorm crazy ideas about what we can do and within hours she has a cart prepared with all the necessary supplies and materials gathered, cut and arranged. She is beautifully fluent in Spanish and English and kindly helps our school by translating anywhere on campus whenever needed. She is humble, kind, generous and a tremendous help to me in every way, every day."
Nominated by: Anonymous
OUR SCHOOLS IN THE NEWS...
ABC ACTION NEWS AT TAMPA BAY TECH
WTSP AT FRANKLIN BOYS PREPARATORY ACADEMY
A message from School Board member Stacy Hahn
Your School Board is getting ready to make a major decision. And we need your input to make sure that decision is the right one for our community.
We have launched a search for the next superintendent of our school district—the person who will lead our amazing team of 24,000 employees, serving more than 220,000 students.
Your input is a vital part of this search! What qualities do you think are most important in a superintendent? What kind of work background should he or she have? What are your priorities, as a stakeholder in our community?
We are asking everyone to take just a few minutes and complete this Superintendent Search Community Survey by 8 a.m. on September 22.
A nationally respected firm called Ray and Associates will collect the survey results. Our School Board has hired Ray and Associates to help us reach out locally and across the country in search of the best possible candidates for this position.
Starting next month, Ray and Associates will use the survey results to find and recruit the type of leaders who match the qualities our community is looking for. The survey results will be used again as we interview and select the finalists for the position in the first half of 2020.
Jeff Eakins, our current superintendent, is retiring in June of 2020, after 31 years as an educator and leader in Hillsborough County Public Schools. His dedicated service has been a powerful positive force for our students and our community.
We all want to make sure we find the most qualified person to step into his role and continue ensuring our district is a state and national leader, committed to equity and driven by our vision of Preparing Students for Life.
As members of your School Board, we know we can only do that with your help.
HELP NAME OUR NEW SCHOOL!
The school will open in August 2020 and a principal has been named—now the *school* needs a name!
To recommend a school name, please fill out this quick survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QWXB88K
OR email your recommendation to school.name@sdhc.k12.fl.us
Here is our School Board's policy on which names qualify and the process of selecting one. All name recommendations must be submitted by Friday, October 4, 2019.
Hillsborough County Public Schools
Email: newsletter@sdhc.k12.fl.us
Website: hillsboroughschools.org
Location: 901 East Kennedy Boulevard, Tampa, FL, USA
Phone: 813-272-4000
Twitter: @HillsboroughSch