THINKING CAP
Put it on and DIVE into news & deals JUST for HCPS staff
IN THIS EDITION... MARCH 2019
WHAT SPARK MEANS TO OUR ACHIEVEMENT SCHOOL TEACHERS
"It will send a message to parents that these schools are turning around"
Spark is our new incentive program. Teachers at Achievement Schools are eligible for bonuses up to $13,000 a year as well as free or half-price childcare.
For 16 years, Lee Valenti spent her time teaching at a private school in South Tampa.
Her love for children has always been the driving force that kept her in the classroom, but she was searching for something different.
“I was looking to help make a difference in my community,” said Valenti. “You don’t have to look far to make a change in your community because there are kids that can benefit just from your presence, right down the street."
Valenti decided to make a teaching transition, and she got a job at Foster Elementary School, one of our county’s highest needs schools.
This is her first year at Foster—not only is she challenged every day, but she feels a close connection with her students.
However, the move from a private school to an Achievement School has been eye opening, to say the least.
Read more HERE
Learn more about Spark
DEALS FOR HILLSBOROUGH SCHOOLS STAFF
Discounted tickets to The Straz
The Crayola Experience
Free Admission to MOSI
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
- FREE seminar! Estate planning, wills, trusts - Thursday, March 14th 5:30pm - ISC Room 102 (Register in PDS course #89355)
- Tampa Bay History Center - Free Admission! Teacher Appreciation Day - March 22 MUST RSVP (teacher & 2 family members ) https://www.tampabayhistorycenter.org/2019/01/03/teacher-appreciation-morning/
- Student Loan Solutions Workshop - Wednesday, April 10 5:30pm - ISC Room 102 (Register in PDS course #89553)
- April is 'The Month of The Military Child' - learn more at https://www.dodea.edu/dodeaCelebrates/Military-Child-Month.cfm
Advice from mom, a sense of humor and that one student who changed everything
“Gentlemen! All black attire! Black dress shirt, black dress pants, black shoes, black socks--NO WHITE SOCKS! You are NOT Michael Jackson! NO white socks!”
That is Dr. Dre Graham, Hillsborough County’s Teacher of the Year, instructing the young men in his band class at King High School how to dress for an evaluation performance the next day.
His comments get nervous giggles, and excited head-nods from his young, freshmen class.
This is their first time performing at this level—and you can tell they want to make their teacher proud.
That’s one of the first things you notice when you walk into Dr. Graham’s classroom—the reverence and respect the students have for him.
It’s a respect he commands… NOT demands.
Read more HERE
Click HERE to watch Dr. Graham's acceptance speech
Teaching is an "enjoyable challenge"
"It’s really rewarding to run into one of my former students, like at the hospital and they are a nurse, or when they just graduated from an engineering school. To hear that 'thank you,' it means a lot. It keeps me going, and that’s why I’m here."
Bringing a lesson from OUTSIDE the classroom
"You are strong. You are intelligent. You will be successful!"
THE MONEY'S COMING IN - AND THE BIDS ARE GOING OUT
Keeping you updated on how YOUR tax dollars are being spent in our schools.
The first revenue check from the Education Referendum’s half-penny sales tax should arrive at our school district THIS WEEK! But make no mistake, we’ve already been putting the pieces in place to deliver on our #HalfPennyPromise. Here’s the latest.
For the most part, the steps so far are hardly headline-grabbing. It’s the behind-the-scenes work necessary before major projects can get started.
Our district’s Planning & Construction Department is reviewing bids from contractors to determine timelines and who will be assigned to each project. Those details will be shared at the next Citizen Oversight Committee meeting on March 15.
Each month, the Citizen Oversight Committee meets to review the dozens of projects in the planning stages. Former USF President Betty Castor serves as chair, with Sheriff Chad Chronister as vice chair. You will be able to track project updates yourself on the Citizen Oversight Committee website.
Design professionals and construction companies have been selected for 21 schools set to receive an air conditioning overhaul or replacement this summer. Crews won’t begin replacing the systems until over the summer when campuses are relatively empty. Replacing an entire air conditioning system is a HUGE job—in many cases the entire ceiling has to be taken apart—so you can see why it’s a good idea NOT to have people in the building at the time.
But dozens of other projects will begin well before summer. Once funding starts to come in, crews will start many projects that can be tackled while school is in session, including painting, security and fire safety upgrades, playground equipment installation and more.
As that happens in the coming weeks, you will hear updates from your school through email, social media and more. Thank you for your support—this investment of more than $131 million each year would not be possible without you.
MESSAGE FROM OUR SUPERINTENDENT
Hello Hillsborough County Public Schools team,
The national teacher shortage has been weighing heavily on all school districts. We feel it most in our highest-needs schools. We must do all we can to make sure amazing full-time teachers are working with students in every classroom, from August through May.
That’s the goal behind our Spark teacher incentives effort, which you can learn more about here. Spark will help us fill positions in our highest needs Achievement Schools—and fill those positions early—with passionate teachers.
Our Human Resources team is making other key changes. Because #WeClimbTogether, this will positively impact all our district’s schools. We are moving up the timelines for our hiring process; instead of hiring in the summer, our goal is to have every position for next school year filled before this school year ends.
We’re also adding an allowance for principals to fill some of the positions they know will be vacant (due to teachers retiring or moving away, for example) before those positions are actually empty. This will create more continuity for our schools and students.
I believe that by getting the right teachers in the right positions early, it will make a difference in our classrooms—making the learning environment stronger for our students and less of a challenge for you, our team members.
Thank you for everything you do every day to prepare our students for life. Please enjoy your Spring Break!
Jeff
Facebook: www.facebook.com/hillsboroughsch
Twitter: @jeff_eakins
MESSAGE FROM SCHOOL BOARD CHAIRWOMAN TAMARA SHAMBURGER
This month, our district will receive its first income from the half-penny sales tax voters approved in November. Thank you for standing up and investing in our students. This revenue will help us catch up on many years’ worth of overdue maintenance and make numerous important security and technology upgrades.
As you may know, this money cannot be used to increase teacher pay or fund many of our other classroom needs. Overall, Florida is still 44th out of the 50 states in education funding—more than $4,000 per student below the national average.
Your School Board members will be traveling to Tallahassee for the next two months to work with lawmakers and urge them to devote more of our state’s financial resources to its most important cause: students.
As a School Board, we have determined four key areas where we believe a reasonably small change at the state level would have a major impact on our students and communities. Here are the areas and our specific requests for lawmakers:
Issue: Keeping Students and Communities Safe and Healthy
Requested action: Increase per-student funding in the security and mental health categories of the state budget, to make sure we can maintain the required number of security officers and increase the number of needed mental health workers.
Issue: Prioritizing Workforce Education
Requested action: Allow Industry Certifications to be part of an alternative pathway to a standard diploma.
Issue: Investing in Students and Schools
Requested action: Restore the school district’s funding for maintenance and construction to its pre-recession level of 2.0 mills.
Issue: Hiring Experienced Educators
Requested action: Increase flexible funding, for areas like teacher pay, by raising the funding source called the “Base Student Allocation” by 3%.
If you’d like to find out more, please check out the one-page handout that explains these issues. And if you’d like to get involved, please contact your school’s PTA today and tell them you’re willing to help. Thank you for the opportunity to serve our students.
Tamara P. Shamburger, Hillsborough County School Board Chair
Twitter: @T_Shamburger