Schools in Pasco County will be back in session this fall, but what that means and looks like for your student will be up to you.
On Thursday, superintendent Kurt Browning announced that parents will have three choices when classes resume in August.
Traditional: Just what it says — campuses will re-open and students will return to classes, just like before the Covid-19 pandemic shut schools down in March. There will be special social distancing measures taken, and children who bus to school will be expected to wear a mask, though wearing masks will be optional on campuses.
mySchool: This is an option for students not yet comfortable returning to campus, but who want to remain connected to their school. Students will attend scheduled classes every day, with synchronous class meetings. Elementary students can expect daily lessons with face to face connections, while secondary students can expect daily face-to-face connections for every period. This is expected to take most of the pressure and responsibility off parents who have had to take on the role of teacher in many cases.
Virtual: A full-time virtual school where students work on assignments during non-traditional hours, with contact with teachers and classmates via technology.
“There’s an option here for everyone,” Browning says.
Parents are being asked to study the information online at pasco.k12.fl.us, and then choose what they believe will be best for their child by filling out an online form right HERE.
Due to the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in the city and state, the City of Tampa has decided to cancel this year’s 4th of July — Boom by the Bay — celebration.
“While we would have loved to celebrate the 4th of July together in person, we have to put the safety of our community first,” said Mayor Jane Castor in a press release. “We are looking forward to an even bigger celebration next year once this virus is behind us, but we have to work together first to stop it.”
Castor also urged people to continue practicing COVID-19 safety by wearing a face covering in public settings, washing your hands often for at least 20 seconds, keeping at least six feet from others and avoiding large gatherings.
If you are feeling ill, you are urged to stay home and get testing, which is free for Hillsborough County residents by calling 813-272-5900.
Hillsborough County had a record number of positive cases of Covid-19 with 244 on Wednesday, breaking the record set just two days before. There were also five deaths, bringing the county total to 107, while Florida has had more than 3,100 deaths.
The state, which has had 15 straight days of more than 1,000 positive cases, had 2,610 new cases on Wednesday, a day after setting the record with 2,783.
Wharton senior Isabella Douglas was awarded a $500 scholarship and the Wharton Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) program received $1,000, thanks to an essay Isabella wrote for a nationwide NJROTC contest.
The Surface Navy Association (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Association incorporated in 1985 to promote greater coordination and communication to those in the military, business, and academic communities) offered the contest to NJROTC cadets across the country, choosing Isabella’s entry as the most outstanding nationwide. The award was provided as an incentive to “engage NJROTC cadets in understanding and appreciating the sacrifices of our WWII veterans, Navy core values, and what it means to be a shipmate.”
Isabella will use her award while attending the University of Florida in Gainesville, where she plans to major in journalism.
Although her current plans don’t include joining the military, Isabella comes from a military family. Her mom was in the U.S. Army and her dad was in the U.S. Coast Guard.
She credits Wharton’s NJROTC program with teaching her important life skills. “It taught me how to be a better leader, to be more organized, and (how) to talk in front of a lot of people.”
Isabella says she was excited to hear that her efforts not only benefited her, but also the school’s NJROTC program.
“I was really glad about that,” she says, “because it’s my last year and I was happy to give back to the program.”
National Merit Scholars Announced
New Tampa’s residents Arpan Bagui and Shezad S. Shah were named as $2,500 National Merit Scholarship winners by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) on May 13.
Bagui lives in K-Bar Ranch and attends the IB program at King High and is looking to study investment banking in college, while Shah is a Wharton senior who plans to study computer science in college.
Arpan Bagui
The $2,500 Merit Scholar designees were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 finalists in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program.
National Merit $2,500 scholarship winners are the Finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.
Scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who considered the academic record (including the difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned). scores from the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), contributions and leadership in school and community activities, an essay written by the Finalist and a recommendation written by a high school official.
New Tampa PTAs/PTSAs Recognized
The Hillsborough County Council PTA/PTSA announced its award winners for the 2019-20 school year via Facebook Live on April 24, and New Tampa schools, especially Liberty Middle School and Hunter’s Green Elementary (HGE), fared well.
In fact, both were honored with awards for Principal of the Year.
Gaye Holt
HGE principal Gaye Holt was awarded Elementary Principal of the Year, while James Ammirati of Liberty took home the middle school honors.
Both schools also received awards for Family Involvement; Hunter’s Green Elementary for its lip synch battle called Panther Jamz, and Liberty for its Family Night event.
Liberty picked up eight other awards, including Middle School Instructional Person of the Year for teacher Toni Kuzmicki, PTSA President of the Year for Shari Burress, “a force to reckon with, as she powers her way through the school year taking on tasks and challenges and working harder than anyone else” according to her nomination.
At the high school level, both Wharton and Freedom received awards for their Volunteer Hours.
Wharton also received an award for Student Involvement and the county award for Advocacy/Legislation for the school’s Gay Straight Alliance.
The school’s success coach Roslyn Brown was awarded High School Non-Instructional Person of the Year.
Brown puts in long hours that do not stop when she leaves our school,” her nomination letter said. “She is always working to better the lives of our student population.”
Freedom won the award for Family Involvement for its Multicultural Festival — “Diversity at its Finest” — and Alicia Newcomb, the school’s agriculture teacher, was named the High School Instructional Person of the Year.
According to her nomination, Newcomb created the school’s vet tech program, an agribusiness course, expanded the Future Farmers of America (FFA) program and helped students earn apprenticeships and certifications, while partnering with veterinarians and animal rescue organizations to provide students with hands-on experience.
High School Graduations
While graduations across the country have been cancelled altogether, Hillsborough County Public Schools has instead delayed graduations for the class of 2020 in the hopes that local and state guidelines will allow in-person graduation ceremonies in July. Dates have been set for July 13-22 at the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall.
A final decision about whether the graduations can be held will be made closer to the event date.
For now, Wharton’s graduation is scheduled for Friday, July 17, 12:30 p.m., while Freedom’s is scheduled for Saturday, July 18, 9 a.m.
The worn-out dirt path that has unofficially connected Kinnan St. in New Tampa to Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe at the Pasco-Hillsborough county line has finally been cleared, along with the weeds, trees and bushes that have covered the 30-foot patch of land no man’s land for so long.
It’s really happening, y’all.
The two roads will be connected, maybe by as soon as the end of this month, allowing access for first responders and emergency medical vehicles only.
For those who have hoped for years that another north-south connection would allow for easier access between Hillsborough and Pasco counties, sorry — a gate will be installed to prohibit local vehicular traffic.
Hillsborough County will pay for the new connection to be paved and equipped with a gate that Pasco County will control and pay to maintain. Hillsborough County District 2 commissioner Ken Hagan secured $250,000 for the project two years ago in an effort to get the roads connected, although he had hoped for a connection that would be open to everyone, but Meadow Pointe II residents were able to convince the Pasco Board of County Commissioners that opening the connection to everyone would bring an unsafe amount of traffic through their neighborhood.
“I’m absolutely thrilled that New Tampa will finally have emergency and pedestrian access,” Hagan says. “However, I’m hopeful that one day Pasco County will quit being parochial and obtuse and authorize full access, which is undoubtedly desperately needed.”
Pasco County Commission chair Mike Moore says there will be no need for full access, because connections are planned at the intersections of Meadow Pointe Blvd. and K-Bar Ranch Pkwy., as well as at Wyndfields Blvd. and K-Bar Ranch Pkwy., creating additional north-south roads between Pasco and Hillsborough counties.
Moore add that Meadow Pointe and Wyndfields Blvds. are more suited for additional traffic than Mansfield Blvd.
M/I Homes, the developer of New Tampa’s K-Bar Ranch, located in the city, will pay for a significant amount of the package as part of its development agreement. A new pathway for pedestrians and bicyclists will also be built as part of the project.
Gio Carillo shoots hoops at the Wesley Chapel District Park on Boyette Rd., which re-opened its courts recently and will be back to hosting its youth basketball leagues soon. (Photo: Charmaine George)
On June 1, roughly 20 kids showed up at a camp at Heritage Isles in New Tampa.
Two weeks later, a similarly-sized group was scheduled to begin camp at the Seven Oaks Community Club in Wesley Chapel.
PROtential Sports owner Nyree Bland could finally breathe again.
“I am grateful to be opened again. It’s good to be back,” says Bland who, along with her husband (and former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver) Tony, has been running sports camps locally for 17 years.
For a while, Bland was unsure if she would be able to host camps again in 2020. PROtential after-school camps were canceled when school was (back in March), and summer activities were in doubt right up until Gov. Ron DeSantis ended all restrictions on youth activities for the state on May 22.
“The data is pretty clear that, for whatever reason, kids don’t seem to get infected at the same rates that some other adults get infected,” DeSantis said when making the announcement.
Summer camps and sports leagues are ready to go. There will be strict new CDC guidelines to follow, such as cleaning and social distancing protocols.
How that works out, however, remains to be seen, as anyone who has ever coached a large group of 9-year-olds can attest.
Keith Wiley, the Pasco County director of Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources, says his department is working closely with the 30 or so co-sponsored groups they partner with to determine the best and safest way forward.
Although DeSantis specifically said the state would not “be instituting a lot of rules” and would “trust parents to be able to make decisions in conjunction with physicians,” Wiley says that all groups hosting youth sports leagues in Pasco County will be required to supply a safe play plan to the county that strictly adheres to CDC guidelines.
Although parks and fields are open for walk-up play by the general public, co-sponsored leagues can only return once those plans have been approved by the county.
According to the CDC, the “lowest risk” of Covid-19 spreading is during skill-building drills and conditioning, with team-based practices considered a “higher risk.”
Full competition between teams from the same local geographic area is considered “even more risk,” while full competition between teams from different geographic areas is considered the “highest risk.”
Equipment like bats, balls, pads and helmets will also require disinfecting they had probably not received in previous years. Counselors and coaches should wear masks, according to the CDC.
Requiring groups to ponder the new normal and submit a plan was a no-brainer.
“Until you start to think it through and visualize what practices or games will look like, it’s difficult,” Wiley says. “We didn’t want groups running out there and figuring it out on the fly.”
Considering that the public’s feelings on masks isn’t unanimous, Wiley is hoping the community can come together to follow the rules for the sake of the 5,000 or so children that typically participate in youth sports across Pasco County. Keeping parents from hovering at practices and games will be a challenge as well.
“It’s going to be extremely difficult to police and enforce,” Wiley says. “So far, however, we’ve had a few conversations with our 30 co-sponsored groups, and they have all been positive. We haven’t had to twist any arms.”
As for the popular county-sponsored summer camps at 11 locations, Wiley said they will be limited to 25 percent of typical capacity.
He says the county did a survey and 60 percent of the parents of previous participants said they had every intention of returning. The remaining 40 percent were a “mixed bag.”
Wiley notes that the Pasco camps usually fill up within three minutes of registration opening.
“My guess is there are going to be a lot of folks waiting to rush right in,” Wiley says, “and a percentage of families that plan on taking it slow.”
The Wesley Chapel Athletic Association (WCAA), which says it serves more than 3,500 area families, has made no official announcement yet about upcoming registrations.
The WCAA’s Board of Directors met on May 28 to discuss how to best implement its summer athletic programs, and what has to be done to make soccer, basketball and baseball safe for everyone.
Baseball, for example, had just begun its spring Babe Ruth League (which also includes Cal Ripken baseball) when Covid-19 hit. Spring ball would have ended in mid-May, with All-Star Districts and State play running during the summer.
All-stars, however, has been canceled for 2020, so Chad Erker, the director of WCAA Baseball, says the organization may resume the spring league to fill the calendar and get kids back on the fields.
“We’re working on it,” he says. “I think, first and foremost, we’d have to see who is willing to return, who can return, who wants to return. And, who feels safe in returning.”
That will be the same predicament facing every camp and every sports league trying to return to action over the next few months. Erker says entire rosters of teams may need to be shuffled so games can be scheduled. Many camps will have to run at a smaller capacity, due to the CDC guidelines, so the demand may still be there, but the numbers won’t.
Meanwhile, Bland says PROtential’s camps usually have 100-plus participants at each location, but will be limited to 25 percent of their usual capacity.
She has canceled the field trips that are usually a part of the PROtential Sports summer camp experience. Counselors will be taking temperatures daily. The groups will be kept smaller than usual, since some of the activities are held indoors.
“The parents we have talked to that are coming are super excited,” Bland says. “Some aren’t ready. I think it is about 50-50. So, we’ll be a lot smaller. But, it’s the new normal, and I’m embracing it.”
