Pride Elementary Media Specialist Suzy Tkacik Falls Short Of Winning Diversity Educator Of The Year Award

Updated by Gary Nager

Pride Elementary principal Paulette English (left) with Pride media specialist and 2024 Hillsborough County Public Schools’ Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year award finalist Suzy Tkacik in the school’s Media Center. (Photo provided by Hillsborough County Public Schools)

Among more than 200 nominations for the 2024 Hillsborough County Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year award, just four finalists were selected.

And, although she didn’t end up winning the award, one of those four standout District-wide educators/finalists was Pride Elementary media specialist Suzy Tkacik.

“Mrs. Tkacik is deserving of this recognition because she positively influences every student, teacher, support person, district worker, and visitor who comes our way,” says Pride principal Paulette English. “She is enthusiastic, creative, motivating, and kind. Because of her leadership and love for students, our Media Center is a cheerful, well-organized, welcoming environment, and always buzzing with happy students, teachers and volunteers.”

The Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year is one of three awards given out each year by the Hillsborough Education Foundation, in partnership with Hillsborough County Public Schools. 

According to the Foundation’s website, the award is named after Ida S. Baker, who became the first African-American to serve as Deputy Superintendent for the Florida Department of Education (DoE), after she also was the founding principal of Cape Coral High and the first-ever Black high school principal in Lee County. Baker was known for her efforts to support diverse students and encourage academic success. After her passing in 1992, the DoE created this statewide award in her honor.

Each school in Hillsborough County may nominate one teacher who, “embodies the pioneering spirit of Ida S. Baker by going above and beyond to meet the needs of our diverse student population.”

Suzy says she loves being the media specialist at Pride, where most of the school’s families come from other countries.

“About 60 percent of our families are from India, and then we have students from China, South America, Africa, Europe, Eastern Europe and others,” she says. “I’ve gotten to meet students from all around the world.”

She says that once she meets a student, she tries very hard to remember his or her name. “We have students who have more than 20 characters in their first name alone,” she says. “I take a lot of time to learn their names and learn how to pronounce them. It matters a great deal to me.”

And then, she also makes sure that every student is represented in the Media Center’s library by the books and materials that are available to them.

She says she recently had a seven-year-old ask for a book about her home country of Jordan. Since there wasn’t one already in the library, Suzy found one to be added to the collection. When it arrived in the Media Center last week, Suzy says the girl’s eyes just lit up.

“That’s Amman!,” she says the girl exclaimed as she flipped through the pages. “That’s my city!”

Suzy says the wonderful diversity of her school has had a deep impact on her. 

She thinks back to last fall, when she challenged her students to share information about the Hindu festival of Diwali on the school’s morning show. Suzy says she learned about the ways Diwali is celebrated by many of the school’s families who are from India. While it’s a common holiday to celebrate, each family has different traditions and some even have different beliefs about the origin of Diwali.

“When I get to hear their stories of their rich backgrounds, I want to soak it all in,” Suzy says. “They teach me more than anything.”

Suzy has been the media specialist at Pride since she launched her second career 15 years ago. Before that, she earned a degree in public relations and journalism. She says once her children — who are now 28, 25, and 22 — started school, she “discovered school libraries and what cool places they are” and returned to college to earn a Master of Arts (M.S.) degree in Library Information science from University of South Florida (USF). 

For the last 15 years, she says she has been surrounded by fantastic educators who do an amazing job of maintaining Pride’s “A” rating year after year.

“I don’t have a degree in education,” Suzy says, “so everything I’ve learned about being an educator has been from watching my great colleagues. It’s a team effort.”

Unfortunately for the timing of our Feb. 6 New Tampa issue, Hillsborough County’s 2024 Excellence in Education Awards Gala was held on Feb. 1, after that issue went to press. The Ida S. Baker Award winner this year was Dr. Ilfaut Joseph of Jennings Middle School.  The other two annual awards announced at the Excellence in Education program on Feb. 1 were the 2024 Teacher of the Year Dr. Clayton Nylund of Blake High and Instructional Support Employee of the Year Maria Ortiz of Temple Terrace Elementary

All 11 schools in New Tampa submitted a nominee in each of the three categories. But this year, Suzy was the only New Tampa nominee to be chosen as a finalist in any category. “Our amazing Mrs. Tkacik wears lots of hats and is many things to many people,” English says. “She makes every child feel special and makes everyone she works with feel valued and appreciated.”

Cypress Creek High Students Engineer A Life-Changing Gift For “Pily” 

(l.-r.) Cypress Creek High students Liam Dzanan, Liz Velisse Bermudez-Ortiz (aka “Pily”) and Gabriel Linck show off the new wheelchair tray Liam and Gabriel engineered for Pily. (Photos were provided to the Neighborhood News) 

“Pily” has some really strong arms. 

They’ve gotten that way because the 20-year-old has always used them to push her manual wheelchair wherever she needed to go. 

But one thing those arms can’t do is be useful for a separate task while she’s pushing the wheelchair. 

Pily is a student in Cypress Creek High’s on-the-job training (OJT) program for students with disabilities who have deferred their high school diploma and not yet graduated, although they are between 18 and 21 years old. They are learning skills and tasks that will prepare them for opportunities in the workforce when they turn 22 and public school is no longer an option. 

John Sousa is the OJT educator who teaches Pily, whose real name is Liz Velisse Bermudez-Ortiz. 

John says OJT, “is a transition program where we help to answer the question for parents, ‘What am I going to do with my child when there is no longer free public school for them?’” 

The 12 students currently in his class work in the cafeterias at Cypress Creek High and Middle School, and some of them travel to Publix. Without a tray, and while pushing her wheelchair with her arms, Pily was unable to participate in the work that the other students were doing. 

“I looked at this problem I have,” says John, “and I realized that I have engineering students next door. So I walked in and said, ‘Mr. Baker, can you give me two hotshots who are really into figuring out solutions to problems?’” 

“Oh, I’ve got lots of those,” John says Nathan Baker, the engineering instructor, told him. John says he gladly accepted help from seniors Liam Dzanan and Gabriel Linck. They are part of Cypress Creek High’s “pack leader” program and, in the engineering department, which means they have the opportunity to work on special projects. 

“I have a refrigerator with snacks,” John says he told them. “And you guys could give this young lady arms. You could give her the ability to pick things up and hold things.” 

John says they took the task to heart. 

Liam and Gabriel set out to fabricate a tray that would fit on Pily’s wheelchair, allowing her to carry trays in the cafeteria, boxes and other items, helping her to contribute to the work she and her peers are assigned to do. 

They came up with a thick acrylic tray and the idea to trim it with a lip, so things wouldn’t roll off it. They also had to take precautions so it wouldn’t crack during fabrication or while Pily is using it. 

Liam and Gabriel previously had plenty of opportunities to learn engineering skills in the classroom, but this project was the first time that their work was not just hypothetical. 

A previous project, for example, was to create a boot that would help someone with cerebral palsy to walk. The students came up with a great solution, but it didn’t actually help a real person. 

The fact that Pily would be counting on them to solve her problem made this project exceptionally different. 

“We felt like we couldn’t mess this up,” Liam said. “And like all of our prior practice and hypotheticals all led up to this. Only a real engineer could finish the project to help Pily.” 

Gabriel agrees. 

“It’s kind of intimidating because if we make mistakes, they’re expensive,” he says. “We only had one chance to make it. If we messed it up, we would have to buy another sheet for $150, so it’s a lot of pressure.” 

So they sketched and re-sketched on paper until they were sure they had the right design, then made cardboard models to try it out in real life. 

They learned how important it is to look at things from Pily’s perspective, instead of from theirs. 

This led them to learn to countersink screws to make them perfectly flush so they couldn’t scratch, for example. They did a lot of sanding. They even make changes after they thought they were finally done, adding neoprene to make points of contact more comfortable. 

It was all worth it when they got to present the new tray to Pily. 

“She was ecstatic when we gave it to her,” said Liam. 

John says he is so proud of Liam and Gabriel. “They were able to put that tray on her chair, and even added Velcro straps so it can slide into a new chair if she gets one,” John explains. 

Not only does the new tray allow Pily to complete work tasks she couldn’t do before, it’s also essential to helping her feel included as a part of the OJT group. 

“Independence is a huge thing in life for everyone,” he says. “Here’s a 20-year-old girl who can now carry things from point A to point B, be included in the group, and perform simple job tasks because of the help she got from these kids.” 

John thinks this is just the beginning of many more projects to come. In fact, he said, engineering students also have come up with a 3D-printed tool that helps his students who lack the dexterity to open a soda can get the leverage they need. 

“The engineering students at this school are amazing,” he says. “It’s amazing what kids are doing to help other kids.”

Family-Owned Absolute Air — Still Building On Two Decades Of Trust 

(L.-r.) Amber, Steve and Tammy DeRolf of Absolute Air Systems, Inc., with the company’s mascot, Hurricane. (Photos by Charmaine George) 

When Steve DeRolf started Absolute Air in 2001, he was working in the industry and saw customers regularly being sold things they didn’t need at prices that were extremely inflated. 

“They were getting $300 for a run cap back then,” he says, explaining that a run cap is an electrical part necessary to run an air conditioning unit. “Today – 22 years later – I only charge $250.” 

He says other companies overcharging customers still happens today. And, while he can’t keep other companies from taking advantage of customers, Steve promises that Absolute Air offers honest and reasonable prices to give people an alternative. 

He has lots of stories to prove his point — like the woman in a mobile home who was told she needed a new unit with a price tag of $18,000 for the system, plus $6,000 to replace her ductwork. 

“We told her the entire job would be $7,000 with us,” Steve says. And, he also told her she could keep using the system until it no longer worked, while the other company was pressuring her to replace the entire system immediately. 

Then, there was the man who called because he thought his mom was being taken advantage of by another company. 

“They told her that her heater was bad and it would be $1,500 to replace,” says Steve. “But, it was just a burnt wire, so for $200, we had it running again.” 

Nate Clements provides outstanding air conditioning and heating system services at the company’s always fair prices.

He says another common problem is that some companies won’t tell the customer that a part is still under warranty. Instead of dealing with the warranty to replace the part, they try to sell a whole new system. 

“It’s more work to do it right,” Steve says, “so they make it easier on themselves, rather than doing what’s best for the customer.” 

Steve’s wife, Tammy, has served as Absolute Air’s office manager since the company’s early years and now his daughter, Amber, is the assistant office manager. 

The DeRolf family loves being part of the community they serve. 

“I grew up in Zephyrhills when Wesley Chapel wasn’t even here,” Steve says. “All three of my kids went to schools in Zephyrhills.” 

Steve met Tammy when she was in the Air Force and he had just gotten out of the Army. They married 29 years ago. 

In addition to Amber, they have a son who is a Pasco County Sheriff’s Deputy and a daughter who lives in Palm Bay. 

“Our family’s goal is to always treat the customer right,” Steve says, “and to run our business with honesty, integrity and loyalty.” 

He says regular maintenance is essential, “like changing the oil in your car,” but you should be wary of companies who say they’ll do your maintenance for $29.99. 

Since it costs more than that — between labor and vehicle costs — for them to send a technician to your house to do the maintenance,” Steve says. “They will likely try to get more money from you by selling you something you may not need, or by charging too much for it. 

“Some of them are getting $2,500 for an ultraviolet light,” he adds, “but we put them in for $600.” 

Amber says those UV lights are important, though. 

“It’s something everyone should have,” Amber says. “It improves the life of your coils by keeping mildew out of them, and keeps your air cleaner.” 

She explains that Absolute Air also offers maintenance “memberships” for people who want peace of mind regarding keeping their air conditioning and heating units running properly. 

“If you join the membership program,” she says, “it’s $5 less for the maintenance and then you’ll get 10 percent off any service calls you might need for the whole year you’re on the program.” 

Amber says that Absolute Air’s phones are answered in the evenings and on weekends, because they understand that emergencies happen. They can even send someone out right away, although the cost is slightly higher for after-hours service calls. 

And, Amber says that Absolute Air promises that if the company can fix your system and keep it running, they will. 

“I have my word and my integrity,” Steve says. “We don’t scare our customers into buying something they don’t need.” 

In addition to the DeRolf family, Absolute Air includes vice president Mike Thornton, who co-founded the company with Steve and now handles commercial accounts and new construction installation, and long-time technician Greg Weatherspoon, who used to be a neighbor and whose dad once worked for the company. 

Long-time Absolute Air Systems technician Greg Weatherspoon.

“Our customers love Greg,” Amber says. “He’s honest, reliable, trustworthy and will even talk customers through things to help people over the phone, whenever possible.” 

One customer who agrees with that assessment of Greg is Mary Mosiello. When Mary and her husband, cosmetic surgeon Dr. Gerard Mosiello, moved into their home 10 years ago, they needed to replace an air conditioning unit. They asked around and one of their neighbors recommended Absolute Air Systems. 

They were so pleased, they also had Absolute Air take care of the units at their business in Tampa Palms, as well. 

“They are very dependable and responsive,” Mary says. “I appreciate that they’re so helpful and that they educate us as to the best ways to keep this very expensive product running.” 

Over the past 10 years, Absolute Air has built a relationship that Mary says is built on her confidence that the company and its technicians are trustworthy and reliable.

“It’s not an easy decision to have to replace something,” Mary says, “but it helps if you trust the people you’re dealing with. They know your home and business and what you need, and I like that for sure.”

And, while she says she’s happy to recommend Absolute Air to others, “I just don’t want them to get too busy where they can’t come see me,” she laughs.

Absolute Air Systems provides heating and air conditioning service for both residential and commercial systems. The company offers full system installs, service calls, preventive maintenance, emergency repairs, UV light installation, thermostat upgrades and any other heating and cooling needs.

“At least get your units serviced once a year,” says Steve. “Since we’re family owned and live in this community, after we come to your house, you’ll probably see us out in the community. Whether it’s at Walmart or Applebee’s or church, we’re out in the com- munity we serve and love.”

And, he says, he never has to worry when he sees his customers out and about. He has no qualms, knowing that he and everyone in his company has treated them with honesty and integrity.

To schedule an appointment for maintenance or service, call (813) 779- 0101. For more information about Absolute Air Systems, visit GetColdAir.com.

Community To Benefit From City’s New Tampa Sports Pavilion At Liberty, Too 

City of Tampa and Hillsborough County School District officials came out in force for the ribbon cutting at the new New Tampa Sports Pavilion behind Liberty Middle School in Tampa Palms. (All photos provided by the City of Tampa) 

What used to be six old, underused tennis courts just for students at Liberty Middle School in Tampa Palms has been transformed into a new recreational area for the entire community. 

The tennis courts are gone, and what stands in their place will now be called the New Tampa Sports Pavilion. 

The Pavilion includes three basketball courts that also can be used for pickleball, tennis and volleyball. 

Next to the courts, a huge metal shade structure stands over an artificial turf field. At 166 feet by 127 feet, it’s larger than four school buses lined up one way and three school buses lined up the other. 

A building with offices and restrooms is located by the covered field, too. 

On November 15, City of Tampa and Hillsborough County School District officials held a ribbon cutting to officially open the new expansion, which will be used by Liberty students during the school day and open to the public whenever school is not in session. 

The new basketball courts at the Pavilion.

District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, whose son attended Liberty, says the idea was suggested at a 2020 town hall meeting by Tampa Palms resident Alexandra Gilmore. He championed the idea, saying it would add to the other recreational opportunities that have been brought to New Tampa over the last several years. 

“This is another big win for New Tampa and a really big deal,” says Viera. “It’s a $4-million expansion, and when you include the $3-million expansion of the New Tampa Recreation Center and multi-million-dollar All-Abilities Park, it represents a nearly $10 million investment in parks for New Tampa since 2018.” 

He’s referring to the playground that opened at the New Tampa Community Park one year ago, the first of its kind in the city that is designed for kids of all abilities, especially those who may not be able to play at typical playgrounds because they use a wheelchair or have other special needs. 

Viera says that investment has made a significant impact. 

Dist. 7 Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera speaking at the ribbon cutting.

“New Tampa has gone from being a city park desert, where all we had was a rec center that was busting at the seams,” he says, “to being home to the city’s first All-Abilities Park and now this additional expansion.” 

The new rec center expansion is located adjacent to the New Tampa Community Park on the property of Liberty at 17400 Commerce Park Blvd. 

The ribbon cutting on Nov.15 was attended by Viera, City of Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, Hillsborough County School Board members Jessica Vaughn and Lynn Gray, and Hillsborough’s Superintendent of Schools Van Ayres. 

Viera says the public access to the courts will be scheduled after school ends each day, during school holidays, weekends, and summer. 

City of Tampa manager of athletics, aquatics and special facilities Heather Erickson says the New Tampa Sports Pavilion has experienced something of a soft opening and expects to be fully operational around January 1. 

She says security lights are in place, but the courts themselves are not yet properly lighted, so they currently are only open until sundown. 

Starting in 2024, the pavilion will be staffed for open basketball and pickleball nightly, plus scheduled activities. 

“Our obligation is to make sure it’s not just a hangout without supervision,” Erickson says. “We also offer classes such as sports readiness for girls and boys, fitness and agility.” 

For more information, she says check the City of Tampa website at TampaGov.net after Jan. 1. Navigate to “Parks & Rec,” then “Activities,” then “Athletics.” For questions about using the facility, reach out to Tampa’s supervisor of athletics Cedric Smith at Cedric.Smith@tampagov.net. 

Freedom High To Be Home To Hillsborough’s First Business Academy 

(l.-r.) Freedom High Business Academy director Brian Nanns, business teacher Natalie Lozada, marketing teacher Derrick McCoy, accounting teacher Stacey Polhill and Freedom assistant principal of curriculum Matthew Smith . (Photos by Charmaine George) 

From charter schools and private schools to public school magnet programs, there are plenty of options for high school students in New Tampa to find a customized high school curriculum that will prepare them for the next step in their lives that isn’t always the closest school to where they live. 

But now, Freedom High in Tampa Palms is hoping to attract more New Tampa students to choose their local public school with a brand new attractor program that will be the first Business Academy in the Hillsborough County School District. 

Students who finish all of the classes in the Business Academy will graduate with a certification that recognizes them as a program completer. Along the way, each class they take will earn them either an industry certification or college credit. 

Courses in the Academy include a series of classes in accounting, marketing, business principles and entrepreneurship, many that are either Advanced Placement (AP) or Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE), which can result in students earning college credit if they pass an exam. 

Freedom’s assistant principal of curriculum Matthew Smith says one reason this program is poised for success is because it actually pays for itself, rather than requiring money to operate. 

That’s because the Florida Department of Education (FDoE) provides a stipend to schools that prepare students to do jobs that are needed in the workforce. So, when students earn industry certifications or college credits, that state-provided stipend goes back to the school, where it is used to enhance those programs. 

“We applied for a state grant to expand into this area because there’s a big shortage in accounting in Florida,” Smith says. “We are planning to transform our regular classrooms into high-tech accounting labs.” 

He says this will include seating where students work together collaboratively and have technology to project to the walls, for example, and that the room will likely feature a live stock market ticker. 

“This could be a game-changer for Freedom,” Smith says. “We’re hoping to retain neighborhood kids so they don’t have to get on a magnet bus and go somewhere else in Hillsborough County for a different program.” 

Smith explains that the Business Academy will be overarching and encompass the school’s Digital Academy, which has been in place for several years and prepares students for careers in game design, web development or related fields. 

“Our Digital Academy labs are already well equipped,” he explains, “with more than $200,000 per year in funding from industry certifications that our students receive.” 

This allows the labs to be continually updated with the latest technology. 

“We are adding AI next year, too,” he says, referring to teaching students about artificial intelligence. 

The Hillsborough County School District’s Chief of Innovation and Strategic Planning Marcos Murillo says these and other career and technical education classes have set the foundation for the Business Academy to be built on, and that it will be unique in the District. While other schools offer entry-level classes in subjects such as accounting and marketing, the Business Academy will be more comprehensive. 

The Business Academy also will encompass the school’s existing Digital Academy

“Freedom will offer more classes in that area than any other school in the District,” Murillo says. “The higher level classes won’t available anywhere else and will allow students to have a more robust transcript to apply for college.” 

Murillo’s job is to innovate at every school throughout the county but, he says, “Freedom is dear to my heart. My daughter graduated from there and my son is there now.” 

Instructors for Freedom’s Business Academy are already in place and are training for new courses that will be offered for the 2024-25 school year. 

For example, Stacey Polhill has worked as an accountant in the private industry and at the school district and has decades of real-world accounting experience. 

“She currently teaches math and accounting honors,” explains Smith, “but next year, she will teach additional accounting classes, such as managerial accounting honors or AICE accounting.” 

Not all classes will be available next year, but classes will be added as the program grows and students in the program need them. 

Other teachers include Brian Nanns, who is the chair of the school’s Career Technical Education Department. He currently serves as director of the Digital Academy, teaching classes such as AP Computer Science Principles, and will be director of the Business Academy, too. 

Social studies teacher Eric Galante has a business degree and is now working to get certified to teach AP and AICE business principles and global business classes. 

Derrick McCoy currently teaches marketing and television production and will expand the marketing classes that will be made available to students. 

Natalie Lozado will teach business ownership and entrepreneurship, which Smith says will teach students how to fully develop a new business, execute their plans, and compete in the marketplace. 

To participate in the Business Academy, all students — even if they currently attend Freedom — must apply through Hillsborough County’s “school choice and magnet application” available online at HillsboroughSchools.org/choice. 

In addition to the Business Academy, Smith says many students use the choice application to join the Digital Academy, which does not carry the “attractor” designation, or to participate in the school’s popular veterinary science program, where students can graduate high school as a Certified Veterinary Assistant. 

Freedom will appear on the application as an option during the next choice/magnet application period, which is typically in Feb. 

Smith says that if it happens that there is space available in the program, it may be possible for current Freedom students to take some of the classes in the Business Academy. However, seats are reserved for those who are chosen for the attractor program and commit to completing the entire track. 

“I can’t wait to build out the program,” Smith says.