School grades have been announced for the 2016-17 school year. Of the 12 public schools located in New Tampa, most maintained their grades from the 2015-16 school year. However, two schools — Liberty Middle School and Tampa Palms Elementary — improved by a letter grade, while just one school, Heritage Elementary, dropped a letter grade.
Letter grades are assigned by the State of Florida Department of Education, based on statewide standardized assessments. High schools also have a graduation component, based on how many students graduate in four years. The letter grades then reflect the percentage of points received, of the total number of available points.
Both New Tampa middle schools are now rated A, with Benito maintaining its A rating and Liberty improving from a B.
Turner/Bartels K-8 School maintained its B rating.
Congrats to Chiles Elementary in Tampa Palms, which earned an “A” grade from the State of Florida Department of Education for the 15th straight year, and scored the highest among New Tampa schools in English Language Arts Achievement, Mathematics Achievement and Science Achievement.
Of the elementary schools in the area, Chiles, Clark and Pride all maintained their A ratings, with Tampa Palms jumping up from last year’s B. Hunter’s Green maintained its C rating, and now Heritage is the second elementary school in our area to also be rated C.
Both high schools in our area, Freedom and Wharton, maintained the C grades they received last year.
While the school grading system has many critics, they are widely used by parents as a measure of how well their child’s school is performing.
“The school grades are a snapshot based on school grade calculations and assessments which are subject to change by the state,” says Tanya Arja, a spokesperson for Hillsborough County Public Schools.
“While we celebrate the successes and look for ways to improve,” she continues, “a parent really needs to look at how well their child is doing and if they are making gains. Parents can get a much clearer picture of the education their child is receiving at a school by touring a school, getting involved and talking with the teachers and administrators to see the hard work they put in every day to ensure student success.”
(Above left): Paula Stano and her son, Jordan Viches, by Melissa Korta Photography.
When single mom Paula Stano’s only son, Jordan Viches, went into the Marines straight out of Wiregrass Ranch High in 2013, the only way she could communicate with him was via old-fashioned letter writing.
Jordan told his mom that receiving the letters “felt like Christmas,” but that some of his friends never got any letters at all. So, Paula started writing letters to Marines other than her son as well.
That became the beginning of a journey that has led her to where she is now, as the founder and president of the STANO Foundation, a 501(3)c non-profit organization that sends care packages to members of the military who are deployed and stationed both in the U.S. and abroad.
As her son’s military career continued and she became aware of needs of his fellow Marines, she began soliciting donations from friends and acquaintances. Jordan was stationed abroad in Japan, but some of his friends were deployed to countries such as Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, so she started sending them packages.
“They would ask for things like two-ply toilet paper or black crew socks,” she says, “or a certain kind of cracker or chips or candy they couldn’t get where they were stationed.”
So, as her efforts grew, she created the STANO Foundation (which is her last name developed into an acronym: Supporting Troops Area-wide, Nationally and Overseas), and her efforts continue to be supported by the community and continue to reach more members of the military in more areas.
“We send out packages every month now,” she explains. “We reach out to the community and ask if they have loved ones stationed in the United States or overseas, and then we send them packages.”
STANO Foundation volunteers mug for the camera.
Paula says that, twice a year, the foundation sends out an especially large number of packages. First and foremost, prior to Christmas, about 600 boxes are mailed. In late June and early July, roughly halfway through the year and just before the time we celebrate Independence Day, the STANO foundation sends out another 300 boxes.
“We make sure each person gets an individual box,” she says. “We ask them about the things they miss the most, their favorite snacks and allergies, and then we try to accommodate each person’s individual needs.”
While her efforts grew from simple letter writing into an official nonprofit serving hundreds of troops, the operation is still based out of her Wesley Chapel townhouse. At our press time, she was getting ready for her big July shipment.
“You should see my living room right now,” she says. “It’s amazing.”
It takes an incredible effort, a lot of donations of supplies, and additional donations to pay for the shipping.
“Shipping is our largest expense,” Paula says. “It will cost $6,000 to ship the boxes in July,” which means her cost is closer to $12,000 at Christmas time.
Paula is thrilled that Tech Data, based in Clearwater, has partnered with her to pay for shipping the July boxes and also to collect many of the items that need to be donated.
She’s reaching out to the community to solicit the additional donated items and to provide the funding for boxes that are shipped throughout the rest of the year.
A supply list can be found on the STANO Foundation website at STANO.org. Some of the most wanted items include sunflower seeds, beef jerky, protein powder, travel-sized shampoo, conditioner, body wash, toothpaste and deodorant, to name just a few.
“Items can be dropped off at Ideal Massage (in the Summergate Professional Park) in Wesley Chapel (behind Sam’s Club) or people can contact me and any of our Board members will do a pick-up of items that you would like to donate.”
Anyone who would like to sign up a loved one in the military to receive a package from the STANO Foundation also can do so via the same website.
Jordan is still an active duty Marine, currently stationed in Moscow.
“He’s loving it, and I’m hoping to go see him in September,” she says, adding thatJordan is one of the foundation’s Board members, helping the foundation to know who needs what and help make sure the packages meet the needs of those who receive them.
“There’s no way I could do this by myself,” she says. “It really does take a village.”
For more information, visit STANO.org or find the foundation’s Facebook page by searching “STANO Foundation.”
Carin Hetzler-Nettles is the principal of the new Cypress Creek Middle High School and was previously principal of Wesley Chapel High, where she earned Pasco County’s Secondary Principal of the Year in 2012.
We spoke with Hetzler-Nettles during staff training week at Cypress Creek, located off Old Pasco Rd. As the entire staff worked together to create the culture of the new school (which is set to open to students on Pasco’s first day of classes for the 2017-18 school year, on Monday, August 14), Hetzler-Nettles reflected on all the work that’s being done to get the school ready for its first class of students. Here are some highlights from that conversation:
Neighborhood News: How different is this process of opening a new school, compared with the typical summer routine at other county middle and high schools?
Carin Hetzler-Nettles: Really different! Every principal does a lot of work this time of year, but it’s very rare to have this opportunity to be side-by-side with the entire staff, building something new.
We’re setting the stage, creating our culture here. We’re setting our school-wide expectations and motto, and talking about what a Cypress Creek “Coyote” looks like.
An aerial view of the sprawling new Cypress Creek Middle High School campus on Old Pasco Rd., near Overpass Rd.
Cypress Creek will be a pilot program for “trauma informed care,” so we had training for that. We learned about ourselves as a staff and to be mindful that everyone comes in with their own trauma (which could be something minor), and we react in different ways. When a student acts out, it’s because of something in their life, and it’s on us to figure that out, and then to build resilience, grit and perseverance. Those are life skills.
On the last day of our staff retreat (which was earlier this month), our teachers will get their schedules and find out their classrooms, which they’re so excited about. Then, as teams, they’ll head out into the community to commit random acts of kindness. We want to say “hi” to our fellow community members and tell them we’re hoping for their support.
NN: What’s your favorite thing about the campus itself?
CHN: The look of this school reminds me of a community college. It has beautiful brick paver accents. There are amazing (floor-to-ceiling) windows in the classrooms. There’s so much natural light and every classroom has a great view. We are the only high school in the county that will have a rubberized track, so we’ll be able to host some big meets. We also have a large cafeteria and an enormous band room, and the most beautiful gym floor I’ve ever seen.
We had been working out of two classrooms at Quail Hollow Elementary. To move into the new campus, we needed to have the wi-fi working, a place to sit at and something to sit on. That happened last week, so this is our home now. The trailers will go away, but we will have a district employee and construction subcontractors finishing up around campus, for probably six more months.
NN: What are you most excited about?
CHN: I am most excited about the opportunities for students. It’s so cool to have middle and high school students together. I have seen the power of kids talking to kids, and of kids showing leadership, like when eleventh grade students help ninth grade students transition. They explain, “This is why you need to do your homework,” or even say, “Let me sit with you at lunch.”
I see that happening.
Outside of school, you don’t necessarily see that part of them all the time, but we see that kids have big hearts and truly want to help others.
We have a “Pack leader” program where, over the summer, eleventh graders will be trained in leadership and eighth graders will be trained in peer counseling. Then, those trained students will be scheduled into core classes in the lower grades.
So, an eleventh grade student might be scheduled into a ninth grade English class and they are the “Pack leader” in that class. We partner them up in one of their strong subjects to help kids in that class. They might set up a texting app to remind the class that there’s a test tomorrow, or take kids outside the class to help them, or just talk, if they had a fight with a friend, for example.
We’re trying to help kids stay engaged. The Pack leader might say the same things as the teacher, but in a different way.
So many things divert kids’ attention, whether it’s that they don’t see the purpose of school, they’re looking for fun, or they’re making bad choices. It’s on us as educators to engage them and find what works for them. It’s different with every kid, so there are a lot of different ways to do that.
NN: How deep are your roots in Pasco County schools?
CHN: I am a product of Pasco County Schools. I graduated from Land O’ Lakes High. I started my career in 1996 as an ESE teacher at River Ridge Middle School. I spent a year in Hillsborough County but found it very different and came back to open Mitchell in 2000. I got my educational leadership certificate and became assistant principal, then became principal at Wesley Chapel High in 2009.
I’ve actually worked with people who were my teachers in high school. When I was at Mitchell, I became an administrator and one of the teachers there was a teacher I had in high school. The same thing happened when I was principal at Wesley Chapel. I was principal of a teacher who taught me.
NN: How does the size of Cypress Creek Middle High School compare to other campuses in the area?
CHN: We are starting with 650 high school students, which is very small. The next smallest high school in Pasco County is 1,100 students, so we’re about half the size of that. It’s almost unheard of.
Four Cypress Creek Middle High teachers from the school’s Athletic Dept. showed up at our office on June 22, and all four were obviously excited to talk about the opening of the new school.
But, our middle school has 850 students, which is pretty typical. As those middle schoolers age up, we will end up being the size of a traditional high school, so we will grow quickly. We will have about 1,500 at the high school and 900 at the middle school (in the next few years).
In about four years, we hope to have a completely separate middle school built adjacent to this school. (Right now,) Cypress Creek Middle High School is a way to relieve a booming population that is necessary at our feeder schools. We’re embracing it as a unique opportunity to create a dynamic culture.
We’re doing vertical teaming, so sixth through eleventh grade teachers in each department (math, for example) will meet every week. There will be no “they didn’t learn this in middle school.” We will have a seamless campus and curriculum. And, when that day comes when there’s a separate middle school campus, we expect that culture will bleed over into that campus, as well.
NN: What do you want your students to know as they get ready to come to Cypress Creek?
CHN: Life is full of possibilities. That’s how I approach every day. I know parents teach their kids they can do whatever they put their mind to, and that’s what’s being instilled in our school. It’s easy to be worried or concerned about having sixth through twelfth graders on the same campus and sharing buses, and it’s right to have concerns. But, we are planning for that. We already have schools with this model.
We can also look at what an amazing situation it is that a middle schooler has access to criminal justice, business, and journalism classes. If they want to take Spanish or American Sign Language, they can walk across campus and take it. They have easy access to accelerated courses. They don’t have to do it online. It’s a great opportunity and it’s very exciting to me.
It’s easy to stay comfortable. I loved working at Wesley Chapel with those kids and teachers and parents and staff, but I took a leap of faith to come here, and so did all the other staff. We are looking at the possibilities and all the doors that will open for all of these students. It’s gonna be really cool.
Heartwood Preserve Conservation Cemetery in the Trinity area of New Port Richey provides a unique form of burial in natural setting for your final resting place.
Laura Starkey grew up running through the old Florida woods that made up her family’s expansive cattle ranch, much of which is now the 18,000-acre Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Preserve in the Trinity area of New Port Richey, just a short drive west of Wesley Chapel.
Now, her passion is conserving the land she loves, and connecting people to it.
To that end, she has created Heartwood Preserve Conservation Cemetery, the first conservation cemetery in the Tampa Bay region. It opened this past fall, set on 41 acres of the original Starkey Ranch bordering the wilderness preserve, and Laura is the cemetery’s founder and executive director.
One of just a few conservation cemeteries in the entire state of Florida, Heartwood Preserve provides environmentally-friendly options for people looking for a more natural burial.
“The word ‘conservation’ in our name means that not only are we are providing a natural burial option for those who don’t want all the fancy bells and whistles of a modern burial with an expensive casket and vault, but we’re also really contributing to the permanent conservation of this ecosystem,” Laura explains. “We are both literally and figuratively becoming part of this land.”
Laura and Heartwood Preserve manager Diana Sayegh explain that first and foremost, the cemetery is about conserving the precious longleaf pine flatwoods and cypress dome wetlands ecosystems of the preserve.
“We invite people to come and take a walk, hike and get some fresh air,” Diana says. “You can park for free, use our picnic benches, and experience nature. There are woodpeckers, owls and butterflies, and we have free events, such as silent meditation walks, yoga and even frog-listening events. This place is gorgeous, and we want the community to experience it.”
Laura explains that using the land as a conservation cemetery is a tool that will allow it to be preserved forever.
“Land conservation is kind of tricky,” she says. “Sometimes, you think you just buy the land and hold on to it, but you have to manage it and maintain it, including controlled burns, managing invasive species and different things you have to do to keep it healthy and protected. I am always looking for tools to do that. Sometimes land may become a state or county park, but there are other ways to do that, too.”
She explains that there are layers of protection in place to ensure that Heartwood Preserve will always remain a natural burial preserve, with no above-ground burials, such as in a mausoleum, and a lower density than a traditional cemetery. In addition, when someone purchases a space at Heartwood Preserve, a portion of that fee goes to permanently protecting that ecosystem.
She says that what started out as an intellectual idea for her has morphed all the way into a spiritual experience.
“A conservation cemetery is a practical tool to help pay for protecting the land, but on a community and spiritual level, it’s an opportunity for the community to be connected to the land in a really deep way” she says. “What a beautiful thing to say your final wish — your final resting place — will protect the land.”
Diana says the fact that Heartwood Preserve allows pre-planning sets it apart from other conservation cemeteries.
“Like making a will, pre-planning for your cremation or burial is a gift to your family,” says Diana. “Your family is not left with the burden of the cost or the decision making. They have peace of mind for when that time comes.”
She continues, “It is a cemetery, and it’s sad, but it’s not typical. It’s natural and beautiful and serene and peaceful.”
Heartwood Preserve doesn’t allow embalming or vaults, neither of which are required by law. “The full body can be placed into the ground, wrapped in a shroud or buried in a biodegradable, natural casket,” Diana explains. “We also allow cremated remains to be buried directly in the ground or in a biodegradable urn, but we don’t scatter ashes.”
Diana, who worked in a traditional funeral home for many years before joining Heartwood Preserve, says she had to learn about so-called “green burial” and, she says, “it was a big wakeup call for me.”
She says she now considers it her personal mission to educate people that other options are available to them.
“In my old job, I used to tell people, ‘This is what has to happen, and this is how much you have to pay.’ But, I’ve learned that you don’t have to be embalmed or purchase an expensive casket.”
Not For Everyone?
Diana says that Heartwood Preserve welcomes all faith and religions, but she understands that natural burial is not a good fit for everyone.
“It’s okay if you want a more traditional burial. I respect that,” Diana says. “But, we want people to know this is another option.”
Don Zegel’s son, Gregory, passed away when he was just 21. That was nearly five years ago and his son was cremated, but Don says that ever since, “I’ve been looking for something meaningful to do with his ashes.”
When he and his wife, Gay Wasik, were biking through the Starkey Wilderness Preserve, Gay had what Don says was a “magical” experience. When she returned home, she began researching the preserve and came across information about Heartwood Preserve Conservation Cemetery.
Don says he looked at the Heartwood Preserve website and it really struck a chord with him. “I love the woods, I love old Florida, and I love nature,” he says.
“I was ready right then, but Diana told me I needed to come out and be sure that’s what I wanted for my son’s burial,” Donald explains. “I visited, and I fell in love with the feel of the place and with their philosophy. When I walked the property with Diana, I didn’t want to leave.”
He says the feeling of peace and comfort that he felt extended to the burial service that was held at the preserve. “It was a small family thing, and Laura and Diana were both there,” Don says, “It felt like they were welcoming us into their family, like they had this land and were allowing us to be a part of it.”
That’s exactly what Laura hopes people will feel if they choose Heartwood Preserve for their loved ones’ burials, or even their own.
“We’re growing a family here,” Laura says. “It’s so moving to me, because that’s what makes me so happy to come to work. We’re just getting started, but it really feels like we’re doing the right thing.”
Don says, “Now, when we think of Greg, Heartwood Preserve is where we take our minds. It’s been such an affirming experience. After five years of being in mourning one hundred percent of the time, I have started to go through some real healing.”
Heartwood Preserve Conservation Cemetery is located at 4100 Starkey Blvd. Visitors are always welcome when the gates are open, Mon.-Sat., 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., and 11 a.m.–4:30 p.m. on Sun.
At Benito Middle School, he’s known as Coach Howard, the boys’ basketball coach. He’s also the school’s resource teacher, taking care of computers and networking and setting up technology labs.
Kevin Howard also is now a published author, using his experiences as the parent of a child with autism, to help other people.
“My 15-year-old son, Seth, was diagnosed with autism before this third birthday,” explains Kevin. “At that time, a therapist suggested we create social stories to help him.”
Kevin— who lives in Cory Lake Isles with his wife, Christina, Seth, and Seth’s younger brother, Joey — explains that the social stories would introduce Seth to typical life situations that could be intimidating for a kid who is autistic. The first book Kevin wrote for his son, for example, was about having his blood drawn.
Benito Middle School teacher and basketball coach Kevin Howard, shown with his wife Christina and their sons Joey and Seth, has written a book to help families with children who are autistic.
“We got pictures off the internet to make this book, and looked at the story over and over again,” he says. “We practiced having our blood drawn together with fake needles. So, when Seth went to have his blood drawn, we had no issues.”
He says it became a valuable tool in his household, so he began writing more stories for Seth, such as about going to the grocery store or the amusement park.
When the family was getting ready for a trip to visit family in New York, Kevin began working on a new social story. He collected pictures of all the things they would do — from packing to sitting on the plane — to the places they were going to go, including his father’s house. After reading the story over and over again, Kevin says, “We went to New York several times before we ever left (Florida).”
In the process of writing that book, Kevin was reminded of his favorite childhood toy, a stuffed monkey named Kookabuk.
“Kookabuk was given to me when I was a little boy and had an extended stay in the hospital,” Kevin says. “He took me on so many adventures. We played, we raced cars, we went on safaris, we had a band… all these adventures to occupy my time while I was in the hospital.”
So, when he happened to Seth, “You’re going on an adventure,” when referencing the family’s trip to New York, Kevin says it was, “like a light bulb went off. It reminded me of my adventures with Kookabuk, and that’s when the creative juices started to flow.”
He partnered with his brother, Jesse, who lives in New York and is a special education teacher, teaching elementary and pre-kindergarten kids who have a variety of exceptionalities, including autism.
The two worked together to develop stories that would help families. They have self-published the first story in the series, called Kookabuk Shares His Shovel, and have several more stories written and planned for future publication.
“I just love the name,” says Kevin. “I can see the smile on your face when I say it. I want Kookabuk to help other children the way he helped me.”
The series has been thoughtfully developed with characters who are inspired by real life. Kookabuk — or “Kooky,” as Kevin calls him – is the character in the book who is on the autism spectrum. And, he says Kooky’s friend, Emily, was inspired by someone in real life, too. “Emily was the first little girl who became friends with my son,” although both Kooky and Emily are monkeys in the book.
About the character Emily, Kevin says, “She is the model for every typical child when it comes to awareness, acceptance and understanding,” says Kevin, “We want typical kids to see the model of Emily, where we’re showing them how they can have a rewarding relationship with a child with special needs.”
Kevin’s pet macaw, Trevor, appears in the series, too. Trevor became part of the Howard family 20 years ago when Christine convinced Kevin to adopt Trevor. In the book, Trevor shows up whenever the characters are using a strategy that can be helpful to parents and caregivers of children with autism.
“We call it our ‘Best of Help’ tips,” says Kevin. He explains that whenever a specific strategy is being used that parents, teachers and caregivers can emulate, a picture of Trevor indicates to go to the back of the book to learn about the strategy and how to use it.
The tips come from Jesse’s expertise as a special needs educator and what Kevin has learned as the parent of a child with autism.
“We tried to make these tips the things that are going to help you on a daily basis,” Kevin says. “It’s what’s going to help with my kid having a meltdown right now.”
He says the books can be enjoyed by children — both those with special needs and those who are typical — either together with their parents or on their own.
“The response has been very positive,” says Kevin, saying Kookabuk Shares His Shovel has received great reviews, and was recently chosen by the University of South Florida faculty as its “Book of the Month.”
In April, to celebrate Autism Awareness Month, Kevin worked with the Youth Basketball League of Florida to put on an event called, “It’s Kool to be Kooky.” He says the event brought in a lot of sponsorships — including from the Miami Heat and AND1 basketball footwear and clothing company.
The event raised $1,301, which was donated to Focus Academy, a Hillsborough County magnet school for students with special needs, where Seth currently attends.
Kookabuk Shares His Shovel is currently available at Amazon.com. For more info about Kookabuk, please visit Kookabuk.com.
School grades have been announced for the 2016-17 school year. Of the 12 public schools located in New Tampa, most maintained their grades from the 2015-16 school year. However, two schools — Liberty Middle School and Tampa Palms Elementary — improved by a letter grade, while just one school, Heritage Elementary, dropped a letter grade.
